Help pick my next hilt

[Maestro Jones]

I'm torn on what to get next.  I plan on placing an order this week but can't decide between hilts.  My main qualifications are:

- Solid silver
- Emitter needs to hold the blade securely (more Menance, less Archon 3.1)
- Comfortable in hand with very little "extra bits" (screws, boxes, etc).  My slimmest sabers are my Dark Sentinel LE v4 and Dominix v3, with the thickest being probably the Guardian or the Archon 3.1 (maybe my Bane based Frankensaber).  All feel fine in my hand.  Even my wife's Fulcrum and Lost Grey feel fine in my hand.

It would be nice to have windows in the emitter, but it is not necessary. 

Here are my contenders (in alpha order):

Catalyst
Sentinel v5
Manticore CE (in high polish silver)
The Monarch (in high polish silver)

I plan on ordering Friday around noon CST, so just put your vote in a reply.  This will be my saber for the school's "Star Wars" club I am planning to start, so I want to pick a good one that goes along with our school mascot and color (Knights and purple and silver).  I think all of these would fit the bill, but I can't decide.  Damn you, Ultra Sabers!  Why do you have to make so many great hilts?

[KaiserSosay]

There is a thread about the Catalyst you should check out if you really consider that saber. The emitter houses the led, so you can not remove the emitter without heavy modifications.  The emitter only grips about an inch of the blade, causing longer blades to wobble.

 The Manticore is a great saber! One of my favorites. It is tied for first with my war glaive.

Not on your list but, the war glaive without claws is also a great duelling saber. It is nice and slim with no boxes or extra ornamentation.  It has a great choke point, that is a little thicker the the Catalyst. I can not recommend it enough.

 From your list, I say the Manticore.  The two I didn't mention, I have no experience with.


Good luck with your decision.

That thread is titled,  "Catalyst emitter compatibility" .

[Illyiss]

Arbiter.

[Malik Thanewulf]

The Manticore is a great saber. Can't go wrong there. I however am a big fan of the Monarch. The silver version will stand out from the rest of your collection and in your group. I will be getting my nickel plated Monarch Wednesday. So I will be better able to speak about it  then.

[Maestro Jones]

Arbiter.

The Arbiter is a little longer than I like.  I know the Sentinel v5 is only a little shorter, but I also plan to put a shorter pommel on it.

There is a thread about the Catalyst you should check out if you really consider that saber. The emitter houses the led, so you can not remove the emitter without heavy modifications.  The emitter only grips about an inch of the blade, causing longer blades to wobble.

 The Manticore is a great saber! One of my favorites. It is tied for first with my war glaive.

Not on your list but, the war glaive without claws is also a great duelling saber. It is nice and slim with no boxes or extra ornamentation.  It has a great choke point, that is a little thicker the the Catalyst. I can not recommend it enough.

 From your list, I say the Manticore.  The two I didn't mention, I have no experience with.


Good luck with your decision.

That thread is titled,  "Catalyst emitter compatibility" .

The War Glaive without the claws is tempting, but I'm not a fan of the holes left by the missing claws. 

Thanks for the tip on the "Catalyst emitter compatibility" thread.

My wife likes the Manticore, but then again she likes them all.  She's no help at all in this matter.  I've wanted a Monarch for a while as it is a unique shape.  I also like the detail and styling on the Sentinel v5.  I think I'd be happy with any, but since I can't decide I will leave it up to the Collective (wrong franchise, but you get the idea).

[Malik Thanewulf]

My Monarch arrives Wednesday! I will take pictures and shamelessly plug the Monarch. My setup, with the magnificent nickel plating,  may convince you to join the Monarch brotherhood!.

[Karmack]

I'm torn on what to get next.  I plan on placing an order this week but can't decide between hilts.  My main qualifications are:

- Solid silver
- Emitter needs to hold the blade securely (more Menance, less Archon 3.1)
- Comfortable in hand with very little "extra bits" (screws, boxes, etc).  My slimmest sabers are my Dark Sentinel LE v4 and Dominix v3, with the thickest being probably the Guardian or the Archon 3.1 (maybe my Bane based Frankensaber).  All feel fine in my hand.  Even my wife's Fulcrum and Lost Grey feel fine in my hand.

It would be nice to have windows in the emitter, but it is not necessary. 

Here are my contenders (in alpha order):

Catalyst
Sentinel v5
Manticore CE (in high polish silver)
The Monarch (in high polish silver)

I plan on ordering Friday around noon CST, so just put your vote in a reply.  This will be my saber for the school's "Star Wars" club I am planning to start, so I want to pick a good one that goes along with our school mascot and color (Knights and purple and silver).  I think all of these would fit the bill, but I can't decide.  Damn you, Ultra Sabers!  Why do you have to make so many great hilts?

I have a Dark Catalyst, its amazingly comfortable and with the 32" standard blade it is secure, but with HG or longer 36" blade it can be a little wobbly.  I also have a dark Sentinel V5, I love it, but honestly it only feels balanced when I have the War Glaive pommel attached to add some weight.

In all honestly, if you're looking for a great match I'd think hard about an Aeon V4 with windows.  Its extremely comfortable, looks great in silver, and it has windows.   :-)   Its far more comfortable as a dueler than a Sentinel, the Sentinel's windows are rather severe on the hands.

[chalion]

I'm torn on what to get next.  I plan on placing an order this week but can't decide between hilts.  My main qualifications are:

- Solid silver
- Emitter needs to hold the blade securely (more Menance, less Archon 3.1)
- Comfortable in hand with very little "extra bits" (screws, boxes, etc).  My slimmest sabers are my Dark Sentinel LE v4 and Dominix v3, with the thickest being probably the Guardian or the Archon 3.1 (maybe my Bane based Frankensaber).  All feel fine in my hand.  Even my wife's Fulcrum and Lost Grey feel fine in my hand.

It would be nice to have windows in the emitter, but it is not necessary. 

Here are my contenders (in alpha order):

Catalyst
Sentinel v5
Manticore CE (in high polish silver)
The Monarch (in high polish silver)

I plan on ordering Friday around noon CST, so just put your vote in a reply.  This will be my saber for the school's "Star Wars" club I am planning to start, so I want to pick a good one that goes along with our school mascot and color (Knights and purple and silver).  I think all of these would fit the bill, but I can't decide.  Damn you, Ultra Sabers!  Why do you have to make so many great hilts?

Of your choices, I have the Sentinel (LE) v5, The Manticore (not CE version) and The (Dark) Monarch. Of the 3, The Monarch is the most comfortable for me to weild. It lends itself to one or 2 hand use and you can "choke up" to the emitter since it has just a slight lip that lends your hand somewhere to stop against before falling further up the emitter. The Sentinel v5 has the windows that if not altered, can cause minor injury because the edges of the windows are a bit sharp. A file can be used to smooth them, but out of the box they are rough on the hands. The Monarch is bigger than it looks, and wider - wider than The Guardian is. The emitter is also shallower than it looks, about 1 inch deep, so a longer blade may wobble a bit during use.

I do not own a Catalyst. When I found out about the emitter construction in conjunction with the LED module I took that one off my wish list. I would have immediately switched that emitter IF I purchased one, but the way it's built denies that option.

suggestion. One lightsaber not on your list is one I was surprised when I got one on a mystery box: A Reaper.  I know the claws give it a distinctive look, but if you lose the emitter, pommel & neck shroud, or just removed the claws, it's really slim. If I still had mine, I would show you how it looks compared to the others.

[S2mikey]

I have a Dark Catalyst, its amazingly comfortable and with the 32" standard blade it is secure, but with HG or longer 36" blade it can be a little wobbly.  I also have a dark Sentinel V5, I love it, but honestly it only feels balanced when I have the War Glaive pommel attached to add some weight.

In all honestly, if you're looking for a great match I'd think hard about an Aeon V4 with windows.  Its extremely comfortable, looks great in silver, and it has windows.   :-)   Its far more comfortable as a dueler than a Sentinel, the Sentinel's windows are rather severe on the hands.

I have the AEON L4(NO windows) and it is a fabulous saber for spinning .  I started a thread a while back about the windows in the hilts and how they effect spinning.  Most replies claimed that it can be an issue so I went with the L4 instead and tend to avoid windows in my hilts.  But if works for ya then great!

[Darth Logos]

Manticore SE

[Malik Thanewulf]

Here's a quick look at my raffle entries. The nickel plated Monarch stands out. I really like it's color, weight and the comfort factor. I can easily use it with one hand.

http://imgur.com/gallery/ffTyCUP

[Zren Tobas]

Archon V2.1 also makes a great dueling saber, nothing really getting in the way, I love mine =]

[Noganator]

Of my 6 sabers, Manticore is by far my favorite - great feel, size, and look. Definitely worth getting with the Emerald driver.

[Maestro Jones]

So, I picked my hilt, placed the order, won a raffle prize with the entry, and received it today.  Presenting...
THE MONARCH - a hilt truly worthy of a knight (that's our school's mascot.  I'm still working on getting approval for a Star Wars club.  My band students want it so we may just do it without approval).


Polished Aluminum
Diamond Board
The current setup is as follows:
VA with the values at B=128 and R=40, shimmering to BVA with values at B=128 and R=25, and a pulse time of 1.  These values (except for the pulse time) were like this when I plugged the saber into the US Launcher.  These are not the standard VA and BVA values.  These are the values I posted in a different thread regarding VA and BVA colors.  Either US changed their values or someone saw this thread and preset the values for me.
FOC is AS.

I appreciate everyone's advice and takes on the different hilts I was looking at.  I like all of the hilts and will probably add all of them to my arsenal at some time.  

[chalion]

Great choice. Congratulations.