Electric foil blade Flickmaster

I was enticed by the Flickmaster marketing as well as some positive reviews from this site. The idea of a light blade that still offered good point control was definitely something I had been on the lookout for. I did not find this in the Mr. Chen FIE which claims similar features at a fraction of the cost. While light, that blade was quite whippy. I also found appealing the idea that I could specify the exact flexibility of the Flickmaster. I specified 65. I was not as impressed as I'd hoped to be.

While it is not fair to characterize the blade I received as "whippy," I did find that it moved too much relative to the effort I was exerting with my fingers. I think I want to move the tip just a tad up and suddenly I'm aiming above the mask practically. Of course, I was able to adapt to this over time, but after returning to some of my other weapons, I found that I did not WANT to adjust to this kind of extra-sensitive point control. For others, this feeling may be ideal. While I like the idea of compact finger movements directing my point, I do prefer a closer proportion of finger effort to point movement. I like the point control feel of the Vniti. I use my Vniti when controlling an opponent's blade will give me an advantage and I do not want a radically different feeling of point control with a different weapon. I do acknowledge that some of the balance can be changed through playing with different grips and bellguards (choosing a heavier bellguard for example  improved the Flickmaster balance somewhat).

As far as durability of the Flickmaster, I expect that it would be about the same or less durable than a BF Blue. I used it for a little under one fencing season and it is still intact. On the plus side, while the blade did often bend on hard/close hits, it was pretty easy to get it back into an agreeable shape.

Considering the price of this bad boy, it does not sit well with me that the balance isn't what I prefer and I often have to re-bend it.  I do however, recognize that others might love the feel of the blade or be willing to make more adjustments than I was. It is also a plus that one could specify exactly the kind of flexibility for a backup weapon. 

3.5/5 Stars would be my rating if that was an option.