Saber Forum

Hi!  I should preface this by saying that this might be kind of a ramble.  I'm pretty tired. 

Anyway, as some of you may know, Ultrasabers had a vendors booth at Dragoncon in Atlanta GA.  I haven't been keeping up with Ultrasabers much since their PVC days, and I must say, their metal sabers are pretty impressive in person.  The one I was most intrigued by was something that I was certain was tagged as "Initiate LE V4 w/ vents".  I wasn't able to get the saber, or a picture, but from memory, the emitter looked something like this
(http://i.imgur.com/7OccOkB.png)
While the rest of the saber looked much like an LE V3 initiate.

Unfortunately, I didn't have time to wait in the line, but seeing that hilt solidified my decision to get a new saber.  Thing is, when I went to the website today, I couldn't find a V4 initiate at all, just V3's.

Was this a "Just for the Con" thing?  Could they have been releasing the initiate V4 early there?  Did I misread the tag?  What's goin' on, here?

There are a few new version that US has been leaking lately. So it was likely a preview of a soon-to-be-released Saber.  As of now they only go up to V3's.  If that is what caught your eye, I would hold off and hopefully a reveal will be coming soon on them. Until then, joint he rest of us drooling.

Just like after seeing Julmax review of the new prototype ;) :
http://www.saberforum.com/index.php?topic=21174.0 (http://www.saberforum.com/index.php?topic=21174.0)

That could be the emitter JulMax reviewed with vents...

Oh wow....

Looks like it, yeah!

Interesting.  The one that Julmax reviewed was a solid, one piece body, not a removable, MHS emitter.  The picture in the rendering posted here looks more like an MHS piece, sorta like the Overlord emitter a bit.  I suppose it's possible that either:

1.  US has decided to cut windows into the one piece hilt (or a similar one) emitter that Julmax received.  That would explain why they gave away 2 of them.  Perhaps they changed the final design and added the windows, thus making the models without windows "not for sale" and good grab bag/prize fodder.
2.  US has decided to make the Initiate into a completely MHS compatible hilt for the future, which would be KILLER!  Imagine being able to change out the emitter on an Initiate; so cool!  Of course this is the first speculative mention that I've seen on the forums about it, but if you compare the current Initiate V3 to the hilt that Julmax received, there are a lot of differences.  Initiate is more curvy (I always say that they look like a lady, haha) and smooth, whereas Julmax's new hilt has more of a straight profile to it, but with more pronounced machined grooves to it.

I nearly ordered up an extra Initiate LE V3 today with my order just to try one out.  Now, I'm glad that I didn't, haha.  I'll hold off for a while until they begin introducing some new hilts.  I'm predicting a lightsaber Christmas this year! ;D

Edit:  Oh, and on a side note, and no offence intended, but that rendering of the emitter looks a little like Oscar the Grouch's trash can.

I don't recall the emitter being removable, but it appeared as though you could choose between having vents, or no vents.  Also, yes, the rendering totally looks like a trash can.  Looks a lot more elegant in person.

Did it by chance look similar to this?
 http://s1376.photobucket.com/user/julmax/media/sa03_zps5d246ae3.jpg.html (http://s1376.photobucket.com/user/julmax/media/sa03_zps5d246ae3.jpg.html)

I bought the Dark Initiate v4 while at DragonCon. It has vents, but they don't look like your drawing. Mine looks like this (http://i.imgur.com/G3vO5Ka.jpg)

Hope that this is what you were asking about.

It did, indeed, look very similar to that.

Nah, the one I saw looked different, but that does look pretty cool.  Did they make that one to order, or did you get it from the shelf o' sabers?

On reflection, the emitter you have in the drawing looks a lot like a Scorpion emitter without the claw...

They pulled it out of a box and assembled it. Totally stock.

I saw BOTH of these at Dragon Con.....I think one is looked upon as an Initiate LE V4 and the other is I believe is like the Dark Initiate ......Like I said both were avialable at the Ultrasabers booth during Dragon Con...they just felt small in my hands.....but A LOT of people were snapping these two up pretty fast.

It does look a bit like that in that the vents are very similar, but the shape is off.  After seeing those pictures of the "Leaked" saber, I'm now almost 100% sure it's the same emitter as that one, but with vents.

Well, that seals the deal.  That's my next planned purchase.  :-)

Leaked photos!  Wow!  More pics!!!  I almost bought an Initiate V3 yesterday.   Glad I waited.

It's a trap!!

That new Initiate design looks pretty cool. I actually like it. Would you say its a bit longer than the V3 or same size?

I recall it being roughly the same size as the V3, but I didn't compare them side by side.  :-\

If and/or when the V4 Initiates are released... I may have to pick up two Dark LE stunts and switch out the 4ch Emerald drivers from my existing V3's :D

Just that choke point makes me want to get an Initiate V4 saber. :P Or maybe that's the final design of both? Did the Aeon/Dominix V4 sabers also look like that? Or were the emitters more solid without windows but still with that choke point?

Interesting, very interesting. I believe that the Manticore was a convention 'exclusive' for some time prior to it being released through the website. Looks like US are doing something similar here.

Those hilts do look gorgeous. I have a feeling my wife might be interested in one of these...

Hi, its my first time posting on the forums!

I believe my girlfriend purchased the initiate v4 with the vents you are describing at Wizard World Chicago. This was our first time seeing ultrasabers so we had no idea this saber wasn't available online yet. I actually discovered this thread because she said she wants another to make it a staff at some point, but we couldn't find it on the website.

Here's a picture of it
(http://i.imgur.com/sGFKd9A.jpg)

Well, that it...  I will definitely be waiting until the release of the V4 before picking up any more Initiates.  This also makes me all but certain that the prototype I have is in fact an Aeon V4.

That looks great!  Any chance you could post the dimensions?

Now that I really like

It's about 10 inches long and 5inches around. Feels pretty good, about the same as my dominix v3 but shorter and slightly lighter. So I assume its very similar to the initiate v3? Just with a new design. Here's some more pics of it. If anyone has any more questions about it, I will try to answer them to the best of my ability!

(http://i.imgur.com/1XifbHm.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/qqiS5rE.jpg)

Super sweet new look for the V4 models. These will definitely elevate the craftsmanship of the entry sabers and if they stay at the same price point it will certainly be a hit. Bravo to US for the new aesthetics of these beauties.

That is SWEET!  Now if they just add those slots to the Aeon V4 prototype that JulMax has...  ;-)

Personally, unless I was using two of them in a permanent staff configuration, I would rather not have the windows.  From personal experience, that is the primary wielding point for the saber and would imagine the slots making it rather uncomfortable to spin.

Yeah, I was thinking that windows on the hilt that Julmax got wouldnt make sense because it appears that would be your forward hand position.  Doesn't make sense to put windows on a hilt if you are going to cover the windows with your forward hand.  Im wondering if the Julmax hilt is not going into production and perhaps thats why it was given out.

(https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?ui=2&ik=b2187c9520&view=fimg&th=1494a88a78368f0d&attid=0.1&disp=inline&safe=1&attbid=ANGjdJ8io6IQgCZQ8Bg1R-KL7wsn7BeQuEjZkvL8BmK8rumu3htlFuP5kknXH5Fn5l3aqN6ndBtSVmquXpx_2sVxNvXvAyCyAqTns8soXMyD6cN1ouFoI3-b8HE9gA0&ats=1414294809413&rm=1494a88a78368f0d&zw&sz=w1246-h513)

(https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?ui=2&ik=b2187c9520&view=fimg&th=1494a88e818451e6&attid=0.1&disp=inline&safe=1&attbid=ANGjdJ-AGSOquili9-x5CV8kmEsM67olWSnR9VT-vcL7CbSxY2i7wphkCZMEz4WjaVseOJjw4ypGSMg3gI94Pcu9EIcFJWQqOVSFRxwSVPUYlYok3kGyO7DGb00Do7Y&ats=1414295147279&rm=1494a88e818451e6&zw&sz=w1246-h513)
 Initiate LE V3 next to my Initiate LE V4?? with out vents

You're pics wont show up. Try using Photobucket and IMG link. It'll work better. Would love to see your pics.

(http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e32/bbfd79/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zps29426230.jpg~original) (http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e32/bbfd79/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zps7342c509.jpg~original)
Here it is again with photobucket, hopefully it will show up this time.

I'm hoping that without the distinctive tapering around the switch section, the new V4's(?) will all be Emerald capable.  I love the design of the Aeon (reason I bought one as my first saber) but not being able to do both emerald and obsidian is a downside.  I love going all out and fully loading up a very basic hilt.

Now, the big question, as always...

When will these be available for us to order???

They are available now :)

Video of the new V4 range
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LxyzNxV8jM (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LxyzNxV8jM)

The V4 looks a lot like a MHS compatible V2... without the curved dents in above and below the switch like the V3, it looks a tad bit shorter- unless you compare it side-by-side.

Not that I have a problem with the V2, I actually was thinking of having that as a support, since I was planning on having the V3's as dual-weilders, and a Dominix LE as my 2H.

Hey Julmax, wondering, since you have so many sabers, which one you think (please redirect me to a post of yours if you did talk about it already :D) are best to duel with? As you know I bought the scorpion and have 2 initiates, I love my scorpion, but it was obvious right away that it wouldn't be easy to duel with... looking for the archon which I believe would be lighter, but maybe initiates are those you prefer since they are so light???

Thanks

Hi Marty great to hear from you..  I think that your new Initiates would be quite durable for more active one-handed sparring.  A longer pommel on the Initiates feels good and solid and accommodates two hands.   I prefer longer hilts as I spar two-handed using one saber.  And I like the longer hilt, blade and some pommel counterbalance.  For example an Aeon with a 36" HG blade and a Shock Pommel.  So this makes for a long slim saber with some good (for my grip) choke points.  The blade length may be too long for my height but I like to maintain a distance away from my opponent.  Anyone I presently spar with is mainly doing it for fun with minimal combat or martial arts experience so we use MG blades.

I have not yet used my sound sabers for this and I have never dueled using both hands.  If I had to, would use an Aeon or Dx with a 32" or perhaps 30" in my dominant hand and an Initiate with a 24" blade in the other.  An Initiate staff with the vented longer coupler would be my first choice with one 30" and one 26" blade.  And I've got to be able to use some flourish spin techniques to appear to be more proficiently deadly.  I don't pay much attention to optimal balance.  I'm really enjoying the v2 versions of An/Dx and Initiates, but only for spinning so far.

My other choices are the Prophecy, Standard Issue (with hilt wrap) and the Manticore with a Consular emitter.   The Archon is a nice looking hilt with clean lines but I would go with the shorter, stouter Consular emitter on it.  See ya.   ;)

Thanks for your ideas. I do love the archon the way it is so no doubt I will order it as is, you are right this emitter is long, so it is a great idea to play with emitters for combat purposes, that would suit me just fine. I actually do enjoy the V4 initiates hilt length, for spinning at least.

@Mynaras, your saber is completely different than the recent released V4's. Maybe that was a whole other proto saber? Or change of design on final release?

From what I've seen, it appears US had two designs they were deciding between for the new V4's. James Casey received a full size version of that one as a raffle prize. I think overall they made the right decision on the V4 design they chose judging purely on aesthetics since I haven't held either one of them.