The first thing I noticed about the Monarch is that it doesn't seem to be super popular. No one in my saber club of 30+ people had ever used one and none of the people with their saber collection listed in their signatures seems to have one. So despite it being my first saber and my utter lack of what to look for in a saber or how to review one, I am doing so anyway!
First and foremost, I gotta say - I LOVE this thing. It is better then my wildest dreams could have imagined. I will be the first to admit I am not a Star Wars fan. I have never seen any of the movies (thought that will be changing shortly) and I honestly couldn't care less at this point about the universe. But I am a stunt artist and choreographer, a martial artist, a masquerade performer and I loves me some weapons. SO after watching my local saber team perform, I just had to get in on it. I went with my friend to the US booth at the convention we were at and while she was picking out her pieces, I was picking up and playing with some of the pre-made sabers they had on the shelves. After holding a few of them, I picked up a Monarch and instantly it felt right. I didn't have the money or the need/interest at the time and I went home without it. I checked out the website when we got home and essentially, laughed at the price. And my life went on. But three weeks ago, we officially joined the team and after one practice (two whole hours) of playing and using a loner saber, I KNEW I needed one to myself.
I went home and looked at a few options. When I priced everything out, my
dream saber was exactly the same price as a generic staff. I figured and was persuaded to believe that I should get my super awesome dream upgraded single because I wouldn't have use for a staff until I was allowed by the knights to choose a master and specialty. I am so very far beyond happy with my decision. So now that you know about me and my journey, let me tell you about my baby.
The Dark Monarch
[Back Order Notification:Acknowledged]
[Blade LED Color:Adegan Silver]
[Battery Configuration:Standard Setup]
[Recharge Port:No Recharge Port]
[Blade Length:36" Standard Size]
[Blade Option:UltraEdge Heavy Grade]
[Switch Type:*SILVER* NON-ILLUMINATED AV SWITCH]
[Blade Tip:Round Tip]
[Include Retention Screw Wrench:No Thanks]
[Include Blade Plug:No Thanks]
[Include Saber Stand:No Thanks]
Hilt - 149
Blade Upgrade - 10
Button Upgrade - 15
Colour Disks - 2
Total - 174
So after the GRUELING 6 day wait (I'm mostly kidding,t eh shipping was way faster then we expected, I just wanted it like teleported to me instead) we did an unboxing video. If you are interested in checking that out
here ya go! First of all, I was very impressed with the packaging and how tightly everything was in the box. Woohoo. But who cares about that, on to my baby <3
So the Monarch is perfect. I don't have big hands, but the varying thicknesses along the hilt offer me a multitude of places to hold it. At first glance, one would assume the best or only place to hold it is at the thinnest part, the three rings near the bottom. While this is a good place, it is rather heavy for me there and I have yet to build up the strength. My actual preferred one-handed grip is all the way at the top of the handle. There is an indented ring that is a great resting point for my thumb and forefinger. This space allows me to easily do figure8s, but there is also enough space left on the hilt for a quick pull back into two-handed wielding. The best part about this grip is that the button ends up being right at my pinky and it is super easy to turn on ad off (maybe too easy since I turned it off in practice and didn't realize :/)
For those reading my review, I apologize for it being a tad bit all over the place. It might be a super biased review because I am so blinded by love but I really cannot recommend this hilt more to anyone who wants a little bit of diversity. It is pretty expensive for a first time but I regret nothing and I am actively saving up to buy a second so I can both duel wield and staff wield two monarchs. Also, if anyone is interested or might get the reference, my saber's name is Hotspur (or Percy when he isn't actively battling and being a little rebellious monster <3)
My Monarch next to whatever the hell saber my mate got along with the extension he can't use because it's a V2.
