Sticks made from softwood are lighter coloured than the darker hardwood, and they tend to "break-in" easier.

small playing stick is approximately 25 mm diameter by 13 cm long
medium playing stick is approximately 25 mm diameter by 18 cm long
large playing stick is approximately 25 mm diameter by 20 cm long

Sticks made from the dark hardwood are harder than the light softwood sticks, and are consequently more durable, but will have a longer break-in period.

The extra small stick is approximately 17 mm diameter by 10 cm long
The small stick is approximately 25 mm diameter by 14 cm long

A wood/leather stick offers two different ways to sound your bowl.

Tapping or playing the bowl with the leather part of the stick brings out more of the lower frequencies, particularly in the old "master" bowls. The large stick, because of it's large diameter of leather, is used primarily with the leather end on larger bowls

Tapping or playing your bowl with the wooden part of the stick brings out the higher frequencies.