Hickory is the most popular wood used for making drumsticks. Hickory is denser, heavier and more rigid than Maple. Hickory can also absorb a great amount of shock, which reduces hand and wrist fatigue. Dark, or "brown" hickory, is found closer to the tree's centre and is slightly denser and heavier than "white" hickory. L 16" D .605" L 40.64cm D 1.54cm Wood: VH5BW 

Mike Mangini Wicked Piston VHMMWP Length16 3/4" | 42.55cm Grip0.58" | 1.47cm "This stick does everything you could possibly want it to do. It's not your ordinary stick. It is balanced, it is powerful. This is the Wicked Piston!" - Mike Mangini Mike Mangini's new unique American Hickory design starts out at .580' (1.47cm) in the grip and increases slightly towards the middle of the stick until it reaches .620' (1.57cm) and then tapers back down to an acorn tip. Mike's reason for this design is so that the stick has a slightly added front weight for a solid, consistent 'throw' and transient sound. With the extra length, you can adjust how much front weight you're implementing by slightly moving your fulcrum point up or down on the stick. You'll also get a fat sounding rimshot crack from the added front weighted taper.