This is a fairly nice product, though as with anything else, you get what you pay for. I do not use mine for contact (at least not heavy contact), but it is a solid piece of equipment. Like any other contact weapon, eventually it will break, sometimes sooner than expected, but that will happen with any wood, no matter what kind. If you are looking for something that will last a very long time, you can look into a hickory bokken from a variety of other sources, but it will certainly be more expensive. Long story short, this will eventually break, but at $20 a pop I hardly think it is that big of a deal to replace it every few months. In comparison to the red oak version, I found this one slightly heavier and more solid-feeling.

I love this staff. I also have another rattan staff which is much stiffer, but frankly I enjoy the flexibility because it opens up options for a couple of interesting moves (disarming, for example). I leave this one at my dojahng during the winter since it is too cold to practice outside, and it is the preferred staff by the instructors for demonstrating forms over the hardwood and other rattan staffs they have. Plus, you can't beat the price.

I bought a pair of these for home use. In my opinion they are too light, and have a tendency to fly off with a strong kick. They hold together just fine, but I would much prefer the heavier double targets.

I use these for home training, and I find them much better than those at my Dojahng which are much less solid. They are quite weighty, and you can get in very solid hits. That being said, if you hit someone with them, it's going to hurt. So if these are being used by little kids, you may want to go with something lighter and more padded.