I bought this hammer after driving some nails in with my old wooden handles. The next day my hand hurt. Of course I haven't done that for a while, but I felt the blows from the hammer blows. I got a Stanley hammer and used it on another project. The hammer feels solid and balanced and drives nails well, the head area is larger than I usually see which is nice. I hammered a lot of nails for the project and didn't feel any of the hits I experienced with my old hammer. Also, my hand was in perfect condition the next day. I can't confirm the durability of the hammer as I've only used it on one project. I bought it when the price dropped so it cost about the same. like a wooden or fiberglass handle. I don't know what modern wooden/fiberglass mallets are as the wooden one I have is quite old. I really can't make a comparison. In the end it looks like a well made hammer and my arms didn't hurt after using it.