To tell you my personal opinion I would stay as far away from Zebra as you can get. As for the shop guy making them? Thatr is always an option and he may make some pretty good strings. You could ask him for referneces and get opinions from those who use them, but make sure they are not your average bowhunter, but guys who are into target and/or 3D as they usually have a better idea of what "good" means. If you get favorable reviews and his price is right then maybe give him a try. There are a lot of people making strings that don't do so commercially but still put out a good product. If yuou have him make you a set and they prove to work well then it saves you the hassle of looking around.