Vic Firth is a name on its own. The sticks take quite a beating before they break and I had pairs that shed layer after layer before giving up.
The pairs I got were all very balanced and nicely finished.
The tip is especially important to me. I used a lot of sticks, that I had to get rid of because of broken tips and not actually broken shafts. Wont happen with this one :)
Really good Stick I will buy again and again.