As expected of any Vic Firth stick, the 5A Extremes are great. They are especially good because of the extra length. I'm generally a smaller person and I chose them for this reason. I also came to find that they have a perfect balance between the length and the weight.
I generally only play rim shots on the snare, except for the ghost notes, and I tend to break a stick at around the 2-3 month mark, which I think is good, considering that I play almost every day.