Hello Everybody!
I’ve been pretty bored lately, and have decided to review all the Light-Sabers I own. I have already done a review on the Standard Issue V3, you can look at it here:
http://www.saberforum.com/index.php?topic=7830.0This review on the Initiate v3 with Sound will be more than just “How much I love it” and “Why I love it” We will go a little deeper and look this saber over from top to bottom. Let’s take a look at the stats:
[Blade LED Color:Consular Green]
[Blade Size:X-Long 36" Blade]
[Blade Option:UltraEdge]
[Pommel:Catalyst Pommel]
[Battery Configuration:Li-Ion Setup with BuckPuck]
[Sound:Yes, Obisidian USB Sound!]
[Flash on Clash:Flash Silver]
[Tip::Round Tip]
This is actually my younger brother’s saber; he is 11, so he is a smaller kid. The Initiate is the perfect saber to get a younger Jedi, but it is also a worthy weapon for a Master of any calling.I want to look at several things that differ from saber to saber.
Sound/Sound Sensor Board: All Ultra Sabers with sound added have the Obsidian Sound Board, a fine piece of technology that gives you’re saber sound, and if desired, Flash On Clash. A sensor will detect the movement you’re saber makes, and the hits you land. It will play the sounds accordingly. However, many times the sensor will need to be adjusted accordingly to fit your style, as everybody fights differently. The other thing though, is each Ultra Saber is different and unique in design. The Soundboard fits tightly into some sabers, while loosely into others. Example: The Soundboard on my Standard Issue is very lose, making the sound sloppy, and almost impossible to fully adjust. But, the Soundboard on my Overlord is so tight; it’s very hard to get it out of the saber to take out the batteries. The Soundboard on my overlord is tight and precise. I wish my Standard Issue had that. This is an important issue that I want to talk about.
Style: As I have already said, and will continue to say, each Ultra Saber is different enough that its worth mentioning. There is a large enough selection of sabers you can buy that you are bound to find the dream saber for you. The Grip you have on this saber falls into this category, along with how nice it looks, how it feels in your hand, things like that.
Quality: How the saber holds together. Is it durable? Can you fight as well with it as other sabers? Can you drop it without damaging it horribly? Would you use this weapon against a powerful Sith Lord? (Or Jedi Master)
Finally, we will look at the
Overall score of this saber. I will rate these categories on a 1 to 10. So let’s get to it.
The Soundboard: 9/10 As I mentioned above, this is very important to me; as it should be important to you. After all, you did play all that extra money for the sound, and if you paid even more money for Flash On Clash, then you really mean business. You are looking for a real light saber experience. You want to feel like you are wielding the same thing you see in the movie. If you hit another person’s light saber, you want the saber to flash and make a cool sound. You
DON’T want the saber to flash and make the flashing noise when you are only simply swinging it around. Just like when you
are, swinging the saber around, then you want the motion sounds.
Now I fully understand that this is the “real world” and we have to rely on a sensor to do this for us. But again, we spent all that money, we should be able to get it very close.
On the Initiate however, this is not so much an issue! I am driven nuts by these problems on my Standard Issue, but not on the Initiate! The Soundboard does not shake around, so I’ve gotten the sound down to a science! It’s relatively easy to add your own Sound Fonts and adjust the sensitivity of the Saber. Sure you may have to make a few tweaks here and there, but you shouldn’t have to spend hours trying to get a good sound, like on my Standard Issue.
So, sound is not an issue with this saber. I think another reason why the sound is so precise could possibly be the smallness of the saber hilt. What I mean by this is that you have more control over the saber. You have a precise grip of the hilt; you are in complete control of your blade strokes.
Style: 6/10 You can log onto Ultra Sabers and look at this saber. It’s a $60 hilt, it looks slick and smooth and pretty sweet. But then, you can scroll down and look at a saber around $150 dollars. Why is the saber that’s $150 dollars so much more money? There are several reasons, but the main reason is
Style. It just is. Even though an extra $100 bucks can buy you a nicer styling saber, that doesn’t mean the Initiate doesn’t have its own beauty. While she may not win 1st place in a beauty contest, she certainly won’t place last.
As I have mentioned already, this is a smaller shorter saber. It makes it easy to wield with 1 hand, or even use a second Initiate to Duel Wield. If you have big hands, using both hands to grip the saber may be a little trickier, but you can still do it. The Grip on this saber is perfect. Right below the button; you have complete control of the saber. If you are a Makashi user, this may be the saber for you.
The grip is somewhat stylish, and there are some simple circle lines going around the saber to add some depth. Anyone can look at the saber and see it’s made of real metals, and that it is not a cheap Walmart toy, But the Initiate is one of the cheapest sabers you can buy on Ultra Sabers. It wasn’t made for style. It was made for quality.
Quality: 10/10 If there’s one thing Ultra Sabers has managed to do, it’s been making high quality sabers that you can use to fight with. And I mean
FIGHT with. I love wearing a light saber out in public. I wear it proud, because even a blind person can see the power of the light saber. This may also go under style, but this is true with any Ultra Saber!
Anyway, this is a very nice saber quality wise. It is durable, it holds the blade of choice in very well, and once you take it out into a fight, you know that this weapon is your life.While you don’t want to drop it too hard, this saber is fit. If treated right it will last you years.
Overall: 8/10 Overall this is a really great saber. I have told you many things about it, and I hope if you are considering getting a light saber, (or another one) you will consider getting the Initiate.
I would recommend this saber if you are a youngling, if you have smaller hands, if you like to duel wield, or use one hand only. This saber is not as good for using two hands to fight, and using a reverse grip isn’t as great on this saber as it is on the Aeon.
If you want to buy a light saber, but are on a tight budget, I cannot say enough good things about this saber. I would recommend it over the Aeon, the Standard Issue, and even the the Dominix. You don’t have to buy a $150 dollar hilt to be happy. Buy this $60 dollar hilt instead, and save your money for something else. I honestly prefer fighting with this saber over my Overlord. The Overlord is a $140 dollar saber!
I hope you guys enjoyed this review! Normally I would post pictures and/or a video to go with it, but for once I feel like I don’t need to. The pictures you can find on Ultra Sabers are actually really good! You can get a good look at the saber already.
Happy Sabering!
May the Force be with you
