Among a ginormous order of stunt sabers I recently made to help facilitate using lightsabers in my martial arts class, I got a few toys for myself to play around with. One is a Mantis that I already reviewed, and another is the Aeon LE v2 with RGB switches. The BLUF (Bottom-Line Up Front) is that I like the RGB switch, but I will probably only get 2 more sabers with the RGB setup. Why is that? And which ones are they? Keep reading to find out!
First off, I am not focusing on the Aeon v2. The saber is very utilitarian in nature. I am doing a review in the near future on the Initiates, Apprentices, Aeons, Dominixes, and Sentinels of the v2, v3, and v4 generations, so I will focus on the Aeon during that review. This is primarily about the RGB setup on the saber.
Positives:
- Cheapest way to get Yellow on an Ultrasaber (except maybe with color disks)
- Cheapest saber I've seen from any manufacturer that will let you swap colors
- Fastest saber to get to a specific color on the fly
- Subjective: The 3 switches look really badass
- Thin grip and perfectly balanced (where the blade meets the emitter is the center of balance)
- The colors seem brighter than the other stunt sabers I own, and the blue + green combo is especially gorgeous
Negatives:
- The buttons take up a bit of real estate and make it tough for your main hand to find a grip, except for right at the tip of the emitter
- Steep price ($90) for the addition of the two extra switches
- The Red LED is too powerful and the green LED is too weak. I see this in the new Diamond express as well. In the Diamond Express, the colors are balanced at 50% red, 75% blue, and 100% green. On both the diamond and the RGB, the "white" option has a pinkish hue to it.
- Not really a flaw, because it is technically correct in terms of what 100% red and 100% blue make in light, but I was expecting purple (like violet amethyst) and got fuscia instead.
- The Aeon v2 is not compatible with the other Ultrasabers pommels (I'll get into this more in a future review)
Overall, it's a pretty unique saber in my lineup. I enjoy it, and I will probably use it as my instructor saber when I'm leading classes with stunt sabers. I can easily go red if I want to be evil that day, or go with another combination depending on how I feel that day. Yellow is nice because I can be the only one with a yellow saber, but I like the light blue color as well.
I said I was only planning on getting 2 more RGB sabers. The main reason I'm not getting more than that (I have a problem, I know) is because $90 is, to my knowledge, the most expensive option Ultrasabers offers on their sabers that doesn't have a computer chip in it, and if I'm going to start spending money, I'm usually going to end up with a Diamond saber. I currently have stunts and diamonds, and my plan for the most part is to keep it that way. I can get 2 sentinel v4s for the price of an Aeon v2 RGB and have some money left over, and if I get anything besides red, green, or blue, then the sentinels will do it better.
However, there are 2 RGB sabers that I want. The first is another Aeon LE v2. I would like to make a staff of these. That would make for a unique staff. The other thing I want is a Bane RGB with Obsidian sound. I think it would have more room for the hands, and it is a fairly unique option (RGB with the master switch). This was a testbed to later get the RBG Bane if I liked the RGB Aeon.
Would I recommend this? Yes, under the following conditions:
- You really want a cheap yellow saber
- You want to be able to change colors on a whim
- You want a unique looking Ultrasaber
- You're like me and want a new toy to play with
This is not a saber I'd duel with and probably won't be a saber I do demonstrations with, but it is a cool saber nonetheless. I'm glad I got one, and if one interests you, I would say go get it!
