TOPIC: REVIEW: Chosen- Warrior Tier- 12W+ Mint Green

So, as some of you may know, I jumped on the bandwagon and got a Chosen almost as soon as they went up on the site (ordered mine at about midnight on 2/22, think they'd been added to the site about 24 hours before that).

Flash forward to Monday. It was a slow day at the main office so I thought I'd go out and do some work at our locations. One of the locations I needed to visit was the one about 5 minutes from my house. It was just after noon, which meant no one was going to be at the location, since it was lunch time, so I stopped by the house for lunch. Five minutes after I walked in, the doorbell rang. It was the mailman with my Chosen!

Now first thing I want to mention is: my toberlone looked like someone had run it over with a truck, and then given it to a rancor, who had then tried to wring it out like a wet towel. The package was beat, dented, and even had about a six inch long tear in one side. Luckily, though, all the contents were still present. So, kudos for the Forge for packing their stuff well enough to resist the best efforts of the Postal Service's package reavers!

Now on to the saber itself.

Let's talk, first of all, about how stupid light this hilt is. I've been impressed in the past, with my other SF purchases, by how much lighter and easier to manipulate the Forge's hilts are compared to others I've handled, but the Chosen makes even my Bane seem like a school bus in comparison. This thing is downright spritely. It's also quite a bit narrower in the shaft than both my Bane and my Fury. Then again, my other SFs are champion tiers, so it may just be that the sound card and speaker adds that much weight. But as far as weight and maneuverability, the Chosen gets an A from me.



Such small. Much light. Wow.

Next off, the one thing everyone always wants to talk about with sabers, brightness. On that topic, let me say: OH GOD, MY EYES! This is my first 12W+ saber, and the difference between it and my 12W Bane is considerable. Granted, some of that is attributable to color (the Bane is Blood Orange, the Champion is Mint Green), but even so. This is doubly impressive considering that the Chosen is a thin-neck saber. Even with the blade on, this thing is almost painful to look at. Even more so when the blade is off, and you accidentally hit the power button while the emitter is pointed anywhere in the general direction of your face (more on this in a moment).



Uh.. yeah. I think this thing is bright. I should probably mention that this photo was taken during the day, albeit on an overcast day, with the blinds cracked and three lamps on in the room at the time of picture-taking.

I also noticed that the Forge apparently puts some kind of reflective tape down in to the thin-neck section, presumably to help channel the light up into the blade. This is perfectly fine with me, and seems to do a pretty job of its (assumed) intended function. So, brightness is another A grade.

Now for the cons, of which there are two, but both are relatively minor, and wholly subjective and limited to my personal tastes.

The first, as I've already vaguely mentioned, is the activation switch. It's very low profile, and looks very nice, but it's just a bit too easy to accidentally trigger. Despite being a latching switch, if you apply about "half" pressure with an accidental finger brush, you get a sudden "flashbulb" effect where the saber fires off without you meaning for it to. So far, I have blinded myself about five times doing this, and my wife once or twice. While this is mainly an issue due to my being a klutz, it might behoove Saberforge to consider some switches that are more pressure resistant in the future, or at least a little more guarded against accidental "discharge".

The other issue I have is the covertec knob. The Chosen is such a light, streamlined saber that the covertec seems almost intrusive. I'm actually considering removing it and replacing it with a D-ring from TCSS next paycheck. Partially because I apparently feel that thin-neck sabers should have D-rings, partially because I kind of want to move the covertec to my Bane, opposite the covertec it already has (I think I mentioned in my review of the Bane that I found the covertec placement on that hilt to actually HELP grip retention), and partially because it seems like a D-ring would interfere with my grip less than the knob does.

As stated, though, both of these complaints are based wholly on my own personal preferences, and are not at all faults with the saber itself. The construction is solid and the design is both functional and attractive. I think the Forge really knocked this one out of the park, personal gripes be damned.

And one final thing: Mint Green is a gorgeous color! I may start ordering all my sabers in this color.

All in all, I'm so happy with this saber that I actually open carried it on Monday when I went back to work, and have been lovingly fingering it ever since.



My new EDC piece? Maybe so!

So, if anyone out there is looking for a budget minded thin-neck, a lightweight saber for spinning/twirling, or just a dueler/practice saber that fits easily in the hand: GET. A. CHOSEN. You won't regret it.

OH! One other thing, and this is directed at Saberforge.

Chosen. Grey Weathering. Get on it. This saber would look freaking amazing in grey weathered.

Afadir wrote:
Agreed. Also would love to see the exhalted in a grey weathering.

Also, excellent saber! Congrats.

Gorgeous saber, I love that mint green. Congrats!

Another great Chosen with a green hued blade. Starting to see a trend here. Congratulations on your beautiful saber.

I agree, the D-ring would be amazing. It is a subtle change but one I think would really pop. Thank you for the review, I'm really considering getting one.