Inhilt LEDs (also referred to as inhilt, baselit, or RGB) are what they sound like: one to four super-bright LEDs inside the hilt, at the base of the blade. They illuminate a hollow tube, usually with cellophane inside to diffuse the light. Because the blade is essentially a hollow tube, they can take much more of a beating than Neopixel sabers. They are the preferred illumination type for dueling and the lowest budget tier sabers
Tri-Cree, Quad-Cree, Cree XPE2, Luxeon, are all terms for different types of inhilt LEDs. Tri-Crees have three Cree LEDs under three lenses; Quad-Crees have four Cree LEDs under one lens; Cree is the name of the company that makes these LEDs; Cree XPE-2 is a model of LED they make; and Luxeon is another company that the community used to rely on for inhilt LEDs. Cree XPE-2 LEDs are the standard these days.
Most lower budget $50-$150 inhilt/baselit sabers use weaker LEDs with an inefficient lens setup which leads to lower light diffusion and weaker colour mixing compared to options such as Tri-Crees.
Neopixel (often referred to as pixel, Neo, or Plecterpixel) uses LED strips with individually addressable LEDs inside the blade to achieve the scrolling effect of a saber when powering up and down and more complex effects (e.g. localized and responsive effects, flame, rainbow, stripe, unstable). Pixel blades are pricier than inhilt/baselit LED sabers, and due to the brighter blade and increased power draw, the saber's battery life takes a steep dive. The average life of an in-hilt LED lightsaber with the sound muted and color set to red (the least power drawing color) is 4-5 hours of continuous use; a pixel saber lasts only around 45 minutes. Fortunately, most PlecterPixel sabers are designed for removable batteries, allowing you to go from 0-100% in under 5 minutes.
SK6812/WS2812B and APA102 are terms for different types of pixel LEDs.
Our full range of blades for all hilt types can be found here:
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