Buying my first custom saberstaff

[808Reece]

This is my first time buying a lightsaber and I wanted to buy a saberstaff to my 10 year anniversary of being cancer free and my wish to go to Disney World to meet the characters. But I have a limited budget and want one with sound. Any suggestions will be really appreciated. Thanks

[firehand10k]

Look in the double blade section or at the Dominicide. Even with the doubles you can choose just sound equipped in one to save money.

[Tai Chi Chuan Wijchen]

And try to keep your own height/length in mind.

I really like the Aeon v4's in a staff setup (Phantasm v4) but the hilts are longer than the initiates or apprentices. And although being 6'7 (or I really prefer the 32"blades
If you want to know the exact length of a staff. Take a look in this thread (I think 3rd post from the top down):
http://www.saberforum.com/index.php?topic=4779.90
I put a link to a pdf there with all the measurements of the hilts (with different bladelength). Just double the size and substract 1 inch for the use of a standard flush coupler.

I can't advise on sound since I don't own one. But alot of other peaple here do and probably will add to the other repleis, just keep in mind that a coupler with vents is advised when adding sound.

[Galef]

I always check out "budget" options when I can, and in my research, I've come to a few conclusions:

1) Doubles sabers are cheaper than 2 singles when you DON'T opt for sound and plan to bump Initiate/Apprentice options to 32/36" Heavy baldes since you only pay once for those upgrades rather than for each blade. For the length, I'd always go this route for STUNT sabers since the hilt is a good length and the upcharge to 32" blades and/or Heavy Grade is the same as a single, but applied to both (so basically half price)

2) Double sabers only have Premium Sound option, which while still cheaper than getting 2 single sabers with Premium sound, is still way more than 2 singles with Basic Sound.  So you'd probably be better off getting 2 single sabers with Basic sound and a coupler separately.

3) Or better yet, you could get 1 Saber with Basic Sound and another Saber of the same hilt in Stunt (no sound) configuration, then add a couple.  I've heard even the Basic Sound board is loud enough and sensitive enough for BOTH hilts when couplers.
The only thing you lose by doing this is the activation/deactivation sound on the Stunt saber, but if you activate both simultaneously, you won't notice.
This option will likely also save you about $100

Hope that helps

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[808Reece]

Thanks I will take all of this into consideration.

[Karmack]

Hey 808Reece!

Someone just pointed out that the Standard Issue saberstaff with sound is QUITE a bit cheaper than the other options.   I don't know why this is, but it is.  The Standard Issue is one of the most plain hilts, but as a staff it works well and the difference in price is pretty impressive.   It could be the difference between getting it with sound or not.

Another option is to order two single hilts and a coupler as separate items, and get one hilt with sound and one as a "stunt" without sound.   In staff mode the single card will provide sound for the whole staff, and it saves you quite a bit of money, which is important on a budget.   My first staff was built this way, and it worked just fine.  :-)

On blade length:  I am 6'4" and a big guy.   I've had more than one staff set up over the years.  I have coupled Initiate V4s, V3s, and Aeon V4s and V3s as well as two Standard Issues, two Catalyst sabers, and a dissimilar staff made up of an Aeon V3 and an Initiate V3.   Mostly I have used a flush vented coupler (adjustable) which I prefer over the quick disconnect coupler, though I have one of those as well and have used it as well.

On those configs I have had 24", 32" and 36" blades.   My favorite and most comfortable arrangement is two Initiate V3s with a flush vented coupler using AV switches and two 32" blades.  The hilt is long enough to use comfortably and the blades give you decent reach without being over-long or to short.  The whole thing is just over 6' long, so it is very nearly the same length as my bo staff.

I would heartily recommend this combo, though for $$$ reasons I would try different ways to build it - as a double-bladed hilt, as a pair of single-bladed hilts with one sounded and one stunt and a separate coupler, and compare them to the Standard Issue double-bladed with sound, which seems to be advertising a VERY reduced price at this time for some reason.

[Galef]

Hey 808Reece!

Someone just pointed out that the Standard Issue saberstaff with sound is QUITE a bit cheaper than the other options.   I don't know why this is, but it is.  The Standard Issue is one of the most plain hilts, but as a staff it works well and the difference in price is pretty impressive.   It could be the difference between getting it with sound or not.

Indeed, I discovered this.  You can also select the second hilt to not have sound AND to choose a lesser coupler (it comes stock with the QR)

If you choose the Standard issue Staff with premium Sound, don't select any "premium" colors, select "No Sound" in Hilt 2 and choose the standard coupler, it comes out UNDER $150!  Which cannot be right, but I just went through the prompts and got $139 and 1 hilt has Premium sound and the other has no sound, but the same Li-ion battery set-up

So until they "fix" this, getting a Standard issue v3 staff (the silver one, NOT the black one) and "deselecting" sound on one of the hilts is by far the cheapest staff with sound you can get

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[Karmack]

Indeed, I discovered this.  You can also select the second hilt to not have sound AND to choose a lesser coupler (it comes stock with the QR)

If you choose the Standard issue Staff with premium Sound, don't select any "premium" colors, select "No Sound" in Hilt 2 and choose the standard coupler, it comes out UNDER $150!  Which cannot be right, but I just went through the prompts and got $139 and 1 hilt has Premium sound and the other has no sound, but the same Li-ion battery set-up

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Yeah, I suspect it may have something to do with the lower popularity of the Standard Issue?   Or maybe its just a glitch.

I am VERY tempted to buy one.  If nothing else it would be worth it to harvest the internals....

[Galef]

As much as I like some of the more elaborate hilt designs, If I had to choose between a "blank/bland" hilts or an elaborate one they I though was ugly, I'd go with the bland one all day. There's so much customization opportunity with those.

When ever my boys are ready to get their sabers with sound, I really hope this "error" is still there so I can get them each a sound saber without breaking their allowance budget. Otherwise, they are going to have to be happy with Stunt sabers or take their chances on a Mystery box

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[Robyn_Goodfellow]

Hi I have two staffs -
a dark sentinel LE staff  with VA blades

https://www.instagram.com/p/B5-HzNSlkRv/?igshid=z4ynze6qjiqe

And a sentinel LE with consular green
https://www.instagram.com/p/B42DFn9Fp5a/?igshid=1rpc5gfxh3c3h

Weirdly, while I generally like sound for  my sabers, I prefer the staff without.  The green staff had sound  and I sold them in and purchased just the stunt version.  I absolutely LOVE my dark sentinel staff. I’m 5’7” and cut 36” blades down to 30”, so they don’t scrap in the floor when spinning.