When I first tried these drum sticks, I really liked the way they were designed and how the weight distribution felt in my hand.
I play metal, and I have always preferred longer and thicker drum sticks. For most of my playing time, I've been using Vic Firth 5B Extreme.
The design of these drum sticks really made a big difference in the feel. The thickening between the middle and the tip of the stick means that the part where you hold them is not too thick, but the part that hits the rim when you do a rim shot is thicker than regular drum sticks.
Using these sticks made me feel that all my snare and tom hits were somewhat more powerful.
However, the last batch that I ordered has disappointed me a little bit.
First of all, not all the pairs feel well matched. There was one pair, where one of the drum sticks felt so much lighter than all the other Wicked Pistons that I bought. On one drum stick, half of the head fell off after just few hits on the ride cymbal. And I feel like the rim shots eat through the drum sticks too fast.
Pros:
Really nice weight distribution
Great for powerful hits
Cons:
Unfortunately, quality seems to be an issue
I will give these drum sticks another chance next time I buy, hoping that whatever quality issues I came across were just something temporary. Because I'd really hate to have to switch drum sticks again