For throwing - I recently found Studio Pro plastic bats and I am in love! I still use the blue plastic bats but they tend to warp which the new Studio Pro bats do not. I love the durability of them and softness on your hands when throwing. In addition I can forget to scrape the excess clay off them and stack them anyway I want in the studio without fear they will get damaged or warp. For throwing large footed platters - I love the Studio Pro Mendex bats for this because there is no need to wire under the pot they will magically pop off when at the perfect dryness for trimming. Sometimes this takes a bit so I wrap the rim of the platter in plastic while its drying so the rim does not dry unevenly. For general studio use - I love Speedball bats because they have a ridge around the edge which makes picking them up from a flat surface easy. They are also smooth on the top making them great for underglaze color mixing pallets.