He closed his eyes, and fell to his knees. The hot sand of the arena floor burned into his skin on impact. The air was hot and stifling, lapping the end of his tattered robe. The smell of seared flesh still lingered from the fallen combatants that lay around him. The roar of the crowd muffled in his ringing ears. His lightsaber rested gingerly on exhausted fingertips. Countless champions bested, only one remains. “Final round!” called the Game Master. The massive doors at the far end of the arena cracked open like thunder. His heart sank; what kind of monstrosity would they unleash now? Suddenly the giant doors stopped, only open what seemed like a crack at that distance. Though his vision was blurred by sweat and blood, he could make out a shadowy figure between them. Then he felt it, like a cold knife in his heart; the Dark side. So powerful…but calm. The figure took a few steps forward, stopped, ignited a red saber, and waited. “Come to me” the figure said. The words were but a whisper, but filled with such malice that they silenced the crowd. Even at the far end of the arena, he could feel this figure’s hate. He breathed in deep, allowing the oxygen to stimulate his tired lungs. “Last one” he said, under his breath. He gripped his saber tightly, and rose to his feet.
The Gladiator: an achievement of craftsmanship, functionality, and elegance.
Specs:
Gladiator, Champion Edition
12W+ deep blue LED, green AV switch
Viridium Sound
Brown leather wrap
V4 37” Blade
Length: 10.25in/26cm
Emitter width: 1.75in/4.5cm
Body width: 1.375in/3.5cm
Time from order placement to delivery: exactly 18 weeks
Full disclosure, this is not
exactly the saber I ordered. I ordered my Gladiator back in May, explicitly to have it made in the “old” style. Unfortunately, by the time my saber got into the queue, they had run out of the old Gladiator/Gladius parts. Saber Forge kindly offered to replace it with another model of my choosing, however after spending some time with the saber, I elected to keep it. Though I don’t care for the new style as much (I’ll explain why below) I still think it’s a magnificently crafted piece of art.
This new Gladiator (and Gladius, too) has a lot of detail. A little too much in my opinion. I feel that there is elegance in simplicity, which is why I prefer the old style more. This is merely my preference, so your mileage may vary. However, the craftsmanship of all this detail is superb.
Regardless of your taste, there is one minor functional drawback concerning the detail. Specifically speaking of the switch section, all those grooves have somewhat rough edges. Now while this may provide a more secure grip, it definitely roughed up my hands after a few minutes of handling/spinning. Even with gloves, the edges “catch” just slightly and roughed up my gloves just a tiny bit. Other areas of note are the fairly sharp crystal chamber window edges and the underside edge of the emitter is just rough enough to cause some discomfort to your hand after a few minutes of spinning. It’s a natural and excellent choke point so it could definitely stand to be smoothed out a tad (something I may tackle down the road).
Now, it may sound like I have no love for this saber at all. Not so! Let me tell you why I chose to keep it.
First, it feels like a real goddamned lightsaber! This is my first saber that is anything beyond the Force FX stuff, and I tell you what…I pointed it away from myself when I first ignited it, just in case. The weight, size, workmanship, everything feels like I would imagine a “real” one to feel like. It really is incredible.
Second, the crystal chamber is absolutely fantastic. This is the feature that initially drew me to this model and it’s my favorite part of the saber. The way the crystal sits in there, the way it lights up, it’s just perfect.
Last, the fit and finish. As I’ve said multiple times already, the workmanship is top-notch. The leather wrap is perfectly applied, the finish is a perfect balance of not too shiny, not too matte, and the whole thing is fit together tight – no rattles, nothing loose, solid as a rock. The sound is also excellent; clear and crisp. As likely by happy accident, the sound is not only projected out of the pommel but also comes out of the crystal chamber as well. The effect is a somewhat more ambient sound, which adds to the experience.
Final thoughts: Though it wasn’t exactly what I was wanting, there are still enough reasons for me to keep and love this saber. The few issues I found with it are fixable and the aesthetics are growing on me. If you like the new Gladius design but want a little extra “bling”, I would absolutely recommend the Gladiator.
Overall I would give the new Gladiator an
8/10.
Pros:
Beautiful crystal chamber
Well built, solid construction
Excellent fit and finish
Cons:
Too much detail (subjective)
Rough/sharp edges on key choke points
Thanks for reading!