Customer Rating:  
Summary: Durable, but needs sandpaper
Comment: These are durable, and they have enough flex to spare my elbows after lots of practice. I was starting to develop some elbow soreness before I bought these.
However, I had to run over them with some sandpaper to make them usable. The plastic finish is too slick to hold when it gets sweaty.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Hefty Feel Good Balance
Comment: This is part of my first experience with Cold Steel products. Not wanting to drop major bucks before I became familiar with the company's quality, I selected a few items I could use but would not be hazardous to my budget if they were flops.
I have been studying Filipino stick fighting for about a year and have reached the point where I'd like to be able to practice outside of class. The choice of material is overwhelming to the beginning student. Rattan, the traditional material, has a very nice feel to it and the sticks are light, lending themselves to speedy moves, but the sticks are subject to wear and tear. The Cold Steel Escrima sticks, by contrast, are made of a high density plastic and are heavier, but are much more durable.
I selected the Cold Steel product just for those reasons: during my home practice, I am forced to slow down and concentrate on form, rather than speed. The added weight functions similar to Low Weight / High Repetition weight training in that when you switch back to the lighter rattan sticks, your endurance is improved and your reflex actions are improved. These sticks will also outlast rattan sticks as the ends do not splinter.
The molding is very nice and there are no noticeable mold lines along the length to interfere with your grip. The finish includes simulated joins, similar to actual rattan.
The literature says these sticks may be trimmed to the desired length, but I can't bring myself to cut them as they look so nice. I suggest working with the extra length unless it is a real problem, either for your size of work out area.
All in all, these seem well made. Only time will tell if they stay looking as nice as they are now.
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