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...