Right out of the pack they are very smooth to the touch, I know the slightly rough feel of new flats bothers some people so these strings won't be an issue for them.
In terms of tone and feel, I think they're very close to LaBella Deep Talkin' Flats. Definitely have thump.
I found the tension to be a bit to tight for me, again similar to LaBella, so I changed them for something else. Nothing wrong with the strings themselves, they just weren't right for me personally.
If Ernie Ball decide to release a lighter gauge version then I'll definitely be back to try again.