I recently switched from a competitive brand to Vater, having very low expectations.
First thing I definitely noticed was how much more durable the tips are. With the 4 pairs of sticks I ordered, only one stick's tip actually broke in the span of a couple of months.
However, with one of those pairs, both sticks split within 3 minutes of playing them, after a few rimshots.
The other 3 pairs lasted a significant amount of time, though, which makes these sticks definitely worth it for me (especially for the tips).