Spin Novice Seeking Guidance

[Darth Asinus]

My friends and I are starting a saber troupe in town and I can already forsee myself breaking one of the cheap sabers with sound and subsequently my heart.. so I'd like to get a good stunt saber. My end goals are to do dual saber spinning (Kar Kai), some staff spinning, and lastly sparring.

Logic tells me I should get a single hilt now and a standard length heavy blade to maximize durability until both arms are used to orbits, then a coupler and two 24" blades down the road with a second hilt.

Are there any good suggestions to make this dream a reality? Would I be happier with two 10" hilts like the initiate/dark initiate v4? Or knowing it's going to be a staff aswell at some point would two 12" hilts like the aeons/dominix's be better suited for my needs?

I dont have a lot of spare cash and I'm sincerely scared of getting burned. Any suggestions or thoughts on the matter would mean the world to me.

Thank you for your time. ;-;

[Darth Asinus]

Also wondering if I would be happier with AAA powered sabers or li-ion...

Again, please excuse my ignorance. ;-;

[Infinit01]

I go with lithium ions myself since you use less batteries and the battery holder is a lot tougher than the AAA one

[Tai Chi Chuan Wijchen]

Heavy grade and stunt yes, I can understand your choice.
If you're wondering what the length's will be. I made a list of all the hilts and added up the blade length so you can compare. Double the size and you've got a good estimate of the lenght of a staff with a flush coupler.
List can be found in one of the last posts here: http://www.saberforum.com/index.php?topic=4779.90

I'm 2.03m, I think that is about 6 foot 7, 6 foot 8, and I can wield a Aeon/Dominix in staff-setup with a 36" blade, but to be honest 32"is way more comfortable.

The Aeon's v3 or v4 are brilliant sabers for spinning, Sentinels come second (IMHO) Balancing them out with a different pommel is an option, good for more easy spinning, bad for your wallet

If you're scared of dropping and breaking you're sabers, and believe me you will, you could think about making a dummy saber out of a wooden staff and some old bicycle-tires. I did that for my students and my own training, so we can safely practice the more difficult spins and throws, without damaging the sabers. I've made the practice sabers in a way that they've got the same balancepoint as a 'normal' saber. If you'd like I'll try and take a picture tomorrow or the day after.
I got the idea from looking at contactstaff-juggling. And made it into my own little design.