by Lakeith Collins

I’m a bit of a Star Wars geek. I can admit that. I love lightsabers. I placed 3rd in the Inaugural Nerd-o-Ween costume contest, mostly thanks to my Star Wars Mace Windu Force FX Lightsaber Collectible by Hasbro. Chicks dig the purple and gold. Anyway…

When I stumbled across Ultrasabers.com and the plethora of options for ordering, or even building, your own custom lightsaber, it was a match made in heaven. Thus my collection began. I’m writing this review about my newest addition… the Crimson Reaper. I’ll also include lots of information about the company, Ultrasabers.com, as well.

This saber comes in two colors Black (Reaper) and Red (Crimson Reaper). Its 15” long from tip to tip, counting the featured slanted emitter and pommel. It has 5 elongated windows in the emitter to allow your choice of color to shine through. Feeling that a red-on-red setup was a little too much for my tastes, I opted for Sentinel Yellow. It also has two claws, one for the pommel and one for the emitter, that truly add something extra to the saber. I have them removed in my photo’s because I have a little one at home and it’s a little safer that way. She’s not precise with her swings. Ah younglings… If both claws are attached, the hilt alone stretches out to 19 ½ “.

The default configuration of the saber includes an Obsidian soundboard. It’s fully configurable, and you have the ability to add or change any of sounds the saber makes. There is whole market on the web for “Sound Fonts”. Want your saber to sound more like a Sith\Darth Vaders? Someone’s already done the work and that sound font is downloadable. Love the defaults, but wish the “Saber Lock Up” sound was different? Bust out an audio editor, grab an appropriate sound clip, save it in the correct format, and upload. Boom. Want it to say “Bad Mutha…” on boot\startup? You get the idea. The default sounds are crisp, clear, and LOUD. The pommel’s design doesn’t include anything to filter\muffle the sound at all, it’s just hollow. It makes a damn good amplifier. The first thing I did was turn the individual sounds down to about 40%.

Also included in the default configuration is your choice of LED colors including: Adegan Silver, Fire Orange, SunRider’s Destiny, Guardian Blue, Consular Green, Blazing Red, Violet Amethyst, and Artic Blue. If you poke around on their forums, you can find a few other colors available as well, which is where I found out about Sentinel Yellow. The blade is removable and you can insert a cap, or blade plug, to make wearing your saber easier. This saber includes a covertec wheel. Just add belt clip. Speaking of the blade…Let me make something very clear. This is not just for display. The polycarbonate blades used by Ultrasabers are more durable than any of the toys\collector items on the market. I’ve had no problems with my sabers when goofing off with my 3 year old.

If you really want a blade that will stand up to some punishment, there’s even an upgraded version; Heavy Grade. These, however sacrifice some brightness for sake of brute strength. The blades themselves are available in a variety of lengths, the standard is 36”. You can go as short as 16”, or as long as 40”.

If you like to tinker, or just want to control the costs, you can order everything included piece by piece. That’s right, DIY baby. You must, MUST, have some skills with electrical wiring, calculating resistances, etc. Better know how to solder too. There are some guides\instructions all over the community, however none of it is warrantied or supported by ultrasabers. You’d better know what you’re doing before you get started. I’m working on a project I started around Christmas time. Because I know hardly anything about hobby electronics, it’s taken quite some time. The community on the forums is helpful, and I’ve made lots of progress, but still, consider it a warning.

Speaking of community, there are a number of competing websites offering the same types of stuff. The demand has created the need for a standards system. Enter MHS – The Modular Hilt System. This acts as a guideline to DIY’ers, or even mix-n-matchers, to order parts from any other site with confidence that they should work\fit. Imagination is the only limitation.

Ultrasabers.com, as an online retailer, has some room for improvement however. Their website could stand to be a touch more informative, especially when it comes to DIY’ers. Dimensions and Inner diameters are not always present in product descriptions, which led to me doing a lot of guesswork for my own DIY project. It‘s easy to arrive at the site saying “I want to go DIY!” and then leave wondering if you have all the necessary bits and bob’s to put it together. “Do I have the right power source to match my chosen LED Color?” “Do I need a resistor?” “Can I use that switch?” “Is this hilt sound-compatible?” A basic checklist of stuff would be awesome here. While they have pushed to have everything be MHS compatible, there are still remnants on the site where you can order a hilt that is not. In those scenario’s, it would be infinitely helpful to know specifics about those hilts to help with the decision process. Trying to add a 1.25” diameter battery pack into a 1.1” inner diameter saber hilt is not fun. Shipping is always fast, with updates provided. If you’re ordering something in stock, it pretty much ships within 24hours. New products take a little longer to leave the door. All things said, I have had a great experience with Ultrasabers.com and recommend them to my friends constantly.

The easiest way to stick your toe in the water is to order a grab bag saber. These are usually older stunt sabers (no sound) that may have a scratch on them. It’s all random. Hilt, LED color, all of it. The only choices you get to make are whether you want a blade to be included (Extra $) or any other accessories you might want added. I’ve done this 3 times, and I’ve gotten the same saber hilt\color combo each time. For 55$ out the door with no blade, however, I’d take my chances again. These are not offered at all times however.

With dozens of hilt choices, sound\no sound, RGB controls (Disco Saber! Change it to any color you want!), blade options, different switch options, pre-made or DIY, I’ve found a true friend for my lightsaber needs. I’ll be mounting my collection to the wall at home, right after I place my next order.

Lakeith Collins is a CNSC Member and an avid Star Wars junkie. Follow Lakeith on Twitter as Bruzer79