Alright , a few months ago, my son broke his elbow. It took some time for him to recover from that. I talked to my partner about maybe surprising him with some lightsabers. They agreed.
After dealing with an experience, we found our way over to Dark Wolf Sabers. Had no idea what to expect as we opted for the mystery sabers.
When they arrived, my son had finally gotten his cast off. His Physical Therapy had said that they were thinking of getting him into sword fighting. By that point, we had already been dueling. Turns out it helped him bounce back super quickly to full recovery.
My birthday came, Happy 35. I saved some birthday money up and found a Simplified Anakin TXQSaber over from 1977SaberFeast on Aliexpress.
I was so stoked. This was a saber that I had hoped one day that I could get. When Master Replicas were available at Best Buy in 2005, I had tried to talk my Dad into getting one. But he pointed out that it was just the hilt and couldn't actually use it. That was a pretty valid point. So all these years later, it was nice to finally get it. I opted for the RGB cause I'm terrified I'll break a neopixel so easily.
The day came for its delivery, I was like a kid on Christmas Day. I was super pumped for it. That day, it took its time arriving. But it was incredibly worth the wait.
This saber is different than my Dark Wolf board. It features 16 fonts, 12 colors, smooth swing. The one I had ordered had originally the two button set up. The shop I had purchased from (1977SaberFeast) quickly let me know that version wasn't available anymore. To make up for it, they sent a saber plug. It is one of those little things that makes the experience even cooler.
For those interested, here is a list of the Saber Fonts in no particular order:
- Cal Kestis
- Dark Saber
- Darth Vader
- Anakin
- Obi-Wan
- Yoda
- Leia
- Palpatine
- Dooku
- Kylo Ren
- Luke
- Ahsoka
- Ben Solo
- Starkiller
And 2 fonts that can't recall at the moment.
For comparison, my Dark Wolf saber has only 12 fonts. There was a bit of overlap, but that was not a hindrance at all. The thing that I was super surprised by was the fact that it also features 3 music tracks that can be played. It was really cool to hear Duel of the Fates, the Star Wars theme, and the Imperial March playing in the background during some duels. The speaker on the saber is also incredibly well designed. One small drawback is that the charging port is in the bottom of soundboard - so it requires you to unscrew the bottom half to access it. Small little nitpick.
Now to talk about the colors that can be used. While the Dark Wolf has the infinite changing feature, the 12 colors used for this saber are solid. The way that the light from the hilt emits into the blade is nice. It is pretty vivid. If I had to compare it to the Dark Wolf, I'd give the TXQSaber the point. It just seems like its brighter and more vibrant.
Here are some examples of the various colors available:
Now for those of you wondering about how the blade, I can say that this is very well made. It's the standard polycarbonate blade. The length of it is about 36 inches. It's held up so far to a lot of heavy dueling between my son and I. The more that we use them, the more I grow to love this hobby in general. But after about 8-10 duels so far, it's faired extremely well. For some of the blades, there's like a filament inside of it to help the light illuminate it. But these ones I've noticed have a plastic tube inside it that helps distribute the light throughout the blade.
As I mentioned before, I can't say how the Neopixel blades fair. All of the blades that I've gotten so far have been for RGB sabers. The reason being that they are extremely durable for dueling. I have heard some say that neopixel blades are cooler for displays and medium dueling. Maybe some day but the way that my son and I have been dueling, it's far from the medium dueling. It's kinda the go big or go home attitude about it. But the best thing of these duels is that they are definitely moments that my son will always remember.
If you have a chance of being able to pick up a lightsaber, I would absolutely highly recommend it. There is no cooler feeling than holding the saber in your hand with it ignited. It just brings back that feeling you had when you first experienced Star Wars. Now some may say that this hilt isn't exactly Anakin's and that is true. This was what they called the Simplified Anakin saber. For the most part, it is a solid take on it. It isn't a straight up replica. And that is perfectly fine because it feels like a mashup of the Skywalker saber overall. It contains elements from Anakin's and Luke's.
This was a saber that I will never regret buying. It's from a different brand than what I had previously been used to. But that's the beauty of this hobby, it allows you to branch out and try different ones. I should also say that this isn't like a standard LGT/VHC saber where the parts can be swapped out. If you wish, you could add maybe a piece of leather around part of it if you wish for a Reforged Skywalker saber feel to it. It's a beautiful product that is well made. It blew away every expectation that I had. And it has held up extremely well to all of the tests that it's been put through. And yes that includes spinning it like Anakin did in Revenge of the Sith. That is one of the coolest things that I have been able to pull off during a duel.
If you are looking for a solid entry into Lightsabers and want something replica inspired, this is without a doubt a good choice. If you want a proper replica, well this may not be your cup of tea. And if you are looking for a lot of customization, well this isn't it either unfortunately.
HILT Score: 4.5 out of 5
SOUND Score: 4.5 out of 5
COLOR Score: 5 out of 5 (It's not Infinite Changing, but it doesn't need to be.)
DUELING Score: 5 out of 5
Overall Score: 4.75 out of 5. (Highly Recommend.)
If you wish to find it, check it out here on 1977SaberFeast's Aliexpress.
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