Here we go, round 2 of writing this review. First go around I timed out my sign in right before hitting post. This is a fully text based review, no pictures at this time. I'm currently at work building a stand for my collection, and once that's done I'll update this and future reviews with pictures. Also, as this is my first review on this forum please be gentle
IntroductionI ordered this lightsaber around early 2017. I wanted to use it for my own personal use at a fight choreography workshop I was assisting at. I ordered it express two day shipping and the saber was at my house exactly two days later. Now THAT is what I call a positive start.
DisclosureI am not being paid in any way for this review by Ultrasabers or any other party. The opinions and thoughts be they positive or negative are mine and mine alone, no others.
With that said, let's get to the actual review.
HiltThe first thing you see when ordering this saber is the picture of the hilt. The picture on the website really does not do this one justice: it's big. Not bulky, mind you, but rather long. That's not necessarily a bad thing, in fact for some it is a good or even great thing. Personally my preference is towards smaller hilts that aren't as long, or those that promote my hands being closer together. Around three finger widths apart is a good space for me.
The Dominix hilt is one piece of aluminum. The emitter is not removable. I ordered my emitter to have cut out windows so that light from the LED can shine through, which is very aesthetically pleasing.
The hilt features several choke points and areas that promote various grips, enough that just about everyone can be satisfied. It is comfortable in just about any grip at any of those positions.
LEDI'll admit I'm not very good with electronics. I'm fairly competent with a computer but when it comes to soldering and electronics I'm a neanderthal. With that said my saber's LED functions fine and does it's job. I chose Blazing Red as my blade color with orange flash on clash. If I were to order a new one today I would probably choose Green or Silver for the flash so it shows up better. The orange does look nice however.
Sound BoardAgain, I'm not a technical wizard. From my experience the soundboard and speaker have functioned fine for almost a year, and have stood up to use during that period. During this timeframe I actually haven't sat down to truly learn what I can do with my soundboard, and have yet to load a custom font onto my saber. My favorite soundfont that comes loaded on it however is the
Blackstar soundfont.
Now, I do have a slight personal issue with how the board, batteries, and speaker are housed in the hilt. It is rather unceremonious and even silly to sit there and shake the hilt in order for the speaker to come out enough that I can reach in and carefully pull the guts out to access things. If they could be attached to something solid or even housed in something like a chassis I would not mind paying extra for such a thing. Having a little fabric tab beside the speaker to pull down so I could access the internals would be amazing. With that said the current set up works fine.
BladeHere's a part that I'm not too happy about. It's in no way Ultrasaber's fault or doing, it's my own inexperience. I do not care for the 36" heavy grade blade at all. It over powers the hilt and brings the balance too far forward for my liking. It makes the whole saber very choppy, very sword like in it's handling, and I would prefer it not handle that way. Because the hilt is so long and the blade is so long I do have trouble handling it sometimes. The first and second stage parries are downright difficult to do as it is, let alone with the saber fighting me to get to those positions, especially at a performance speed.
I'll update this portion of the review when I have a 32" midgrade and heavy grade blade to compare it with. I'm predicting I will be significantly happier with those.
Now, why did I never order a replacement you say? Well because it's not as massive an issue as my text here may make it to seem. Functionally it's fine, it's just my preference for how I would like things. Besides, at the time I did not have a dedicated place to store these lightsabers, and so ordering extra parts or pieces for them seemed counter intuitive. Now things are different, and I will not only be expanding my collection but I will actively make those I have fit within my personal preferences.
Closing CommentsIn closing I like this saber. Very much so in fact. I try not to make my written reviews sound like a raving lunatic or someone who only points out the good. Trust me, there's far more good with this saber than the few minor things I've pointed out here in my review, and best of all every single one of my criticisms is a personal thing and highly subjective, so you may not feel that way about certain things such as the blade length or balance!
Ultrasabers did a very nice job on this saber. If it weren't for me holding it back it would be very nice indeed. Ultrasabers has earned themselves a customer for sure.
This has to be the coolest flashlight I've ever owned
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