First Saber Review - Guardian w/Emerald, Obsidian v3, and MG UEdge

[emorydelt]

Hello saber enthusiasts!  After wanting one for a long time, I finally decided to take the plunge and buy my first lightsaber.  I decided on an UltraSabers Guardian, as the hilt was very attractive and looked comfortable to hold. 

Here are my thoughts on the saber:

Pro: Very high quality materials and workmanship.  It feels very sturdy and could easily be a movie prop.  It's hard to convey how nice the little details like the jeweled and see-through bolts are; they really add a lot to the overall look.

Pro: Blade is bright (midgrade ultraedge), and the 4 LED Emerald setup allows for amazing degrees of versatility.  I don't think I could go with a single blade color after having this.

Pro: Sound is plenty loud at full volume, and the default sound font is very good.

Pro: Software allows a great deal on configuration when you get it to work correctly (see cons).

Con: The Guardian hilt is simply too big and heavy for my taste.  I had read in these forums that it was on the large side, but not having purchased a saber before I had no real frame of reference.  From the measurements I can find online, it is around 20% bigger than the actual movie prop.  While it is by no means too big to grip comfortably, that added size makes it very bulky and heavy when clipped on my belt, plus the size makes the blade look a little short by comparison.  I understand they need to fit the Emerald and Obsidian boards inside, but I think a 20% reduction in size and weight would greatly improve this hilt design.

Con: Poor/No documentation of saber and software.  I understand that the software launcher is being refined and features may change periodically, but there is no excuse for the saber to come with no instructions whatsoever.  I had to figure out for myself how to activate lock-up, turn it off, and where to open the saber to get to the batteries/boards.  The USabers team clearly expects you to look online for documentation, but the available documentation is spread across several forum posts and youtube videos, many of which are now obsolete.

Con: UltraSabers launcher software is a little finicky to get working.  Through trial and error, I found that 1) you really must run the launcher as an administrator, 2) you must use a USB 2.0 port to connect, not a 3.0 port, and 3) you must not connect the USB cable to the saber until the launcher is open and the saber is on, or windows will try and fail to install a USB driver for it.  If you fail to do any of these 3 steps, you will be unable to connect to the saber and configure it.  Now that I know these things I can use the launcher just fine, but I thought my saber was broken for quite a while until I tracked down enough hints on these steps from long forum threads.

Overall, I am very happy with the Guardian, but I don't think I have found the perfect saber for me yet.  I'll keep looking until I find something closer to the size of the movie props.  I have no reservations about ordering from UltraSabers again, as I think the quality of their products (al though not their documentation) is very high.

Thanks for reading!

[Landen Se-Sentien]

Emory,

Welcome to the saber world. I just got my first one the other day, as well.  Good review, so I gave you a point.

I agree that the information is spread out, but their youtube site is pretty accurate, and the forum has a lot of knowledgeable people.  I did a lot of digging before I bought mine, so I kind of knew what to expect, and I totally hear you on the steps to run the drivers. I thought the same thing when mine wouldn't power up after not hitting disconnect before unplugging it.  But with some confident trial and error plus the US support and forums, I think we'll both be in good shape. Also, they have videos embedded in the options when placing your order. Those are pro ably the best as far as locating what you need.  Need help with the drivers? Go to that option on the order screen, and there's a video.

Hope that helps, and MTFBWY.

LS-S

[KraytDragonPearl]

Welcome new Guardian owner,

I too have a Guardian, with almost the same setup as you have.  I currently have a HG blade on my saber since I actually duel with it.  The hilt is a definitely larger than most from the US inventory, but its really quite comfortable when you get used to it.  If you are looking for something much smaller and easier to duel with then you might want to look at the Aeon/Sentinel line and go from there. 

There are some minor issues with the Obsidian and Emerald setups but they are easy to overcome.  Like Landen stated, the answers are best found in the US youtube videos.  If they don't contain the answer you need then feel free to ask here and we will point you in the right direction for answers. 

MTFBWY

KDP

[Landen Se-Sentien]

KDP -

I know it's off topic, but how did the leather wrap on your Aeon staff hold up with the e tap reversed underneath it? Stay in place even when dueling?

[Jamik]

How do you run the Administrator on a Mac?

[Jamik]

Never mind I'm good


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