Buying your first LightSaber? Know this…
A LightSaber Buyer’s Guide for the Modern Jedi
I thought about writing a guide for the Modern Sith, but it would have been a pretty short post. Something like
Step one: Murder Jedi and take Lightsaber.
Step two: If you don’t like the color, repeat step one.
Boring. Anyways. Let’s talk about lightsabers.
Now time for a Public Service Announcement:
Buyer beware, lightsaber shopping is easily one of the most addictive activities on the world wide web. Once you start, it’s easy to get carried away, and then all the sudden you’re paypal credit is maxed out and you have a box of beautiful, expensive, and mostly unnecessary nerd gear. How many lightsabers can you realistically wield at a time? Two? Three tops? All I’m saying is, guard your heart adventurer, for the temptation is great, and the card is easy.
If you aren’t careful, you could end up like this poor sap…
Jeezalou, okay! Get on with it!
So you want to buy a lightsaber?
YES! GAWD YES!
Well you’re in the right place, at the right time. There are more sabers on the market than is reasonable. Once upon a time we all wished we had a lightsaber, and the beauty that is the free market has delivered (with gusto).
You can buy custom sabers, standard sabers, Italian sabers, sabers with sound, Warriors, Champions, Heroes, Apprentices, Elites, HMS, Emerald Sabers, Sabers from some Vault, a Park, a Forge. Sabers with claws, and tails, and HUGE NASTY TEETH. Sabers for combat, sabers for Cosplay, sabers with crystals sticking out all over the place. Sabers with hand SCRIBED ELVEN SCRIPTS ABOUT LOVE AND DEVOTION AND STUFF. It’s brilliant!
Get on with it!
Right, sorry. So… Lightsabers.
Here’s the deal, I haven’t done my due diligence, but this post needs to be written. So here’s what I know.
Brands
Ultrasabers and Saberforge are both solid options and potentially your best bet as far as reliability and warranty go. Hipster Jedi are obviously going to be drawn to Vader’s Vault or Park Sabers (I’m not even getting into Park Sabers, they’re style is kind of wonky to me). Which is totally cool. I just haven’t spent much time researching them, and I have an inherent consumerist’s trust in an industry standard like saberforge or ultrasabers. Lamadiluce is a relative new kid on the block. They are based in Italy and supply all the gear for Ludosport. I suspect they will play a big role in the future sabermarket.
Ultrasabers
These guys have been in the business FOREVER. Some people swear by them, others curse them. I have 2 sabers by them and think they are solid starter options and fairly priced. They stand by their work, and will fix things when they break. They also keep a good stock of sabers on hand and shipping is usually quick, sometimes as little as 4 days. Even when they take a couple of weeks they beat saberforge’s time.
Dominix LE V4 by UltraSabers
This might sound odd, but my biggest beef with these guys is that they have too many options. Yes. Really. You can buy parts, or whole sabers, you can get the Dominix V1, V2, V3, or V4, or how about the V4 LE? Or the Aeon, which is a Dominix, but in chrome. Too many options makes for general dissatisfaction in my opinion.
Their add-ons can be frustrating as well. You look at a saber, decide you like it, and can even afford it, then you go through 11 pages of optional add-ons. I feel like a saber should come with a blade plug standard. There I said it. That should not be an add-on. I guess what I’m saying is, I think they should phase out the older technologies and options in favor of a more streamlined saber experience. I’m sure some people dig the customization though.
Recommendation: Excellent for new Jedis because of price and simplicity. When you are ready for something fancier, be prepared for the price to add up for things like special colors and effects.
Saberforge
These guys have some sexy hilts. I love the SaberForge Style. They also stand by their work with a 1 year warranty, which I’ve tested 3 times, and they always pull through. Theses Sabers are crafted to look and feel like something out of the republic. When you hold one, it’s not hard to believe that a blade of hot plasma could burst from the end.
They are known for their ultra-bright 12W LEDs, which is incredible, but also very distracting during combat. Just saying. The colors are brilliant and fabulous. I adore my Cyan Disciple by SF.
Exhalted by SaberForge
They do run a little higher than UltraSabers on cost, starting around $180 after shipping. They also have (had when I ordered) a long wait time, around 4-8 weeks.
They regularly add new sabers to the line-up, which is fantastic, and they now have an system called ASP, or Adaptive Saber Parts. This enables the novice Jedi/Sith to easily create and customize their own saber. Very cool. Check out SaberForge, but be ready to spend at least 45 minutes drooling over their plethora of fancy sabers.
Vaders Vault
I’ve only recently become aware of Vader’s Vault, and I am absolutely itching to get my hands on one. They are all constructed for combat, come with Rechargeable Li-Ion batteries, and Fully Operational Soundboards.
Dark Ardent by Varder’s Vault
They have a sleek and functional style to them, and seem to be a favorite of the Saber Authority.
The cost starts around $350, which is about right for sabers with sound. Definitely give these guys a peek before buying your next saber.
LamaDiLuce
Okay, so I’ve kind of got a SaberCrush on these guys. Their one Saber, the Polaris SSe-1 is a unique saber in that it is designed for sport. It uses gesture activation, has an interesting set-up to redistribute weight, and has excellent electronics and user interface. See my full review here.
Aside from Sabers, these guys produce some beautiful gloves (around $50) designed for saber combat, along with Functional Jedi Gear like belts, pants, tunics, and shirts for the organization LudoSport, the Lightsaber Combat group based in Italy.
The Polaris SSe-1 by Lamadiluce is interesting in a lot of ways, but best of all, it has all the features of a $500 saber for about $400. It’s like the baby bear’s porridge of the Saber World. 
The Sabers are produced in a variety of colors now, and have only recently become available for public purchase. Exciting times!!!
Check them out on facebook, if you you have any questions, they usually get back to you within a day on messages. Very cool company.
Cost
- You get what you pay for. $100 can buy a great simple saber with lights.
- $200 will get you a fancy saber with lights
- $300 will you get a simple saber with simple Sound
- $350 you get to start looking at nicer hilts with Sound, but expect to fold and spend closer to $420 buy the time you get to checkout.
- At $500 things start to get surreal. Like clocks melting and ducks weeping surreal. We’re talking about multiple color options in one saber with multiple sound fonts. Better accelerometers make for more sensitive sound effects, which means more accurate and therefore more realistic. Blades crackle white on collision, colors blend and strobe to make plasma like flames through the night sky. Do you have a dream of wielding Luke’s saber from ROTJ? Well you can. Same sounds. Same color. Same design (but for the love of the Force ditch the control box). But it ain’t cheap.
Durability
- You’ll find that the sabers from these companies should be able to take a beating, but anytime you start banging around a product full of electronic you’re going to have issues.
- Light’s will flicker, wires will disconnect, buttons will short circuit. It’s the nature of the beast in my experience.
- These folks all stand by their work and should be willing to fix any faulty parts.
- Know that if you start tinkering with the insides of any of these sabers you may void the warranty.
- Avoid dropping your saber at all cost. This is probably the worst thing for them (besides water). Saberforge covers combat damage, but not drops. If you’re looking to spin and trick your sabers, practice with a stunt (no sound) saber for a long while before upgrading.
If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to reach out to us here at LightClub, or on Facebook. We’re always happy to talk shop!
So there you have it. My little guide on buying a LightSaber.
Hello Light Club! Really well written guide with a nice balance (and my type of humour!). I have seen some of your unboxing videos on YT and one video in particular helped me decide which saber to buy (Disciple spinning to Extreme to the Maxx btw). To Sam I believe we have “met” on the forums and I will continue to monitor this blog in future, thanks.
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I’d now add Kyberlight to this list…for a lower price point you get an awfully nice, fully customizable, 20 color, dual sound font saber with a lifetime warranty on blades. 🙂 We now have two — and a hilt connector which turns it into a double saber…all for under $400…go check them out!
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That sounds awesome Melissa! Thanks for sharing!
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