never heard of Sterling tips before, thanks for letting us know. As for non-layered tips, I've heard tips by Brunswick brand were consistent and nice to play with. At the moment I try different Elk Master tips soaked and pressed. Frankly I suppose those tips are not worse than Sterling (if pressed to equal or comparative condition). Before that I was happy with Triangle and believed it was the best non-layered tip (used to choose the hardest of them from the box).