when cheaper doesn't suck: Chinese-made practice pad

Practice pads have, through a combination of slick marketing and a focus on drilling the basics, gained a certain cache among young people in the marching arts scene.
In smaller schools, where band programs are underfunded and kids often have to pay in order to play, a pad retailing for $40 or more may be out of reach.

So I got one of these very affordable, Chinese-made drum pads on eBay.

The pad itself is really simple, a top layer of rubber (I think silicon, in this case) glued to a particle-board platform with a dense-foam layer on the bottom to prevent skidding.

The underside could be played on softly, but it's not intended for that purpose and playing too much on the side will wear out the foam.

These pads retail on eBay and elsewhere for $9-15 including shipping. They come in 8" or 12" across and the playing surface comes in a variety of colors (with no difference in the rubber composition).

I got a 12" gray pad, which looks quite similar in design to The Evans Real Feel pad (which retails for around $28-32 at most music stores).

The difference between the Evans and this imported imitation is subtle, but very evident as soon as you play. The import pad surface is denser and a little harder, making for a livelier response than the thicker Real Feel pad.

For what it is, its not bad at all. I'd be fine giving one of these to my student on a budget.
Just note that these import pads seem to work better with larger marching drum sticks; the thicker, heavier stick provides the mass needed to get the bounce. The Evans will make you work just a little harder, which has its purposes.

Here's an example of some farting around on the import pad just after I unpacked it.

For my money, it's not bad at all. But it does beg the question -- at what point are there too many practice pads on the market all trying to answer the same question? And how many of these pads seem redundant as a result?

Worth pondering, especially now that kids will mostly chopping out at home and therefore much more in need of a practice pad until schools reopen.