Review of Ultrasabers Guardian

[coondog45]

This is my review of Ultrasaber's Guardian. I am trying to go into as much detail as possible for those who are interested in buying a Guardian. My current specs are guardian blue color, obsidian sound, regular activation switch, no flash on clash, UE Heavy blade with round tip.

UPS just dropped off my Guardian lightsaber. I have ordered from US for a long time and have always been pleased, I knew this would not be an exception. Ever since the Guardian was premiered I knew I had to obtain one for my collection. I waited due to my wife, so in the meantime I read review after review of this lightsaber. The thing that really draws me to this design, as well as the majority of us fans, is the similar look to Obi-Wan's TPM lightsaber. I was honestly very worried about purchasing this lightsaber due to the fact of size and weight. I do duel with my lightsabers so I wanted something that looked fantastic, yet fit comfortably in my hands.

As I opened the box, I was shocked to see how well the lightsaber was actually protected. US did an amazing job of bubble wrapping the saber. there were 3 bubble layers from the saber to the box and it was a very snug fit. I also ordered a covertec belt attachment and a blade plug, both were very secure in the wrapping as well. It took a few minutes to get everything out. Upon visual inspection of the lightsaber, everything looks perfect. There are no missing screws, nothing is broken, and the hilt really shines in the light.

Packaging - 10/10

If you have only seen pictures of this saber, the pics don't do it justice. This thing is amazing to look at with your own eyes. To my honest surprise, the lightsaber was actually smaller than what I thought it would be. The lightsaber that I normally use as "my" lightsaber for regular duels is a Dominix v2 LE. The Dominix is long so I expected the Guardian to be longer than that, but to me it doesnt look much longer than the Dominix (but I don't have the Dominix with me to compare at this point.) I think I would prefer it to be a little shorter but the length works for the look of this saber. The width of the lightsaber is also satisfactory. It doesnt feel any bigger than a Force FX lightsaber. It is very comfortable in my hands. As for the weight, again, I expected it to be heavier but it is still going to feel a little on the heavy side to most people. In my opinion, the extra weight makes it feel like a real lightsaber.

Visuals/performance - 9/10 - only because of the length of the saber.

This is honestly my first saber with an obsidian sound card. I usually only buy stunt sabers but I really wanted to try to expand my collection to a more "adult" look. (I just bought a house with a "man-cave" so I want to fill it with lightsabers before my kids take it over.) As soon as I hit the activation switch I became a kid again. The blade is very bright and full (but I have never held an US that was not bright.) For those who have never bought a saber with sound, spend a little extra and do it. It's so much better than swinging your saber without sound and making your own sound effects... and be made fun of. Of course most people make fun of me for playing with a lightsaber anyways. They just don't know what they are missing. Anyways, the sound is very crisp and VERY loud. One thing that I did notice is the sensitivity is very moderate. I will be changing it to be more sensitive later. The standard Obsidian font is very good. I don't hear any "graininess" or cheap sounds. This was well put together. I will try more sound fonts for fun but in my opinion, the standard obsidian font is perfect for this saber.

Sound - 10/10

Overall, I would give this lightsaber 9/10. In summary:
-The saber looks fantastic for visuals
-The weight makes it feel like a real lightsaber and it is comfortable to hold
-The saber is very bright
-The sound is very loud and of high quality

Once again US, you guys have made another master piece. Thank you for all of the hard work that you do to bring us fans an awesome collectable that can be USED to play with, yet look fantastic on the wall. If you have not bought a Guardian for yourself, do it. It was well worth the money.

[BenPass]

Great review! I love the reviews with lots of detail. We need pics though!!

[Canadianknight]

Just receive my DVA Guardian today.

What a stunning hilt. Agree with you on all counts.

Congrats on your purchase!

[SithLord]

It is a beautiful hilt. Congrats!

[coondog45]

I am so sorry that I haven't gotten pics loaded yet. I have been under the weather this past week. A couple of things before the pics. I had a chance to duel with this saber. It is very solid. One thing that I would suggest is gluing the gold screw on the saber. Mine came off three times while dueling. Another thing is I would secure the tip of your blade. I usually put a piece of Scotch tape on mine as soon as they arrive. They always come loose but the tape keeps the tip from flying off into an unknown direction. So now the reason you came here... the pics! I apologize in advance for the quality, I have an outdated camera.

First few shots are shots of the hilt.






















Now as for the size difference, I compared it to the Dominix sabers. From left to right, (Dominix v1, Guardian, Dominix v2 LE, Dominix v2)










Now this is the Guardian beside a stock Luke ROTJ saber and the Jedi Joe saber.










Now for some fun pics.











Thanks for viewing!

[Zren Tobas]

Nice saber. The Guardian and any model of the Dominix is about the same size in length.

[Abraxus]

Just saw this review.  Beautiful saber, and a great review.

I could not help but notice that major contributing factor to the difference in length between the Dominix, and the Guardian is that gorgeous pommel on the Guardian.  That thing adds at least 2 inches to the overall length of the hilt.  With a different pommel (not that one would feel compelled to do that), it would be about the same length from the looks of it.

[Kham-Ryn Kurios]

Great review, great pictures, great collection.

You get a point; can't ever have to many pics.

[coondog45]

Just saw this review.  Beautiful saber, and a great review.

I could not help but notice that major contributing factor to the difference in length between the Dominix, and the Guardian is that gorgeous pommel on the Guardian.  That thing adds at least 2 inches to the overall length of the hilt.  With a different pommel (not that one would feel compelled to do that), it would be about the same length from the looks of it.

I actually put a different pommel on it just to see what the length looked like and you're right, it makes the saber significantly shorter. But it also makes the saber look so naked... In my opinion, it's better to have a little extra length than to have the saber look goofy. That pommel is one of a kind and was made for this saber.

[Zren Tobas]

have you had spinning practice time with this saber? Is it good?

[Veldryne]

this is a great sparring and practice saber, its balanced perfectly when you use a heavygrade blade

personally I dont like it for spinning, but then again i dont focus on spinning when training i do more practical stuff with an end goal being better at sparring and being able to choreo things

for spinning, honestly you want something like a liberator v2 and use a midgrade blade, you want to keep the weight down like that one group of kids that did "america's got talent" did

ultra if i remember correctly made them custom sabers for that, they weighed less than 1 lbs each

[Ander]

For spinning, I recommend the Catalyst. Choke FTW.
Great review of the Guardian. Would you mind telling me how much it weighs (without blade, but with everything else, batteries included, if you can)?
Thanks in advance!

[Veldryne]

ill weigh mine tonight, points for suggesting the catalyst

[coondog45]

I agree with Veldryne about spinning. This saber is probably heavier than most US. When I duel with it I don't do a lot of flashy moves because of the weight and size. It is possible to spin it because the neck is smaller than the rest of the saber, but I would go with one of the stunt sabers if you really want to do flashy moves.

As far as the weight, I weigh my Guardian too. If it helps, the package itself when it arrived was 4 pounds. So I will assume with the guardian, powercells, and heavygrade blade, it will be very close to 3 pounds total. I also have a covertec belt clip that I have used with this saber. It is heavy if you leave the batteries in it but it honestly feels like a real lightsaber. If you take the batteries out it is very comfortable... but who would want to carry around a lightsaber that doesn't turn on?

[coondog45]

Just weighed my guardian.

Hilt with batteries = 1.2 pounds
Hilt with batteries and HG blade = 2.7 pounds

I haven't used this scale in years so I am hoping it is working correctly. I would still like to see what Veldryne's scale says.