Biggest Bang for your Buck?

[Vysse]

I am looking to spend as little as possible to start with but I want to be able to easily upgrade to use the best electronics (including emerald boards and charging) this site has to offer. What are my best options to keep initial cost low? Also keep in mind I intend to buy 2 sabers for my cosplay so if it is cheaper to get two sabers together I am into that option. Thanks for any assists.

[Choco]

In my experience buying the saber fully upgraded from the start is cheaper then getting a cheap standard stunt saber to later send in for upgrades. You do have to pay for the extra shipping back and forth to perform the upgrade on top of the parts and cost to do the upgrade. You can Purchase and install the parts yourself if you have the know how and tools to do it.

As for cheap bang for buck sabers I would certainly suggest grab bags as a great option. The sabers you get most do support upgrading later if your heart is set on that path plus the hilt is random so you don't know what your getting which is part of the fun.

UltraSabers do have deals and raffles they do periodically so it may be wise to wait for one before placing an order on the fully upgraded saber as you could get a nice deal along with a chance at a free saber depending on what's going on.

[Vysse]

My only concern with waiting to long is the 2-3 week wait time. I am in need of these sabers before Comic-Con in July. As for getting a grab bag I am thinking getting the initiate hilt is technically cheaper because it comes with the blade? I am not looking for anything to fancy as far as hilt style just something that is either black or green(which I don't think they make but they should). As far as upgrading I am mainly wanting to be able to have the Emerald board (which I don't see the option to buy alone), the Obsidian sound board, the recharge port, and the clip to hang on my belt. So am I safe just buying the Dark Initiate v3 let's say to get all these? If necessary I will buy the blade with all my wanted options now but am curious if it'll fit inside that hilt. Thanks for the response.

[Choco]

My only concern with waiting to long is the 2-3 week wait time. I am in need of these sabers before Comic-Con in July. As for getting a grab bag I am thinking getting the initiate hilt is technically cheaper because it comes with the blade? I am not looking for anything to fancy as far as hilt style just something that is either black or green(which I don't think they make but they should). As far as upgrading I am mainly wanting to be able to have the Emerald board (which I don't see the option to buy alone), the Obsidian sound board, the recharge port, and the clip to hang on my belt. So am I safe just buying the Dark Initiate v3 let's say to get all these? If necessary I will buy the blade with all my wanted options now but am curious if it'll fit inside that hilt. Thanks for the response.

You can get a blade in the grab bag order for sure and a covertec wheel installed in your order. Ultrasabers does not sell a saber in a black blade however you can easily do green. The Initiate V3 is too small to support both Emerald and Obsidian sound at the same time which is why along with other sabers it appears on the stunt saber side in the emerald saber listings but not in the with sound listings. The same does go for other sabers so with those as well it's one or the other unfortunately.

My best advise is to look at the emerald sabers with sound and see which sabers support it as these sabers are the ones that have enough room inside for both emerald and sound.

[Vysse]

You can get a blade in the grab bag order for sure and a covertec wheel installed in your order. Ultrasabers does not sell a saber in a black blade however you can easily do green. The Initiate V3 is too small to support both Emerald and Obsidian sound at the same time which is why along with other sabers it appears on the stunt saber side in the emerald saber listings but not in the with sound listings. The same does go for other sabers so with those as well it's one or the other unfortunately.

My best advise is to look at the emerald sabers with sound and see which sabers support it as these sabers are the ones that have enough room inside for both emerald and sound.

Oh I meant Green hilt not blade color. That all seems like sound advice. Do you know if I'd be able to buy the additional upgrades separately and install them myself or would I need to send em in?

[Relan Tarel jedi kinght]

The Dark Initiate v3 is sound compatable or emerald compatable but not bolth because of the size of the inner diamater and also unless you want a short 24" blade you have to spesify to get a 32 or 36" .
 
As for cheeper? The d.initiate no sound with 59.99
Li-ion / buck puck & chager ( recomended)  35.00
32" midgrade blade.                                            10.00
Regular no sound pomel.                                       0.00
Covertech clip, and instilation                            24.00
And blade color.           0.00 standard      5.00 mixed
Brings you to a total of    139.00

At most for a grab bag you might spend 90$  
Some times you get a v2 saber but any of the other ones you get are upgradable to sound and well worth the randomness you might get a saber that you end up really loving the last grabbag I got was a d.liberator I never realy would have thaught about buying it but now I love it but I did so mutch custom work to it you'd never guess what it started life as.
So it boils down to how mutch do tou want to spend?
And I wouldn't worry about shipping times I've always gotten mine in about 8 days MAX!

Oh I meant Green hilt not blade color. That all seems like sound advice. Do you know if I'd be able to buy the additional upgrades separately and install them myself or would I need to send em in?

Yes you can buy the upgrades and do them your self I do on most of mine. The only thing that ultrasabers has not relesed for the diy guy is the emerald driver but I hope they do soon.

[Choco]

Oh I meant Green hilt not blade color. That all seems like sound advice. Do you know if I'd be able to buy the additional upgrades separately and install them myself or would I need to send em in?

as Mentioned above most upgrades you can purchase separately and install yourself if you have the tools and know how to do it. Some upgrades are not available like the emerald board and 4 channel LED so I would assume at the moment for that you would need to send in to Ultrasabers for them to upgrade it for you.

and Relan makes an excellent point as well.

[Vysse]

I think I will just go for a grab bag then. Thanks guys

[Relan Tarel jedi kinght]

You won't be disapointed no matter what you get

[Zren Tobas]

Grab Bag. You could end up with 2 different sabers. If its a Sith/Jedi pair going I say Blazing Red, Arctic or Guardian Blue, or Consular Green for sure. =]

[scraver]

Don't be concerned by the wait time. They put up a long turn around to allow for "problems". I'm outside the United States and received my 'Saber within 6 days of ordering.

[Kresnik]

My suggestion - if this is your first adventure in the sabering world. I would not buy a saber with the hopes of upgrading it. 

Mainly because, as others have pointed out it is much more costly to have to send it back in or to do the upgrades yourself if you have never worked on those types of components.  If you do have small electronics experience then it would be easy for you to handle but when you price out the components  the price is not that different from just paying Ultrasabers to put it together for you by ordering the whole thing.

My suggestion is to pick a standard stunt saber, just to see if you want one at all.  Maybe order a grab bag with the color you want and get a midgrade blade.  Again this is only my suggestion, whenever I start a new hobby or purchase from a new company I always buy the basic item first, decide if I have a want for it and if I want to go further with the hobby itself. 

Once I made that decision I bought a Sounded Obsidian Saber, which I love, it is my Bellicose, I do absolutely love it but I find myself swinging my Stunt Saber around more often so my next purchase was an Emerald 4 Channel in Stunt without sound and I love it. 

My point is, unless you have large amounts of income to devote to the hobby start small, buy a grab bag with the color you like and you will get a random hilt but do not buy it thinking you can upgrade.  Buy it thinking that if you like the hobby, like the service of the company, like your experience then buy a second one. Then you can have a second one to duel with friends or just to duel wield. 

I caution against the grab bag because the grab bag is a "shelf saber" meaning it could possibly have defects, dings, scratches etc and is not a direct representation of the quality that is Ultrasabers. 

Maybe look at getting a Dominix V3 or Aeon V3, Liberator, Dark Liberator, Standard Issue , Dark Standard Issue, Prophecy, Dark Prophecy, then go from there. 

Its just the way I do things- I generally start small with the basic entry level item to make a determination if I am going to pursue it.  That way If I dont really like it, I didnt drop 300 bucks into something I wont use again.

For instance- My first purchase was an Aeon v2 in AS with color discs.  You could not get any more basic than this.  After a while I decided I did not like the duller colors I was getting with the Color discs and Lee / Apollo Filters but I really loved the Saber.  Great customer service, customer rewards program etc so I purchased a Bellicose in Consular Green with Obsidian.

Eventually I decided I wanted an Orange saber as it was my color, I did not have a whole lot of money so I bought an MLS unit in Pyrestone Orange (forum only color) then I swapped the Green LED that was in my Bellicose with my new PO LED unit.  I then cut my AS LED out of my Aeon and replaced it with my Consular Green LED from the Bellicose.  So now I have a back up LED unit for my Bellicose in AS once I install quick disconnects onto the proper housing.

I then decided I wanted to take my chances in a raffle and I really loved the concept behind the Adegan Silver blade with color filters but I was not happy with the dulled colors.  Then the EMERALD DRIVER came along and I just had to have a saber.

I realized while the Bellicose was my beloved, I tended to favor practicing with the Aeon V2 as it was Stunt and the majority of my swinging / practice was outside at a park as I live in a very cramped apartment and I have a 4 year old and wife who do not need to be woken up with a sounded saber. 

So I bought a Dark Standard Issue in Emerald 4 Channel for the ultimate in color changing but without sound.  I also purchased it in the Spring Raffle v2 and ended up winning a Guardian 2 Channel Driver in Blue and Amber as a 1st Place Prize.  So, I spent 250 dollars and ended up with 2 sabers ! Not saying you will always win but it was an awesome thing.

So yeah, I lost my train of thought here but I would just suggest against buying it with the intent to upgrade it later as it just gets more expensive. I suggest starting with a stunt.  Unless you really want all the bells and whistles, BUY all the bells and whistles now as it will be pricier to upgrade later and you may see a newer saber that comes out and then you will be wanting that second saber anways...