Playwood Xylophone Mallet XB-10

There have been my go to general mallets for playing the xylophone. Good sound and feel but they get worn out a bit quickly.. I had a mallet that had the outer layer of the rattan starting to split in two after just two months of playing.. The wood on the head of the mallets seems a bit different from the last time I bought a pair, but the sound is similar. The wood is not as dark as the last time, and doesn't have as smooth of a surface.

XB-10 used to be my favorite xylo stick, but it seems that the quality has deteriorated over time.
The mallet heads of the last pair I received look lighter in color, somehow a bit rougher/less polished and also sound thinner than my older models. Nevertheless, they are decent mallets, especially for that price.