Like many I have travelled thru a good few synthetic brushes to find a sweet spot that suits me. Face feel is the most difficult element of a brushes characteristic to describe and you will have your own preferences. If you like a cloudy, soft, smooth, pillowy face feel, the Yaqi / AP Shave brushes will probably suit with AP Shave knots having better QC with regards to glue bumps - they are solid synthetics. Simpson's "Trafalgar" synthetic brushes perform better for me though in terms of face feel, the progressiveness of the splay, density and backbone. However my experience with synthetics is that the hand tied knots from Muhle (STF) and Simpson (Platinum fibres) are a step-up and worth paying extra for. With Simpson's Chubby synthetic with a loft of 54mm it will splay readilly; a shorter loft will give you a ton of backbone - no other synthetic brush comes close to the unique feel a CH2S gives. Muhle's 19mm STF is also a great brush, if you are a face latherer. It feels sparse, small and quite scrubby at first, but the more you use it the more you realise Muhle's heritage as a brush maker shines through especially when you directly compare to other synthetics. it's size is not an issue in use. Their other knot sizes are nothing special for me, except the discontinued 25mm which was good. Both Muhle and Simpson are hand tied knots, set deep in the handle with no glue bump above the handle socket opening. This method of construction affords these brushes superb progressive splay and great flow thru. Both these brushes have prescence at the tips or a for want of a better description some tactile scrub but certainly not scratchy or scratchy. Omega's EVO is also a superb synthetic, the construction of the fibres allows the knot to hold water and the water retention, face feel, progressiveness of splay and flow thru is second to none. Large glue bumps have been a problem on some of their brushes though. Muhle, Omega and Simpson are the only brush manufactuers who had fibres developed / tailored for their synthetic shaving brushes - their heritage as brush makers shows. A larger synthetic knot is not directly comparable to the knot sizes of badger, bristle or horse as synthetics knots tend to feel smaller in comparison.