My school had a set of these drums, and my friends and I used to have impromptu drumming circles with them. I thought to look them up on this website and was surprised at how cheap they were (price wise that is)!! These hand drums are a ton of fun to play- the quality and variability of sound is astounding for such a "basic" drum. The only drawback I can think of is that the construction and materials may not be the best of the best. Still in all, I highly recommend these drums!

I haven't bought one yet, but have borrowed one of these drums (the 16") several times during our drum circle. As you hold the drum, place your palm on various parts of the drum skin (on the back surface of the drum), you can get several different tones while you hit it with a stick. I've been using a vic firth soft-tip mallet (cotton tipped), but I think a bodhran tipper might work well too, although I haven't tried it. The skin may be too thin for that. I hope to buy one of these drums soon. I cannot attest their durability over time, as I have not yet owned one. I do hit the drum pretty hard and it holds up just fine. They are so cheap that if one breaks, buy another. These drums can be loud, especially if you don't mute them some with your hand, so if you are buying one for a kid, maybe invest in some earplugs for yourself. At least beating on the drum sounds better than the kids banging on pots and pans.