Hi all - I received my Aeon LE V3 last week and wanted to use it for a while before posting any review. There are plenty of unboxing videos so I figure you dont need to see that part.
I also dont have a good way to make videos by myself so this review will be just text (how do we attach pics here?). So, here goes:
I was very pleased with the initial look and feel of the hilt. Its well made, looks great and feels excellent in hand. For those wondering about size, IMO unless you have particularly small hands I think these 12" or so hilts are perfect for handling, spinning, etc. I almost ordered a shorter hilt but GLAD I didnt. I went with the medium/basic 32" blade since I dont need an HD blade for combat at this point. Overall its very light....lighter than I expected which is mostly good(more on that later). It balances nicely in my hand right at the top-most chokepoint(there are two).
The blade is pretty basic but looks good and I did go with the TRI Fire Orange. Its bright and very uniform! I love the shade of orange too - its not too red or too yellowish. Its like Fire orange. LOVE the brightness and I highly recommend the $15 upcharge for the TRI colors. The light is more uniform & evenly distributed than on my other saber which is from a company that starts with a "K".
. So A++ on the TRI LED, color balance and brightness! Its AWESOME.
The battery pack came with batteries already in there and they were taped in really good. I used an exacto to carefully extract them and replaced them with some Energizer Lithiums. This battery pack thing is a little concerning only because I worry that after several battery changes you might wear out a wire or whatever but we'll have to see. The unit does come out easy and also goes back easy enough. The pommel bit holds things in there good enough from what I can tell. During some spinning sessions I did have a few batteries come loose and the saber was shutting off on me. So, I took the pack out and used small rubber bands to help hold them in which has helped so far. IMO, I dont expect the world at this price point but to me Id prefer a real chassis or some way to keep the batteries more secure. Not a huge deal but not optimal. I prefer the battery(rechargeable installed with charge port) setup on my "K" saber as it is a better system.
I went with the Lite Sound board and it gets the job done for what it is. Not too loud which is fine with me. It wont get many "ooohs and ahhhs" but it makes sound and I like the effects you get to trigger with the button press. I wish you could silence it but again, this price point isnt going to give you everything.
Im primarily a "spinner" and so far Im generally happy with it. It spins nicely and has a nice feel to it. It allows good flows and is the right size for me. Im not thrilled with the activation switch's location since Ill end up hitting it quite often which triggers sounds and what not but most sabers have this issue. Someone has to make a pure spinning saber that protects the switch completely when spinning. Not a big deal though. The lightness did take some getting used to. Sometimes I almost wish it were a tad heavier since a little extra weight helps spins complete easier since more weight equals more inertia = saber does more of the work. Still its a good spinner.
Overall? Its a VERY nice entry level saber and I can easily recommend it to someone looking to get into the hobby without spending too much. It has an amazingly bright blade with the TRI LED and the color is just perfect. The feel and overall quality are excellent. The lite sound board did fine for entry level use. My only real gripe is the battery pack and the battery change system which to me is a little kludgey but nothing is perfect. NICE JOB, UltraSabers!!! I will be ordering another at some point for sure.
