First time buyer, questions before buying :)

[pianite]

Hey guys, I love lighsabers, and recently decided to make the investment in an ultrasaber after doing much research on a brand! And after painstaking deliberation on which hilt/color combo, I decided on a saber staff, so I can duel with friends and wield it as one. I chose the Phantasm initiate, since my hands arnt huge and the regular phantasm would be like 7 feet long! I also chose to get violet and green, hopefully which will make a great color combo, and will be nice to use solo. I love the violet and the green, but im not sure how they will look together Anyways, my main question here is what blades should I use for the violet? Ultra Edge or regular? I feel that regular will give the blade a deeper purple, though the UE will give it the blade a fuller look.... What do you all think of my choice and my question? Btw im 14 and 5'11", as a judgement for the length of the staff. And recall my hands arnt very large. Also to mention, if I get the regular blade I can get a heavy grade which will make me feel a lot better about sparring, even though I dont think I will do much, lol.

Thanks!

[Kaiden Shardsbane]

An excellent choice of weapon!  My first saber was also a mixed-color Phantasm (Red/Orange)!  So don't worry about the green/purple combo.  I think it'll look great!

Anyways, it all comes down to personal choice.  The UE does give the appearance of a fuller blade, while the regular has more of a thinner "contained plasma" appearance.  Some people will debate back and forth about the UE diluting the color somewhat, but in my experience, (and this is with an RGB saber and both types of blade) the color change is only noticeable if you're judging by infinitesimal shifts in shade.

And definitely go with heavy grade if you get the chance.  I've only broken 1, and that's after 7 months of sparring, several bouts against non-"saber friendly" weapons, and many destructive demonstrations where I smashed the poor thing against concrete to prove it's durability to my disbelieving friends.  And it still functions well as a display piece.  I just have to not hit things with it.

Also, my little bro is the same size as you, and easily handles a regular sized staff, so don't feel limited to the initiate sized blades just because you've still got room to grow.  Heck, even my 4'10" tall friend swings 'em around with gusto.  (although maybe not very well)

[ThreadJack]

Actually I'd suggest getting the regular Phantasm for three reasons 1) It's not as big as you think. Most people who wield staves use 32" blades with no issues. 2) The Aeon(which is the same as your Phantasm split) is not a huge hilt. I don't have big hands either and I find it's a dream to wield. 3) If you're only 14 and already 5'11" you'll grow out of that Initiate quickly(actually you probably already have). This will be your first saber, which will make it special, so you'll want to wield it forever. Just my two cents on that.

And use the regular heavy blades. Green looks funny in Ultra Edge, though the purple looks great, but you can't get one of each so go regular.

[pianite]

I think I would fear for my ceiling fan with a full size staff! Though I do intent to get a regular hilt saber, 12 inches seemed a bit long for my first one. Thanks for the advice though. And yeah, I have researched around, and found that I am leaning towards the regular ones for my preference, I like the thin look rather than the thicker. They are both equally bright, though in different ways right?

And also, to ThreadJack: I grow fast, but I think I am close to being done (hopefully x_x), so Im not sure. Actually, as for length I was quite worried about it. I have a plastic saber with a 8 inch hilt and a 1 1/2 foot blade and I can get both my hands on the hilt pretty comfy, though It would be nice for room, and this is a hilt with no activator button in the middle. Primarily except for defensive and large swings (as far as I know; im horrible at combat) I fight one handed, so space wont be a problem.

Figure a regular phantasm is 24 + 64 = 84 = 7ft, and I fear that will be much much too long for me, im not used to using a double bladed.

EDIT: Also, didnt realize that with my options these both round out to the same price, so now it is just preference, lol.

[pianite]

Also, forgot to put this in the edit, as a saberstaff, the 2 activation switches are not lined up, correct? Is there any way to fix it or is it just like that? lol. I dont mind much, just curious.

[Kaiden Shardsbane]

No, they're not lined up.  Not for me, anyways.  I don't think it's fixable, but then I've never tried (or cared).  I just flick 'em on and twirl it around.

[Master Nero Attoru]

Here's my advice:  Phantasm, violet and green, 32" normal heavygrade blades.  I use the 32" blades on the staff and find it perfect, despite being a bit long for a traditional staff.  Considering you're nearly done growing, I would assume an inch or two maybe to go, it will put you just below my height of 6'2" so I figure what works for me should be about right for you.

That said, weight and length of blades is a personal choice.  As you buy sabers you'll get a feel for what you like, and be able to get really comfortable with it.  The great thing about the 32" blades is not only does it keep the staff within a reasonable length, it makes dual wielding a dream.  Not to mention, it isn't really hard to cut these blades down, so you're better off going with a normal size and cutting a few inches off if you feel it is too long.

The violet and green will look great together, I personally think they're a cool combo.  They will both look wonderful on the Aeon hilts (the Phantasm is basically two Aeon hilts made into a staff).

Lastly, for the blades I recommended the regular heavy grade.  With the 32" blades the heavy grade should be pretty maneuverable, and will be very durable and well weighted for staff work.  The regular vs Ultraedge is a personal choice - the Ultraedge kinda washes out the blade to my eyes, I kinda prefer the deep glow of the regular blade style.

[pianite]

Alright, I think I will do that. Thanks!
And yeah, really looking forwards to seeing that violet on the Aeon! Thats one of the primary reasons I went for the light colored hilt over the darker.

Also, not sure if I want 2 of the same colors for the saberstaff (spins and all)... So bleh. Im so indecisive! lol

[ThreadJack]

Personally I'd get the Phantasm in just one color. I don't really like Green and Purple, it's just too "80's" for me.

[Master Nero Attoru]

It's all personal preference.  Some people like two colors (since they figure they get two sabers out of it and don't want two identical ones) while others prefer a single color staff.  I'm one of the latter, I personally prefer the staff to be like one weapon that just so happens to split apart into separate sabers.  Even as separate sabers it's kinda cool having two completely identical sabers to dual wield, but that's just me (maybe I played a wee bit too much TFU2 or something...)

Go for whatever you like.  It will probably look more legit as a staff if you get a single color, but going with two colors is totally cool if you wanna dual wield a bit or whatever, and spinning the staff that way will probably be TRIPPY!  Indecision is something I know a lot about, I'm totally the same way

My advice... choose, and act!

[Starkilller]

One last thing (hopefully you haven't bought yet): the UE blades look fuller and evens the light distribution which makes the blades look much brighter and in my opinion better. However, ordinary Violet Amethyst with UE will be purple at first, but quite quickly fade to pink, then red. Normal blades somewhat help this but not by much, and as I said do not look as bright or close to the film sabers as UE blades. So, I think the best thing for you to do is get UE blades (I don't think heavy grade or normal grade makes much difference to colour or brightness) and ask Ultra to make your VA saber a bit more bluish, which  will keep your saber purple longer with the UE blades.
Ultimately your choice though.
Good luck.

[DirtyJersey]

I'm 6 foot tall and have the Phantasm Initiate staff in Guardian Blue. I posted a picture in case you want to see how tall it is with 24 inch Initiate blades. http://www.saberforum.com/index.php?topic=2471.msg30136#msg30136

[pianite]

Arg! Now I just really want to order this, lol.
Alright, so I think I have decided on a phantasm with 32" (unless ultra can cut them to 30 or so before hand, im not sure), with same color blades. Originally I figured, 2 diff color blades would be best dueling with a friend, but then I thought, heck, this is my saber and I will get what I want, lol. So now I am just torn on colors, as so many looking for a saber are

I have ruled out violet, I dont want to have to deal with that too much, perhaps I will save that for a nice bellicose or something.
Mainly im thinking blue, green, or maybe red. All of them would look great, which sucks

Im slightly learning towards green, but blue is brighter, right?

[Kaiden Shardsbane]

Brightness matters not.

[rant] In all seriousness, it's not really worth the effort to figure out which LED is the absolute, positively, absolutely, undoubtably, the brightest.  (It's green BTW, Ultra said so.)  They're all blindingly bright, and will all equally amaze your friends, enemies, and whomever you deem worthy of viewing your sabers.  The only ones that are noticeably dimmer (and even that is still extremely bright) are red and orange.  It's really only noticeable when you're holding it next to a blue or green blade, but even that is partially from the odd way that red light looks to the human eye. [/rant]

So I'd suggest going with whichever color you like best, instead of worrying about the brightness.  Just pick a cool-looking color, and let Ultra take care of the rest.

[pianite]

Alright, that sounds good, lol. In videos, blue usually picks up the best, which led me to believe it was the brightest. Thanks everyone for the help, I will update this more (and perhaps post a review in a couple weeks) if need be