Yesterday i received a very anticipated order from Ultrasabers. And man is it nice.
For ages weaponry has become more and more elegant, complex, intricate. But one fact has stood the test of time. Simplicity in weaponry can most certainly make it the most effective, if not efficient. So, it is my honor to introduce you to.
The Dark Initiate V2 Limited Edition
Redemption
The HiltI'm writing this review at the shop so this time around theres no ruler. Just stats. The hilt is made of black anodized aluminum. And its is very black, very solid, and the finish is very smooth too. And because of its simple design it is very light. Because this is the limited edition, the groves are very nice and silver and very shiny. There is one accent hole for the light and one retention screw, as most all sabers do. It measures at about 8.75", and the grip-able area (i like to point that out in reviews) is about 7". For my hands this is perfect size, weight and balance.
Grooves near the emitter
Grooves near the bottom
Lookin Good
Accent Hole
The only problem is the battery pack. I was spinning it around, and feeling something moving inside. This happens sometimes on my prophecy due to vibrations shaking the pommel and thumbscrews loose. I checked the pommel and it was good. The problem was the battery pack. Although the wiring is nice and tight (they made sure the thing sticks out just far enough for batteries (see below in color section) there is a little space left in the hilt for it to move up and down. This isnt a problem on my prophecy because the pack is wide enough to get wedged in the hilt. Dont know if this counts as a warranty problem though.
The BladeBefore this review, i had not tested the full durability of a Mid-Grade blade. I had a wooden dowel staff and banged it against that but have not tried 2 sabers moving at the same speed. Last night that changed. I can vouch that Mid-Grade blades are awesomely durable and can be used for everything except daily heavy sparring/dueling. They are not as rigid as the heavy grades and a have a bit of flex to them. I like the way Nero Attoru put it when he said that (not his exact words) they are not as lethal as a heavy grade because of the flex, so less chance of injury.
There was a bit of problem with blade and dust again. I was probably wasnt clear before when i said there was dust in the blade. The blade is Poly-carbonate tube with a reflective film inside held in place with some glue. The debris, is lodged in that space between the layer of film and the inside of the tube. I don't feel i deserve a replacement, but it was just an observation.
Front view of culprit (hard to see but try to see the bending of the reflection)
This angle shows the curve a bit
The Color
From the moment i set my eyes on the image of an Imperial Knight holding a silver lightsaber, i fell in love with the color. I originally did not order the color because i thought it would look too much like a fluorescent light tube. Then i learned that if combined with a non-ultra-edge blade it leans closer to that silvery color. Its still white, but not as white as i believe it would have been in an ultra-edge.
Adegan Silver Powered by Sanyo Eneloopsx4 (thats as far as the pack comes out)
Turn Heads and be different with Adegan Silver
Next to my Prophecy SunRiders Destiny
It came with color discs, but they came oddly packaged. They were shrink wrapped to the blade. In the future though, if anyone gets it shipped like this, please be very careful on how you get it off the blade. I used a pair of small scissors, and as surgically as possible tried to remove it off the blade. I ended up scratching the blade a bit. Bummer.
Please Remove with caution
The color discs
The Handling It is so light. The overall length with a 32"blade (or at least i think it is) 35". With batteries installed, the balance point is about 1" above the emitter. And it spins very fast. As its been said a lot, this would work great as an off-hand saber with a shorter blade.
Bonus 1
The Shipping
From San Jose CA, to Las Vegas NV it takes 2 days after reaching the shipping facility to get to my hands. On my last shipment, i faced a plague of packing peanuts, which i think was standard on a lot of other peoples order. This time around though, everything was packed with bubble wrap, which was much neater, but what i found odd was that the t-shirt was bubble wrapped too.... hm..
Bubble wrap saber, bubble wrap stand, bubble wrap.......t-shirt?
Say hello the the bubble saber v1
Bonus 2
The Shirt
So to show my allegiance to Ultra Sabers, i purchased a Ultrasabers t-shirt. I got the SexyBack edition. Cause well.....anyways. The shirt right out the bubble wrap 100% Preshrunk cotton. Its a bit scratchy at first, but nothing a few days of sweat, detergent and good fabric softener cant fix. its hot here in Las Vegas and a black shirt doesnt help much, so i was thinking how bout a line of UltraSaber active wear. That would be good for saber training and such.
The back (sorry for that wrinkle there)
UltraSabers, where even our T-shirts are Ultra
