TOPIC: Vader's Vault REV-N Elite (Darth Revan)

Hello Ladies and Gents. This is a quick review of my Rev-N Elite, Vader's Vault version of the Fallen. Please note that VV was already selling their Rev-N when the Fallen came out, so no, VV didn't copied Saberforge (Some people are fast on the "attacking other companies" trigger). Also note that I'm not saying SF copied VV, far from that. Both designs are both alike and totally different. I suggest you give a look at my review to learn more!

Many of you already know I'm a member of the 501st as Darth Revan. All that was missing was the right saber. I had to buy Revan's saber. I had bought a LOT of Saberforge sabers before then, and I wanted to try another company. Vader's Vault, another reknown company, is offering their own version of Revan's first saber, so I decided to try that company.

18 weeks went by between when I ordered and when I received my saber. A long wait you will say. Sure! Was it worth it? Hell yeah! The saber is so small and light, it actually feels like the real thing. Some sabers out there are massive, and too large for me to consider them as accurate lightsaber designs. The Apprentice sabers category from SF is doing an amazing job at achieving this criteria, as well as some of their Elite sabers. I must admit, this is one of the things that made VV popular: The size of their hilts.

I went for the Suncrusher LED Option, VV's most powerful LED, which is in fact a Tri-Cree XPE2, the brightest LED module out there up to now. I went for a Red/Red/White configuration, giving the saber Flash on Clash, Blaster deviation and Lock On visual and sound effect. This thing is SO BRIGHT!!! Once you get a taste of the FoC, you can't go back.

The saber has 3 soundfonts included, and they can be changed through the SD Card. The saber has no in hilt-recharge, which I think is a shame. Although, I must admit batteries are more convenient for Cosplayers like me. The saber doesn't come with a Blade Plug, just like any other VV sabers, which is, in my own opinion, a shame. You have to buy them separately. I mean, for the price you pay, it SHOULD be included.

I purchased the saber with VV's dual diffused blade: Light (Very light), very bright, but not made for dueling.

I could go on for decades, but I'm tired and well, it's time for some pros and cons:

Pros:
- Very small and light lightsaber
- Very comfortable
- Amazing to wield
- Impressive electronics, especially in term of brightness and customization capacities. I LOVE the FoC.
- Amazing and friendly customer service from the beginning to the end. Even VV's after sell service is legendary.

Cons:
- THE WAIT!!
- No blade plug... What the fuck?!
- No in hilt recharge. I hate pulling stuff out. I'm always afraid of breaking something

I ordered an ESB Flex from Vader's Vault, as well as a second Rev-N with the RGB Configuration. I plan on making a Rev-N staff. I'll do some reviews once I get everything. Flex should be here by the end of may (UNBERABLE WAIT...)

I leave you guys with some Glamour shots. If you have any questions, feel free to ask !

Great review! I gotta say, I'm always baffled when some of those "copycat" accusations get flung around with character sabers; the designs aren't original to begin with folks XD One day they'll all be on the same page, though.

Great looking hilt, and that is, indeed, impressively bright! Have you taken it to cons already? Does it show well in daylight (indoors)? Shame about the plug, though. I'm not a fan of theirs, anyway, I have to say. I prefer the plug to actually look like part of the saber. Eventually I intend to have a pair of Revan sabers, too, this classic design and the "Reborn" design (Is SF the only company making those?). Between VV, SF's factory line up and ASP, I'll have a lot of options for this one when the time comes. This review definitely helps. Thanks for sharing!

That is a seriously beautiful looking hilt by VV. Looks so shiny and perfect. Happy for you Revan. Looks like one of the best purchases you could have made!

MommyHoldMe wrote:
Definitely is one of the best purchase I ever made indeed. The one saber I can't wait to get is my Graflex.

Borommakot wrote:
As of now, SF is indeed the only company making the "Reborn".

I have brought the Saber to a few cons, but I've sadly nothing to show. I asked a few attendees to show me the pictures they were taking, and trust me when I say it blinds cellphone cameras. It's a very impressive saber.

Darth-Revan, Nice Review and Thank you for sharing. A comprehensive write-up and informative too. So your scattered absence around the Forums lately has a reason, a new Toy? What CS version is VV using now? Undoubtedly the Cree XP-E2 in a RRW is plenty bright and the images are likely not an accurate measure either with the illumination brilliance. Have you tried pairing it with your Starlight Blade and what are the comparisons? How long is the Hilt too?

OvrcAHst Alright my friend, in order:

As far as I'm aware of, VV is currently using the latest version of the CS, but I can't remember which version it is hahaha!

I tried the saber with the Starlight blade, but to be honest it doesn't make much of a difference. VV's dual diffused is pretty bright my friend. I sure can take comparison pictures if you want, but like I said, it isn't that obvious.

I must confess something: I broke one of the LEDS in the saber. What you're seeing in the pictures is actually just one Red LED running. I let you imagine how bright this thing is when both Red LEDS are up. I screwed up the wiring of my saber by oppening it in the middle instead of the pommel. Luckily, VV's owners are awesome people and agreed to repair my saber for free, even though I technically broke my warranty. I was planning on sending it back to get it upgraded to RGB anyway,so you could say I'm hitting two birds with the same stone.

The saber is 10 inches long, which is pretty reasonnable. What is incredible is its diameter: 1.05". Plus, it weights nothing. I don't have anything to weight it, but I can tell you it's crazy light compared to my Monarch!

Quick comparison!

Darth-Bravo-Henry-Revan: Whilst I'd like to say CSv3.0, over the course of the 18Weeks lead time you spoke of difficult to say if Alan (VV) was using CSv2.5 or had those remaining before using the latest. There's not a huge difference (if any) between the two IIRC. Agreed. When you last wrote of the Starlight in your Monarch Review was curious if there was an obvious difference. If the difference is minimal with you looking at it I highly doubt a photo would have any more success with capturing it. Besides with 1 Cree down I may have to squint to imagine it full brightness. Also, I further doubt Photo-Ops would be present in the Lobby where you have hinted you work. This seems like an amateur error from such a seasoned professional as you. Lucky for you that VV has agreed to fix-it for you. You mentioned you're in Canada, what's return Shipping like, cost and time, reasonable? The upgrade to RGB will= an extra pop of $99 right in addition to your 2nd Rev-N Elite? A nice pair indeed. Same Finish on both with possibility of a coupler or is one weathered? Hope for you sake the 'agreed' fix-it-for-free doesn't mean it'll tag onto the lead time of the 2nd and you won't get both until another 18+/-Weeks later. That must be a dream to handle. I compare my US to my GCS and GCS is simply magic for the thinner girth. At only 1.05", that's gotta be a relative secure grip. Did you go a Standard 32 or something shorter since the Hilt itself is only 10"?

Oh, I have noticed that with 'banner' in tow, you have adopted some Minions.
Evidently 'Up and Down' will be followed.

EDIT: As the expression goes, have just been Ninja-ed! Monarch's have been known to be a massive tool. Comparison dimensions alone the gauge can be imagined. Thanks for the side-side.

I have to say, I feel like saying one company copied the other on this design would be like saying Ultrasabers or Saberforge copied the other on the Guardian/Avenger design. It's not their design in the first place! Other than that, whoa, that's tiny. I have severely underestimated the tininess of VV hilts up until now. And as for unscrewing the lightsaber and breaking something, welcome to the club. I have made that mistake, and I daresay I've gotten myself into an even larger mess than your paltry "1 LED doesn't work". Congrats, though I think I've seen this before. Was it something to do with a Starlight blade comparison?

The vibe I get from seeing that picture is VV hilts are mostly used as one handed hilts, while SF has plenty of hilts that are dual wielded, or at least can be.

@Ryan-Rising, There's plenty of controversy surrounding designs, concepts and copyright and not just limited to Saber Hilts. Macca's vs Burker King, Pizza Hut vs Domino's, Fashion and especially in automotive. Discussing politics of such can often be an endless task or a 'hot-button' issue if you will. Was reading Archives recently and came across this oldie, not completely related however the themes are similar.

@MommyHoldMe, Design elements come into play with focus on who the target market is intended for. Owners will have large hands and small hands or simply preferences to smaller Hilts versus larger. As you write, single hand wield or dual-hand wield. This reminds me of the Apprentice Oracle. Each will have their versatile attractions, will just depend on what your flavour is.

MommyHoldMe wrote:
Mostly true. See, they're super light, so wielding them with one hand is both easy and awesome. However, they offer a really good grip if you want to hold it with two hands.

You're right. After two years in the community and 30+ Sabers, I should know better not to do something that stupid... I'm a little bit ashamed when I think of it, but well, what is done is done. I consider myself VERY lucky Alan and Deanna agreed to fix it for free. Return cost in US is something like 15$, which is more than affordable hehe. The upgrade normally is 125$ when you send a saber back, but Deanna told me they would do it for 99$ for me. You see how amazing these guys are? Normally, it takes 1-2 weeks for repairs and mods, which is reasonnable if you ask me. The second REV-N is a copy paste of the first one. I chose a "Gold" coupler to go with them. The final result is gonna be pretty nice I believe. There's a long (very long) way to go before I get my second saber. I'll be sure to post some updates in this thread when I have some to post hehe!

RuleroftheWaitingGuild wrote: Often a slice of Humble Pie needs to be eaten regardless of how it tastes and difficult to swallow. Is that the goal for you, to revisit an upwards of 30+ Saber Collection again?

Hot dog, Revan! Fantastic looking saber you have there!

That lightsaber looks delicious!

If I recall, VV combat hilts are about 1.25", no? 1.05" would just be a wrap of foil around a 1" blade...

As for the lack of in-hilt recharge, I've an idea, but... How is the black bulb attached to the pommel? Judging by the vent holes at the end of the cylinder, am I right in assuming the hilt has a silver disc/cap acting as the pommel with the black bulb screwed into it? My first thought would be to drill a hole into the bottom of the pommel bulb and wire in a recharge port so the saber wouldn't have to be opened again, but not sure if there's actually any room to slip the port in.

Awesome saber Darth Revan! Congrats & Enjoy!

Kouri wrote:
The pommel and the part with the "holes" are in fact one single part. I'll take pictures later if you want. I can also take pictures of the measuring tape showing how slim the saber is. I might be wrong, I'm not very good with inches (Americans... We work in centimeters here for fuck sakes). Sure thing is: it is smaller than Saberforge's sabers inner diameter, that's for sure.

OvrcAHst wrote:
Forgot something here huh.

Well, to be precise, I've owned more than 30+ sabers, but never more than 4 at once. My goal is to have a final collection of 4-5 sabers. I pretty much know what my final collection will be made of in term of sabers... I think .

My saber left my little world today to go back to its makers! It should be back in a few weeks. I'll make sure to post pictures of the RGB Rev-N Elite !