Ultrasabers Buying Suggestions

Often when you ask people for saber vendor recommendations, I feel like one can quickly get embroiled in a useless discussion - a bit like flamefests about whether Chevy or Ford pickup trucks are better. For me, I feel like saber vendors have different upsides and downsides, so it matters which of these matter to you.

Almost all of my sabers are from Ultrasabers, not necessarily because they're amazing, but rather, because the upsides of Ultrasabers are very much aligned with what I'm looking for and the downsides are things I don't care about.

My priorities

I have two very different uses for sabers: stage combat, and 501st Legion / Rebel Legion events. These have different priorities.

For stage combat, I want thinner, shorter hilts. Sound is not important - the audience is too distant to hear the sound effects well.

For Legion events, being able to turn sound on/off is useful: for quieter indoor events, having sound is a real treat. But for louder events (where the sound effects get drowned out) or any outdoor event, sound is irrelevant.

Note that screen accuracy is very important to the Legions, but my Generic Jedi in the Rebel Legion doesn't need to match a particular look. For my 501st Legion Count Dooku character, I got my saber from Saberforge, because I wanted screen accuracy. This is a good example of different priorities leading me to a different saber vendor.

Outline of Costs

Ultrasaber either has the cool or annoying thing of pricing out all the options separately. So the base price is not realistic (which, to some people, is annoying - it can sometimes feel misleading). The nice thing is, you're not paying for options you don't want.

Sound: +$185.
Color configurable: +$190.

Basic hilt (an Aeon), no sound: $97.
Basic hilt, with sound: $282.
Basic hilt, color configurable, no sound: $287.
Basic hilt, with the old version of sound and color configurable: $402. (Note: I have never gotten a saber like this.)
Basic hilt, with the new version of sound and color configurable: $432. (I also don't have any of these kinds of sabers.)

Shipping of any saber will typically be $20. Note that shipping requires a person to receive and sign for it -- see last section at the bottom of the page.

About hilts

US' hilts come in what I'll call 3 varities: kids' sizes, basic hilts, and fancy hilts.

What I'd call the kids' hilts are the Initiate V2s. Unlike all of the other hilts, these are 1.25" diameter, whereas the other hilts are 1.45" diameter -- that 0.20" difference is noticeable!

Basic hilts, to me, are: any Initiate, any Apprentice, Aeon/Dominix, Sentinel, (Dark) Standard Issue Battle Saber, and the Liberator. Note that, for all of these, there are Dark variants (the Aeon is the silver version of the Dominix). The starting prices on all of these are below $100.

The fancy hilts are the rest of their hilts.

Ultrasaber options

Here I'll go into detail in all the options and my reasoning for whether I get it or not. It depends a lot on the particular use case.

Blade color

There is no such thing as too bright a blade. The TRIs are noticeably brighter, and well worth the $15.

Note that for Emerald or Diamond sabers, you won't have that option, since you'll instead be getting an RGB setup. Don't worry, they'll also be plenty bright.

Flash on Clash

This is for sound setups only - the LEDs will flash a different color when the board detects a hit. I don't think it's worth the money.

Battery Configuration

For any sound, Emerald, or Diamond setup, you'll have to get the Li-ion setup, so that won't be an issue. For stunt sabers, I've recently changed my mind: get a Standard Setup. For BLSCC people, you may eventually want to upgrade to a custom battery setup using an 18650 battery and internal recharge port; parts for that cost ~$55, but only do that once your standard setup breaks. (It should last 1-2 years before wear & tear means something breaks.)

Recharge Port

Having an extra hole in your hilt is not great. That said, if you're using your saber a lot, then constantly pulling out the battery pack to get at the batteries puts strain on the internal wiring, even if you're being careful. Given that I have to repair my sabers about once a year, I'm starting to think it's worth it. If so, get a slow charger.

Blade Length

If you're over 6 feet tall, get a 36. Under 6 feet, either a 32 or 36 will work. Under 5.5 feet, I'd recommend a 32.

Blade Option

Heavy grades are twice as thick as a normal grade - they are super strong. Me, I want to never break a blade, so I always get heavy grades.

If you want to save $10, this is a good place to do so. If you're hard on your stuff, consider getting a heavy grade.

Insofar as normal vs UltraEdge, my recommendation is to get a normal blade for red or orange colors, and UltraEdge for everything else.

Windows

Some hilts (not all) come with the option for "windowed emitters". For $5, I think they're fun to have.

Pommel

The default for stunt sabers is fine.

For sound sabers, I don't recommend the pommel with a giant hole - I feel like that doesn't protect the speaker sufficiently. I recommend getting one of the other pommels. I tend to like the Catalyst / Dark Catalyst pommels for this purpose.

Switch Type

If you want to splurge and get an illuminated switch, this is the option. I think it's a cool idea, but not one I actually want on my sabers.

You'll want an AV switch for any sound saber so you can switch sound fonts.

Blade Tip Type

I think the bullet tips look weird.

Blade Retention Screw Wrench

Yeah, in reality, they cost 20 cents, but whatever. Being able to take your blade out is worth it.

Blade Plug

You might decide to never take the blade out of your saber, but it sure makes it easier for transport. Also, if you store with saber with the blade in, the blade will probably slowly deform, which is bad. Just spend the $7 to get a blade wrench and a blade plug, and you'll bypass all this heartache.

Saber Stand

Covertec Clip and Covertec Wheel

There is a very small likelihood that, for a cosplay, you'll not want your blade installed in your saber and your saber hanging off of your belt. In all likelihood, though, you'll want to be holding onto your saber with the blade installed.

That said, if you're getting it for a Rebel Legion costume, definitely get this.

Use Cases

I just want one saber, as cheap as possible without shooting myself in the foot

In that case, I'd suggest skipping sound and a lot of other options.

I just want a nice saber for stage combat

Get an Initate or Apprentice. Adding windowed emitters is fun, and only $5.

Also, I've recently changed my mind about recharge ports -- I think getting one is a good idea, but it greatly adds to the price: $103. The tradeoff is: with a recharge port, you should have zero wear-and-tear on your electronics. With putting batteries in and out each week, you can expect that about once a year, you'll need to ship it back for repairs, which will be a minimum of $15 plus about $10 to ship it to them in the first place. So if you want to cut all the corners, sure, just be super careful. But if you're getting this for keeps, especially if you're getting an Emerald or Obsidian saber, I think a recharge port is a good idea.

I want a nice saber with sound.

I've never gotten an Obsidian Lite setup. I'm not sure it's worth it: if you want sound, get Obsidian v4.

Probably the most important thing is to make sure you get v4, not v3, Obsidian sound.

I want a sound saber for stage combat.

Same thing as above, but with the following differences:

• an Apprentice or Initiate hilt (note: Initiate v2s can't have sound)
• Upgrade to Heavy Grade or Ultraedge Heavy Grade
• Consider getting a recharge port; get the slow charger and skip the charger in the battery selection option.

A Note On Batteries

For AAAs, I got Eneloop Pro's. I have so many batteries, I found an 8-bay charger to be a really good idea.

For Li-ions, I strongly recommend getting your 14500 batteries directly from Ultrasabers. There are many fraudulent 14500 batteries out there, so it's worth paying the slight markup to Ultrasabers to make sure you get quality batteries. US sells the 14500s on their Accessories page.

Shipping: delivery signature is required!

To prevent fraud, Ultrasabers requires a person to sign for the package, and I'm 99% sure they don't accept a note saying "hey, driver, here's a signed note, please leave the package here". It's for this reason that I always have my sabers shipped to me at work. Yes, lugging a 4' box (fortunately, the footprint is small) on the subway is annoying, but otherwise, I have to wait for re-delivery attempts to time out and for the package to be left at the post office. (I don't know what UPS tries to do, but I bet it's even more of a hassle.)

Travelling with your lightsaber

Travelling with your lightsaber: TSA website has an entry, and Ultrasabers has suggestions.