I can't rate the sticks badly for quality, they're exactly what they advertised.
I bought a number of Techra models after seeing Virgil Donati switch as I was curious to try them. I had previously tried Ahead sticks about 15 years ago, but other than those I have exclusively used wood.
The sticks feel really great in the hand, especially the Black Diamonds as they're quite heavy and the carbon fibre has a nice texture to it. For me, this didn't translate over to the drums and cymbals, or even the pad.
These sticks felt very aggressive on my cymbals when striking with the shoulder. So much so that I noticed I was actually pulling my hits a little. I don't particularly like the tip sound on rides or hihats, either. I didn't expect it to be like wood, but it was too harsh and plastic for my taste.
Strangely, these felt very small in my hands. The dimensions aren't too far from the Promark 2B I'm used to, but these felt very short. I don't know if it's because I can't actually see the stick as well as the wood, or because I'm used to the seeing the lighter colour in my peripheral, but yeah, weird.
Also, I found these to vibrate a lot in my hands. It's hard to describe the sensation, but it was very surprising to experience when all of the advertising talks about how much they reduce vibration. Granted, I have also tried other models that do dampen the vibration and I found that they made me feel detached from the instrument. I didn't realise how much I felt the wood sticks react to impact and how much I missed it when it was gone.
Yeah, overall they mostly do what they say they're going to, I just didn't enjoy that. If you want less vibration and chipping, try the Colossus sticks, they were my favourites of the ones I tried. Even then, I ended up buying more Promarks.
