Emerald Scorpion review

After 2 days of working with my new raffle toy, I feel it's time for a review of the Emerald Scorpion I won in this year's raffle. Sadly, there will be no accompany video review or additional pictures, but here are my thoughts on this saber in hopes of guiding anyone considering this as a saber.

Aesthetics:

I got mine without the claw, both for appearances and the fact that I've ready some saber-dueling organizations have problems with extended emitter/pommel claws on sabers. Without the claw, the saber has the appearance of a black queen chess piece. Very elegant with the two-tone. I will consider swapping out the pommel, but that is more of a personal choice as I want the option to make the saber less Sithy if I so choose.
The Scorpion I got was pristine; no tool marks or scratches on the anodized finish. A reverse-two-toned (basically a photo-negative) of the current Scorpion would be something I would hope US considers in the future as an option along with the existing Crimson (and hopefully an Azure option as well) Scorpion finishes.

Ergonomics:
Given the size and heft of the saber (13" long from emitter to pommel"), this saber works best as a two-handed wield. HEMA enthusiasts and other martial artists and re-enactors who are familiar with two-handed swords larger than katanas will love this thing. It's easy to spin despite its size and very maneuverable. You even have the option of spacing your grip out with your lead hand gripping right on the flared pommel and shifting your back hand around the pommel for additional leverage. This is the first Covertec-equipped saber I've owned from ANY manufacturer that there were zero issues finding a comfortable grip without having to contend with the Covertec knob. It gets out of your way without having to fiddle with your grip at all.

Emerald Driver:
This was my first Emerald Saber. The software gives you options for setting a pulse between two preset colors, the duration between the cycling between those two colors, and Flash on Clash. My default saber configuration was Fire Orange pulsing to Sentinel Yellow. I changed this to Sentinel Yellow cycling to Fire Orange with a quicker cycle with no issues. The FoC I left as Consular Green to honor the FoC seen in Ep IV; it's a very nice contrast.

Obsidian V3:
This was my first V3 board. I had some issues loading my favorite Black Star font since my laptop seemed to be having issues detecting the soundcard. Turned out to be a combination of user error, the cable I was using, and plugging into a USB 3.0 port on my laptop; I was able to resolve it by using a different cable and port and actually reading the directions before trying again.

Overall, I think as of right now, this is my favorite lightsaber I've ever owned and handled. The only downside that I would point out for a potential buyer is that the Scorpion can be safely, in my opinion, be ruled out completely if the user wants the option of using this thing one-handed with any sort of finesse. I'd put it in the same category as the crossguard sabers in that regard.