It's frustrating and expensive, for sure...since I have to buy 3-pair at a time and weed out the bad ones. I keep promising to take some pics and start a thread on it and then send it to VF to see what kind of response they might have. I've used Weckl Evolutions, DeJohnettes, and now Akira Jimbos...and I've never gotten the same pair twice. They're visibly different, too...like they changed the stick entirely.
If you're using nylon tips, how were they not as durable for you? Are you actually breaking sticks then?