I used an excalibur indoor for 3 years, and it was fine. My friend managed to snap her blade in half during the first season we used them, but we figured it was just a bad sabre. Then when I brought mine outside, I snapped it in half when I dropped a quad. After that, I started hearing a lot more stories about breaking excaliburs. So, I bought myself a king. For me, the $200 wasn't too bad, but I know that for a guard of 15 or 20 (or if your guard is big, up to 30), that can be quite a lot of money for the organization. However, you can keep replacing $80 sabres (is that still what they are now? I haven't even looked at the prices in years) or you can buy $200 sabres and never have to replace them. It's one of those "big initial investment that will save you money in the long run" kind of things. Good luck with the sabres and the season!