According to reviews and such, they have no increase on hand and arm fatigue. They are said to play and react just like a wood stick.
Also, for the rest of you, here's a video comparison of them versus wood tips on a ride.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pr21A8cEShk
I can't believe how good they sound. They're just a little brighter than wood tips, but not nearly as offensively bright as nylon tips can be. Sounds like a good trade-off.
I'm really starting to think that Vic Firth is on to something here.
I assume they are waiting to see the response before making other sizes. Does anyone know the process? And they molded or heat forced some way. Just wondering
I just got a pair and so far, so good.
I use nylon tip sticks so I the change in cymbal tone is negligible as a rock player. They do sound much better and more natural than any other synthetic stick I've used. Rimshots are killer. (I doubt the straight ahead guys will change anyway.)
I also just got a pair today, and they are really something else. I noticed that they sound a little bit brighter on the ride at lower volumes (though if you're playing low volume ride, you probably don't want to use these anyways) but they sound like normal sticks at higher volumes, and sound fantastic on everything else. I find the weight refreshing, and yet they're easy to handle due to the pretty standard diameter (plus, they're hollowed out in the butt of the stick to a certain point to decrease weight- puts a little more weight towards the front so they move more easily). Rimshots are markedly different- the stick contributes a really unique 'pop' to the sound, at least on my die-cast hoops. It's awesome, and I honestly can't see any marks on them where I rimshot. (plus, cross stick sounds are also really good!)
My only complaint so far is that they chip kind of easily on the portion where I'm crashing cymbal edges (most of my cymbals are angled so the stick is reasonably tangential to the edge curve when hit, so I'm not sure why it happens), but it's not any worse than wood chipping. It started happening much quicker than my wood sticks, but I don't expect it to be a major issue as far as life expectancy goes.
Overall, I really like them a lot, for both the logical reasons and the feel reasons. I got mine for ~$45 on Amazon, and I would seriously recommend them for anyone looking for a longer-lasting stick (or just a nice feeling heavy 5B).
Are they leaving any sort of unusual marks on your cymbals?
Aquarian has been making composite sticks since the 80's. These are only $10 on sale.
Aquarian Formula X-10
My biggest complaint was the weighting of the stick, and it made it unplayable for me. I know stick preference is totally subjective, so take what I say with a grain of salt, but these things are so forward-weighted (probably from the hollowed-out butt end) that I feel like I'm desperately fighting the stick instead of letting it do the work. I wanted to play for a few hours with them to give him some feedback, but I honestly couldn't stand them for more than 15 minutes. It feels like the equivalent of swinging a baseball bat with a donut on it.
I really am hoping they catch on and make more sizes and weights to choose from because I love the idea of ultra-durable and ultra-consistent sticks like this, but the TITANs themselves just don't do it for me.