Specifications




Packaging

Let me preempt this section with a little story about me, UPS, a thrown back and how woefully unprepared I was for receiving a case of this magnitude.

After tracking the Sword M’s progress across the continent I made sure I stayed home from work the day it was supposed to be delivered. When I finally saw the UPS truck pull up I went to the front door only to find the skinniest UPS guy I have ever seen carrying a box that would have daunted a good-sized forklift. As he teetered up the snow-covered walkway (whoops, forgot to shovel) I stood there with a smile on my face because here was the same guy who left a power supply on my doorstep in a snowstorm a week before. Payback’s a bitch, ain’t it?

To make a long story short, I helped carry the behemoth box back to the UPS truck due to a customs charge and I proceeded to jump through more loopholes than a circus monkey in order for the charges to be waived while the Sword M sat at the UPS warehouse. Finally, I went to pick up the Sword…alone…in a snowstorm, and once again I was greeted with The Beast:


The size of the Sword M’s box can only be called obscene and the weight of it is something I never want to experience again. Thinking there was someone to impress, I refused the dolly from the blond bombshell at the UPS counter and proceeded to lug this 80-pound box to my car through blowing snow. Needless to say, my back decided enough was enough and blew out on me as I heaved the Sword M into my trunk. What came next was a crawl into the car and three visits to a chiropractor.

That being said, if you need to pick up this box I recommend you bring along a forklift, Sherpa or able-bodied friend along with you because nearly 80lbs of aluminum in a size-defying box is not something to be toyed around with.


Considering the size of the box itself, I would have thought there would have been quite a bit more padding inside but as it turns out, there is quite a bit of wiggle room. Both ends of the Sword M are protected by polystyrene inserts while the no-so-delicate finish is kept scratch-free by a cloth covering. To tell you the truth, I was hoping to see a bit more packaging material in there protecting a $600 investment.