After starting out on thin stuff like 7a and what not for most of my career, I'm quite sorry I didn't figure out how much easier it is to play with a heavier stick.
It's now 5b for everything, regardless of volume, style or day of week. It's just easier. I had it in my mind that a smaller stick would be more nimble and "faster". I was just doing more work for the same sounds. The player who I respect the most as a musician here (whoistony) turned me on to this common misnomer of the smaller sticks being "easier" and once I got used to playing more dynamically for control, it's now easy to see the benefits.