This is my first US, and my second saber. As the title says, I ordered a Dark Catalyst in Pyrestone Orange, no sound, and a standard heavy grade blade, as I'll be doing a lot of choreographed fighting.
The saber arrived in a 4x4x48 box, and was packed solid with styrofoam peanuts, and the saber slid down in one corner. The blade was wrapped in plastic, the allen wrench taped to the plastic, and the batteries installed. Overall, I'd say it was very well packaged, and there was no damage evident on the hilt or the blade.
The quality and construction on the saber is exquisite. If you look carefully, you can see super fine machining lines in the aluminium, which give the metal some texture and helps add some grip the the metal. The larger machined groves that are left silver are crisp and clean. I couldn't find a single flaw in the anodized parts. The only problem I could find was a tiny drip of glue near the power switch, which I was able to scrape off with a fingernail.
The wiring is stout and well attached, and held together with heat shrink. The battery holder has a double-sided velcro strip to keep the batteries securely in place, cushion it from the sides of the hilt, and keeps the holder from sliding back and forth in the hilt.
The design of the hilt is simple and elegant. With your control hand wrapped around the choke, the saber is extemely easy to swing and spin. The machined grooves provide your off hand extra grip, and a touch of class. The four pronged "crown" emitter give a subtle but definite attitude to the whole saber. Lastly, I can't imagine this lightsaber having any other pommel but the tapered one it comes with. It has 15, 3/16" holes on the bottom to allow sound from a speaker if you opt to have a soundcard installed. I plan to attach a ring hanger used for hanging pictures via one of these holes so I can carry the hilt on my Sith costume. The ring hanger is from Ook, item #50206, and comes in a package o three at Home Depot.
As the order page states, the hilt is right at 12 1/2". The entire saber is 47 1/2" long, and from the tip of the emitter to the tip of the blade is 34 1/2". With 4 Ni-Mh batteries, the balance point is right at 4" past the end of the emitter. By adding 21 quarters taped together with electrical tape to the pommel, the balance point moved 2" closer to the emitter.
As far as I can tell, Pyrestone Orange appears to be made with RRG LED combo. using Ni-Mh batteries, the blade is extremely bright. Here's a couple pics, one of just the orange, and the other is next to my Maul MR for comparison:
The pics are from a 3.2 MP cellphone camera, so please excuse the lack of high detail.
In conclusion, I absolutely love this lightsaber! Prior to ordering, I tried out several different sabers, from PVC and aluminium to converted MR sabers, and this hilt feels the best of any I've held. The only thing I have to knock it for is the balance, which for me is a bit blade-heavy.
I'd give the whole lightsaber a 9/10 for functionality, and a 10/10 for style.
