Lightsabers are a huge part of the Star Wars franchise. As the classic weapons of both the Jedi and the Sith, they’re certainly one of the most common items in collections of merchandise and collectibles from the galaxy far, far away. Having fallen in love with the Star Wars saga from a very young age, I have more than a few lightsabers hanging on the walls of my office and leaning against corners. However, I’ve never loved a lightsaber more than the Qui-Gon Jinn Combat Lightsaber from UK seller Padawan Outpost.

The Phantom Menace is currently celebrating its 25th anniversary, having been released in 1999 when I was four years old. As such, there was no one more exciting to me from that movie than Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson). Qui-Gon’s simple yet elegant lightsaber featured a glowing green blade, and I remember being so excited to have my own plastic version as a 6-year-old with its collapsible blade (even though it was actually Obi-Wan’s hilt with a green blade). Fast-forward two decades later and I feel like that kid again thanks to Padawan Outpost who sent me one of their Qui-Gon Jinn Combat Sabers to review.

Qui-Gon Combat Saber: Box Contents And Light Assembly

The Saber Can Be Fully Taken Apart

Carefully packaged with the blade wrapped, it’s quite clear that Padawan Outpost takes great care with its products, ensuring that their various custom and character lightsabers travel to their destinations intact. I was also quite pleased with the shipping time with my new Qui-Gon Combat Saber lightsaber arriving from the UK to my US household two days earlier than was estimated. The lightsaber also came with both an instruction manual and a list of all the multiple functions and several features that can be activated with the impressive blade (which can also be found on Padawan Outpost’s website digitally).

While arriving fully intact, Padawan Outpost also sent the necessary tools so that the hilt can be fully taken apart and to tighten the screws needed to attach the blade. The ability to completely dismantle the Qui-Gon Combat Saber is quite nice, especially seeing as how I initially had some issues charging the lightsaber until realizing that the internal killswitch was turned on, most likely to protect the saber during travel. I was also sent a display stand for the lightsaber that required some very easy assembly (with instructions featured online as well).

Taking apart the saber is also necessary for those who want to upload new styles and custom sound fonts to the SD card housed within, the true beauty of the saber’s LED Neopixel blade along with the hilt’s Proffie soundboard, one of the best on the market for replica lightsabers. Charging is also quite easy with the port featured on the bottom of the hilt which is exposed simply by unscrewing and taking off the endcap. Here are the full specs and details courtesy of Padawan Outpost:

While the Proffie version with the Neopixel blade is regarded as one of the best models due to the quality soundboard and customization options, there are other options such as a more affordable base lit model as well as one that had a Neopixel blade, but doesn’t feature a Proffie board.

Click Here To Learn More About Padawan Outpost’s Lightsabers

Qui-Gon Jinn Lightsaber Hilt Overview

An Elegant Weapon…With An Impressive Soundboard

The hilt itself is quite impressive. Looking incredibly screen-accurate to the version seen in The Phantom Menace, the all-metal lightsaber has a weight I found to be very satisfying. I also really appreciated the iconic red button which essentially operates via a plunger mechanism that’s connected to the custom core of the hilt. The blade of the lightsaber also features the classic Covertec wheel so it can be attached to a belt clip (as seen with all prequel-era Jedi lightsabers). This makes it perfect for cosplay, a canonical and functional feature included with a wide variety of Padawan Outpost’s lightsabers.

Compared to the standard Neopixel lightsabers, the included Proffie soundboard allows for an incredibly rich sound as well as more sounds in general. While this naturally includes very screen-accurate lightsaber hums, clashes, and the sound of incoming blaster fire deflections, this also includes classic quotes from the Star Wars franchise, as well as iconic music tracks with the vast majority of the presets already loaded onto the blade. As much as I love Qui-Gon Jinn, I was very happy to discover that I didn’t just have a singular color and sound to enjoy.

Wielding Qui-Gon’s Lightsaber Is An Epic Star Wars Experience

As Close To Wielding The Real Thing As Possible

Learning How To Wield A Neopixel Lightsaber Takes Some Time

The Qui-Gon Neopixel Blade Is Also A Lot Brighter Than Disney Lightsabers

The Amount Of Possibilities For Lightsaber Customization Is Huge

The Preset Styles and Sound Fonts Are Just The Beginning

Rey’s Yellow Lightsaber Sounds Exactly Like It Does In Rise of Skywalker

I Absolutely Love The Music Selection With Darth Maul’s Lightsaber Font

I Can Even Recreate The Opposite Of My Childhood Lightsaber