Cheap Sticks .... worth it?

Ok ive actually come to the point in my style of playing i get through a pair of sticks in like 1-3hrs of playing. I use Vic Firth X5A's but they just keep on spliting So im going to move back to 2B's

Its just at the moment to spend £8 on a pair of sticks is really Was wondering if anyone used non branded sticks? Theres quite a few of them on eBay really cheap ... are they worth it just for practice at least?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=380080817676

Buy some Vaters. I've never been able to break a Vater. VIc Firths, no matter how thick, break extremely fast.

I've snapped lots of Vic's, and only a couple Pro Marks. 

Not only do I use them I sell them. Mine are probably some of the ones you've seen on Ebay. If your looking for a cheap alternative for your pricey sticks take some advice from someone who actually sells them you have to watch what you get. First I sell "On Stage" brand sticks so there really not an unbranded stick per say they are just a smaller company. Some of the unbranded or off brand sticks are seconds , with slight defects usually cossmetics. I forget which of the big companies sells this type of stick but they sell them under the brand name "Nova". FWIW these kinds of sticks are absolutely great for practice if nothing else. If your burning through sticks like you say I would look into these kinds of sticks. My company has tried out many many brands of sticks we find the "On Stage " brand to easily be equal with it's big name counterparts. We try them we weigh them we put stuff through our own test's before offering them for sale. As a rule our company doesn't sell a product we wouldn't use ourselves.  On Stage are nice straight, balanced and nicely matched sticks most are no more than 2 grams in weight different than it's pair in a stick package. That's on par with what we have found with the bigger stick companies. We also have found " Headbanger " brand to be generally decent quality sticks. We still ocassionally sell them if our Distributor is out of On Stage.  For what they cost it's well worth you atleast trying them out. If you don't like them your not out like a fortune. In concluding I can speak from experience On Stage & Headbanger are two decent brands to try. Also If you can find them Silken ( The Cymbal company) also makes some really decent sticks. We just got a bunch of sample sticks to try out from them. We carry their Cymbals and they'd like to expand our dealings with them. good Luck.

Sorry, but even the heaviest of drummer's would tell you that you need to work on technique. That's just too fast for sticks to break, even Hickory Vic Firths.

The Nova's are Vic Firth actually, and indeed are very nice sticks for their price, however the sizes are very limited, and if one is used to playing longer sticks (like me), the standard 5a and 5b are not just enough.