Vic Firth 5AN Nova Hickory Nylon Tip

I normally use the Vic Firth 5AN American Classic Hickory, but saw these at a much lower price, so had to try them. I was wondering what the difference was between these, for 6 euro's and the 11 euro version. The balance and weight is really about the same as the more expensive version, I tried one in each hand and the only difference I noticed was that the wood here is unfinished. I could mix them and still play comfortably. The main difference I think (seeing as both are supposed to be hickory) is that the Nova's are not finished. Gripwise, this actually feels quite good, they don't slip out of my hands easily. However, I feel like this makes them very fragile, after playing with them for an hour in a practice room they already took quite some damage (and I'm not a loud drummer). Since then, however, I've not used them due to Corona... I would say they will most likely last substantially shorter than the Vic Firth 5AN American Classic Hickory sticks, so next time I'll be buying those again. The reason I'm still giving four stars total is that the price is really quite good...

When i first played with the sticks, i definitely noticed the quality that's made vic firth a big name in drum sticks. Light weight, comfortable, and seemingly durable. A couple things wrong were obviously they leave marks on your kit(which doesnt bother me considering its time for new heads), and also, after a couple weeks, the top portion of one of them broke off. Im not a super hard player, but apparently hard enough to break them. Overall though, decent sticks for beginners, and for the price. Also the sticks are great but the red paint comes off the sticks easy takes a little more than Lava or Fast Orange to clean your hands. If you do buy the red ones make sure to rinse the paint off before using. I also bought black ones and those seem to be fine. Either the red paint wasn't cured properly or this is just something you have to expect for discounted drumsticks.
I picked up these sticks because i needed alot of sticks really cheap and really fast. I use 5A and well the red stain stood out. I figured why not. Well they turned out to be fairly durable and are just a striking visual live. All in all this is the best deal for the price you can get on 5A hickory.

I cannot share some the negative comments by some people. Even expensive sticks breaks now and then the first time you hit a cymbal, the ride bell or snare rim. I tried my first pair of VF Nova on a pretty intensive gig: not a broken stick and not more wear than I would expect from a regular 5A.
The feel is slightly different when compared the the regular 5A, balance is a bit different, but nothing I can't get used to and not worse or better.
Try them and save a dime!

Edit: ...after extensive usage I must revise my positive statement, I seem to have been very lucky with the first batch I ordered, the six oder seven pairs I ordered this year broke very easily when the music got a little louder and a little more aggressive, sorry but no more Novas for me....

I bought 4 pairs and I pretty much went through the whole batch in a couple of weeks. I've used Balbex and Promarks in the past with much better results and longer usage periods.

Probably the worst cut from a wood possible. The wood grains are all aligned so that the stick will break very easily.

Snare hand? Breaks from the middle in a few hours if you play any kind of rimshots. Cymbal hand? Breaks from the tip after a few hours of usage. Completely worthless. I've used Millenium drumsticks that were more durable than this.

Not recommended, do not buy.