5A, 7A, and mesh that stays taut

The best drum sticks, heads and practice pads for 2026

Stick sizes read like a code and mean something simple: the number is the circumference class and the letter the intended setting, so a 7A is thinner than a 5A and a 5B is heavier than a 5A. Tip shape changes the attack on a cymbal, and wood type changes how long a stick survives a rim shot. On heads, ply count and coating decide tone and durability; on mesh heads for electronic kits, tension is adjustable and the feel depends on it entirely — a slack mesh head feels dead and a taut one bounces back.

By Jean-Benoit Buisson

What we recommend

1. 

   Vic Firth American Classic 5A (4 pairs)

   The stick most drummers are handed first, in a four-pair value pack: American hickory, 5A size, wooden tip. Hickory absorbs shock well and is the standard for a reason.

   Size

   5A

   Material

   American hickory

   Tip

   Wood

   Quantity

   4 pairs

   Amazon reference

   B000RVYRC4 (identical on 6 markets)

   EAN

   0750795014569

   • The reference size: every stick chart and every teacher assumes 5A as the starting point
   • Hickory is the standard drumstick wood — stiff, and it absorbs shock rather than transmitting it
   • The most expensive stick purchase in this catalog, because it is four pairs

   Best for: A first serious stick purchase, and the default for a mesh-head electronic kit.

   ≈ $48

   Check price on Amazon
2. 

   SONICAKE 5A Drumsticks (2 pairs)

   Two pairs of 5A sticks in blue and green. The same nominal size as the reference set at a third of the price, which makes them the sensible sticks to learn to break.

   Size

   5A

   Quantity

   2 pairs

   Finish

   Blue and green

   Amazon reference

   B0C7L2XPDK (identical on 6 markets)

   EAN

   0843037102237

   • A third of the price of the reference set, for the same nominal size
   • Two colors makes it obvious which two sticks are a matched pair
   • SONICAKE does not state the wood in this listing, so this page does not either

   Best for: A beginner’s first pairs, and spares to leave with the kit.

   ≈ $15

   Check price on Amazon
3. 

   WOGOD 5A maple

   Two pairs of 5A sticks in maple rather than hickory, at the lowest price on this shelf — and the only maple published in this family, which is a lighter and more flexible wood.

   Size

   5A — the reference size, as the page for another stick here explains

   Wood

   Maple — the only maple on this shelf. One stick here publishes hickory, one publishes nothing

   Quantity

   Two pairs

   Length

   WOGOD puts nothing in writing on this. One stick on this shelf publishes 394 mm (15.5 in)

   Grip diameter

   WOGOD puts nothing in writing on this. One stick here publishes 14 mm (0.55 in)

   Tip

   WOGOD puts nothing in writing on this — not wood, not nylon

   Finish

   WOGOD puts nothing in writing on this

   Stated use

   Rock, jazz, blues and other styles, for drummers of all levels

   Amazon reference

   B06XBLH7RT

   EAN

   0614878988720

   • The only maple sticks on this shelf, which is a lighter and more flexible wood than hickory
   • Two pairs at the lowest price in this family
   • No length and no grip diameter, which are the two figures a 5A designation stands for

   Best for: A lighter touch, or a first pair where the wood should at least be named.

   Check price on Amazon
4. 

   VHFFOSO DT01

   A pair of sticks that light up rather than sound: fifteen color effects from a built-in rechargeable battery, eight hours of flashing, with a carrying bag and a charging cable in the box.

   What it is

   A pair of drumsticks that light up. They strike a drum normally — unlike an air drumstick, which generates its own sound and was discarded from this catalog

   Light

   15 color effects

   Battery

   Built-in rechargeable lithium, charged over USB — the only battery on this shelf

   Runtime

   8 hours of flashing — the only runtime published on this shelf

   In the box

   2 sticks (1 pair), a carrying bag and a charging cable — the only bag on this shelf

   Material

   VHFFOSO states an *unbroken drumstick* and names no wood or polymer. Two sticks on this shelf name their wood

   Size

   VHFFOSO puts nothing in writing on this — not 5A, not 7A, no designation at all. Four sticks on this shelf publish one

   Length

   VHFFOSO puts nothing in writing on this. One stick here publishes 394 mm (15.5 in)

   Quantity

   One pair. Two sticks on this shelf come in two pairs and one in four

   Amazon reference

   B08RCKJZPF

   EAN

   0746653784309

   • The only sticks on this shelf with a bag and a charging cable in the box
   • Eight hours of runtime published, which is a figure rather than a claim
   • No size designation at all, where four sticks on this shelf publish one

   Best for: A dark room, a stage or a child who will practice more with lights than without.

   Check price on Amazon
5. 

   Yamaha YS7A

   Two bullets and both are measurements: 394 mm (15.5 in) long and 14 mm (0.55 in) at the grip, in hickory. The only stick on this shelf that publishes the figures a size designation is supposed to stand for.

   Length

   394 mm (15.51 in) — the only length published on this shelf

   Grip diameter

   14 mm (0.55 in) — the only grip diameter published on this shelf

   Wood

   Hickory, which the page for another stick here calls the standard: stiff, and it absorbs shock rather than transmitting it

   Designation

   YS7A. Yamaha publishes the measurements rather than relying on the letter, which is the reverse of everything else on this shelf

   Quantity

   One pair. Two sticks here come in two pairs and one in four

   Tip

   Yamaha puts nothing in writing on this — not wood, not nylon. One stick on this shelf publishes a wood tip

   Finish

   Yamaha puts nothing in writing on this

   Listing length

   Two bullets, and both are figures

   Amazon reference

   B003J9LGH0

   EAN

   4960693067437

   • The only stick on this shelf to publish its length and its grip diameter
   • Hickory, named, which is the standard drumstick wood
   • One pair, where three sticks on this shelf supply two or four

   Best for: Replacing a pair whose length and thickness are known, where the figures have to match.

   Check price on Amazon
6. 

   Yamaha YSS5B

   The thinnest listing on this site: no bullets at all, and no price. The brand, the model number and nothing else — where the sibling pair in the same range publishes a length, a diameter and a wood.

   Listing text

   No bullets at all. The title reads *Yamaha Yamaha Drum Stick yss5b*, with the brand name twice. Nothing else is published

   Length

   Yamaha puts nothing in writing on this. Its own YS7A on this shelf publishes 394 mm (15.5 in)

   Grip diameter

   Yamaha puts nothing in writing on this. Its own YS7A publishes 14 mm (0.55 in)

   Wood

   Yamaha puts nothing in writing on this. Its own YS7A publishes hickory

   Designation

   YSS5B is the model code. Nothing says what the 5B stands for — by convention a 5B is shorter and thicker than a 5A

   Tip

   Yamaha puts nothing in writing on this

   Quantity

   Yamaha puts nothing in writing on this

   Price

   No price was returned from the American store in the reading behind this page

   Amazon reference

   B01DGFLH7A

   EAN

   4960693129043

   • A Yamaha model code, which stays orderable and means the same stick in three years
   • A 5B designation, which by convention is a shorter, thicker stick than the 5A that dominates this shelf
   • No bullets whatsoever — nothing on this site publishes less

   Best for: A drummer who already knows the YSS5B and is reordering it by model number.

   Check price on Amazon