Customer Reviews

Star Wars E3 BASIC LIGHTSABER GREEN 1

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

We are very happy with the non-battery operated line of Hasbro lightsabres and we own four different models, this is one of them. We had first purchased the battery operated light sabers and were not happy with them. If you are interested in my review of those different, more expensive toys, see those items to find my review.

This green bladed lightsabre is owned by Obi Wan Kenobi. Anakin Skywalker borrows Obi Wan's green lightsabre for one battle. Yoda's lightsabre is also green. Some other Jedi Knights use green-bladed lightsabres. The Dark Side's General Grevious collects lightsabres owned by Jedi that he has won battles with, so sometimes General Grevious uses his collected green lightsabres to fight against the Jedi. Overall, green is not the color of the Dark Side characters' lightsabres.

These less expensive and more durable light sabers are my children's favorites and preferred by my husband and I for these reasons:

a. They are more lightweight than the electronic models and therefore are easier to carry and easier to grip/hold with one hand.
b. The blades fully retract into the handle (just like they do in the movies---the electronic models don't do this) and they LOCK in the closed position so they don't fall open while carrying or wearing them.
c. The lock is easy to operate; you hold it down and flick the blade to extend the "laser blade".
d. When flicking it open, it takes just one quick flick to extend the blade completely open, and even children aged 4 can do this with one flick after a few practices.
e. It closes very easily. My children prefer to push it (gently) into the ground or into the floor to close it.
f. The built in clip works well to clip the closed unit onto the waistband of the pants, a pants pocket or a belt. Due to good design of the locking mechanism, the unit stays closed/retracted while worn in this manner.
g. The lack of electronic components and light bulbs allows for rougher play and not worrying about breakage while using it in lightsabre to lightsabre clashing together play.'
h. You won't have to replace light bulbs that can break in rough play (as the other models have).
i. There are no sensitive electronic components to break if it accidentally gets wet or left outside and is rained on.
j. At this low price we can afford to buy a couple of extras for visiting children to play with.
k. All of the blade lengths are of equal length allowing for safer play (unlike the electronic models).

Love this toy, but rated educational value as 1 as truly there is not much educational about this toy. I have no problem with this being non-educational, though, as my children have other venues to expand their education! Imaginative play is very important for children as is "unstructured free play time" and this falls into that category.

THE GOOD
Compared to my very old 1980's era saber, these lightsabers are so durable they are perfect for the active kid - just keep them away from your breakables.

No electronics, lights or fancy features; these sabers seem to be aimed at the lightsaber duelists and enthusiasts, not as collectors items but as real play-duelling sabers.

My 2 kids (8 and 3) thwack each other all day, lending the sabers to friends for impromptu duels.

The secret to their durability is a combination of the plastic (it keeps it's shape better now) and the design. I figure each section of telescoping plastic is about 2mm thick and about 8 inches long. As for design, the secret is the overlap. Each section overlaps the other with about 3 inches of plastic, making for very gently-sloped and strong conical sections.

How durable? Without any scientific testing, I have to put it this way: my 3-year old girl is about 25 lbs and she's not even half as strong her 100 pound 8-year old brother, but she's a fighter. To block one of his two-handed downward axe-chops, she grabs the handle in one hand and the blade with the other (about 6 inches from the end) and holds it over her head like she's pressing a barbell. He used to hit her timidly, now he let's her have it. The result? The saber doesn't even deflect by half an inch and it's still straight when you inspect it.

Drops from waist high all the way up to bunk-bed high onto concrete floors have resulted in no cracked plastic.

That's kid-proof!


THE BAD

The locking button locks the "blades" into the handle. Push the button down to unlock the blades, allowing you to swing the handle to extent them. The problem is the force required to push the button is pretty high. My kids need to really work at pushing it, and my wife has to use both thumbs for leverage. Since both are "stiff" to press, I figure this is by design, but I think they set it a little too tough.

As far as the grip, I know it's big for the blade. That's not so bad. What's bad is that below the hand grip, there's a crenelated portion with square protrusions running around the end. In use, kids will inadvertently hit each other and themselves with the grip. These crenels make for excellent bludgeoning points, and bruises are sure to result. I'd want a crenelated grip on a real weapon, not a play-weapon. These would only be a good idea for my kids toys if the alternative were sharp spikes or maybe saw-teeth.

Without the crenelated grip and with a slightly better lock button, this should be a 5 star.

THE UGLY
Things that could be improved include:

The length
It's a little short for a tween, teen or adult. It's great bcs. I had to get my daughter this one instead of the Yoda saber. I thought it'd be too long for her but it wasn't. My son is about to outgrow the length though (about 30+" blade)

The balance
All that thick overlapping plastic makes the toy front heavy when deployed. A 2 ounce counterweight in the grip would be great and not unwieldy even for small hands.

The belt clip
It's a little long. I suppose it's the right size for a sash-type belt, but for most others the belt clip is a bit long.


THE RATING
As for educational value, my kids have been playing with cardboard / styrofoam / umbrella swords for a long time (mostly without consent). I figure I'd rather have them use something made for play than to play with something made for other uses. Plus, I get to teach them about parry's, ripostes, lunges, beats and all sorts of fun stuff.


THE CONCLUSION
Undeniably the sturdiest, most usable lightsaber out there.

This is a really cool toy. My friend and I love ours. It is really strong and wont break unless you have the stength of Chewbacca :) You should buy it at this really low price :)

I like too much this toy you can fight,you can buy it in 4 colors,you can play STAR WARS as you where a jedi or sith,you can grab it to your belt,but what I more like is that it DOES NOT need batteries, is the best toy BY: Ivan Adolfo Perez

"I saved my money to buy this light saber. I bought this one because I wanted one that retracted fully, but I do wish that it could light up. Sometimes it is kind of hard to retract, and the plastic blade is turning white in a lot of places where it hit something hard. It's fun to battle with, but that's how it got white. The belt clip is easy to use. I think the light-up ones might be less durable. I sort of recommend it."

This was not very sturdy. Easily breakable. Should give more information on this product before purchasing.

I've had multiple toy lightsabers in the past, specifically for fighting my brother, and this type has held up the best as opposed to those. Definitely better than any electronic lightsaber, as those need thinner plastic to let the light through so the lightsaber appears to light up, and therefore the blade bends/breaks more easily. Both my and my brother's lightsabers hold up well (his is the "Black/Blue" lightsaber.) I wouldn't suggest this particular hilt type for younger children as the bottom of the hilt has somewhat pointy protrusions on the bottom that would be a very good bludgeoning tool. The belt clip is great--it holds the saber very nicely for when not in active use. This product stays together very well, especially when compared to the electronic sabers. There are a few things that can be learned from this lightsaber, but only if you look up more about fencing... Otherwise, this toy is just for play.

My grandson really likes the lightsaber. He is a 6 year old and loves star wars. Took him a while to figure out how to extend the saber part but he really likes the toy.

This is a cool toy.But I pefer black bottoms.Its an exelent toy,and i only got it cause it was green.But overall I guess it was fun.

the toy was a birthday present for my grandson. He collects star wars swords.
He loves this very much