TOPIC: Ultrasabers Grab Bag - Dark Apprentice LE V4

Recently, I was introduced to the Ultrasabers Grab Bag by Darth Crain's topic about his new saber. Being a fan of blind boxes and intrigued by getting a saber super quick, I decided to order a Grab Bag for myself to have a relatively inexpensive stunt saber to play with.

On March 12th, I ordered the Grab Bag with UltraEdge Heavy blade, fire orange colour, retention wrench, circle blade plug, and Covertech wheel. The total with shipping to Canada was $132.07 USD.

Yesterday, I received a call from FedEx Canada notifying me that I would need to pay customs. It came to $19.98. It made me sad, but hey, it's better than the $30 - $40 in customs I've been charged in the past for much smaller and cheaper items!

Today, the FedEx truck dropped by and delivered a rather long box. I opened the top to find packing peanuts. After emptying them, I pulled out a bubble-wrapped package containing my new saber, the Dark Apprentice LE V4 with no windows and red activation button.

As a note, for the options I received, a Dark Apprentice LE V4 would cost $108.99 before shipping. The Grab Bag price I paid for my options prior to shipping was $99.00, so I did get somewhat of a discount.

Reviewers elsewhere have compared some of Ultrasabers' products to Maglite flashlights. I'll admit the look of my saber does kind of resemble one, but I personally still find it beautiful. I especially love the silver accents. Where it's most like a Maglite, though, is in seeming sturdiness. My saber feels solid! My only criticism is that when I shake it, the battery holder inside jiggles around a little, which does make me worry just a tiny bit, admittedly.

I love the circle blade plug. I had to pay extra, but I found it worth it because the plug is a thing of beauty and looks amazing when the saber is activated.

The UltraEdge Heavy blade I received is 36" long. When it's out of the saber, it matches up with my SaberForge 37" saber in terms length. I was hoping for a slightly shorter blade since I already have problems spinning my SaberForge saber inside the house, but the HeavyEdge does look nice. The photos I took honestly don't do it justice as the light is much brighter in person.

Speaking of the light, the fire orange looks spectacular and definitely fits the Dark Apprentice LE V4. I love it! Now, I would like to mention that my SaberForge 12W Light Blue Acolyte is definitely brighter than my Dark Apprentice. I'm not sure if it's because of the colour difference or the possibility that my Dark Apprentice comes with a lower-powered LED. I just know my Acolyte is brighter. Still, I don't mind the difference.

All in all, I'm quite happy with my Grab Bag. It arrived incredibly fast and I love the saber I received. Will I buy another Grab Bag? No, because I don't want to end up with the same saber again. LOL Can I recommend getting a Grab Bag? Yes, but only if you're okay with the randomness of the process.

Now, for the photos!

monkeyofshaolin, nice documentary of your order process and the colour combination of the blade LED and Hilt Finish are very effective. Shame about the surprise 'add-on' with Border Customs but that's an exceptionally quick turn around time.
Is the black guarded switch obstructive with your wielding? and is the pictured an SF Blade Plug or have US changed their Circle Plugs?

OvrcAHst, thank you! Glad you liked my review.

The blade plug I received is from Ultrasabers. It was one of the available add-on options for the Grab Bag. I'm not sure what Ultrasabers circle blade plugs used to look like, so I can't compare.

I've only spun my new saber around for a maximum of five minutes since I got it. I've spent more time taking / editing photos. LOL I admit that the activation switch is slightly in the way, as in I can feel it when I do more complex spins (that I currently am not very good at since I'm new to doing spins with a saber). The switch is not in the way when I do basic spins (like just twirling it around in one direction).

I hope this helps.

Very nice! As I have said, there is beauty in simplicity!

monkeyofshaolin wrote: My foolish oversight, just checked and your Blade Plug is indeed the Circle. Have always confused the two as their 'Standard' visually looks like a circle and their 'Circle' looks more like a constellation thus why I thought you plugged an SF into it.
Thank you for clarifying my queries with your User feedback.

I also just ordered a grab bag myself. Ordered it Monday afternoon and it should arrive by Friday. I still have another month probably to wait for my first SF sabers to arrive so I figured this will help pass the time. The only add-ons I ordered were consular green LED, circle blade plug and a ultra-heavy blade (all the blades were the same price so why not go for the most durable). I also have to thank Darth Crain for the idea.

A halfways decent saber you have there! I am currently the owner of a standard Apprentice with a green blade. In picture comparison my blade looks much brighter than yours. Blade type, perhaps? Mine is a midgrade, so that might be the cause.

That yellow/orange is gorgeous. I love the blade plug, reminds me of a sunflower. Looks like you did well in the grab bag.

Just to add my own two cents', and bearing in mind that I'm not great at spinning either, the guarded switches on my Aeon and Initiate are there but not a huge problem. I think the worst thing I've done has been to accidentally kill power or put it in lockup. That said, I recently got a Dominix with AV switch and it is nice to have the switch more-or-less completely out of the way rather than just "not a huge problem".

Eddlyss64 wrote: Mid-grade blades are a fair bit brighter than heavy grade. Also, not sure whether the OP's comparison was of the blade's aura or looking directly at the blade, but a lot of people feel the Ultraedge blades wash out reds and oranges; they're still as bright as a non-Ultraedge, but somehow they don't look quite as bright to the eye (or camera).

The use of this blade plug in this particular saber makes it look even better. I've never been a fan of Ultrasabers, but I must admit this is one very nice looking saber. Congratulations on your purchase my friend, enjoy !

Vyk, my comparison of the brightness of my Ultrasabers saber to my SaberForge one is when I look at them with my eyes. The contrast between the two are more severe in my photos.

I haven't seen the non-UltraEdge blades in person, so I unfortunately cannot speak to whether the UltraEdge is washing out the orange colour of my saber light or not. I personally find the orange looks great in person.

Cheers!

Ungh. These are still tempting....lol

Here's a shot of me with my new saber.

Hopefully, this won't tempt you too much more to get a Grab Bag, BoostinIX!

monkeyofshaolin wrote: Just Now: Now that's a great integration of compromise if ever I saw one. Onwards and endless with the photos with at least holding and playing in between. Saber Selfies Thread +1!

Cheers for the post and review.
I'm up in Canada as well so the comparison in cost and wait time was beneficial for me personally.
I used to have a 12w+ Amber and it too looked dimmer to me than the Blue in person. I sometimes wonder if lower in ohms resistors could assist in brightening some colours but that would most likely add heat and you could pooch the module…
Pretty deece for a random grab bag and good call on choosing your own colour at least. Could possibly be a good practice hilt to learn to add sound to?
The selfies are fun to do.

While the Circle Plug does look awfully familiar, it has a white shine-through material where the SF blade plugs have metal. But I get the feeling I'm seeing another Relic/Renegade thing.

EDIT: Wait it's not shining through! Okay, this is looking a lot more like the Relic/Renegade thing.

monkeyofshaolin wrote:
Hnnnnng....

I put a WTB up in Custom Sabers fb group for a warrior, see what comes up