Vic Firth PAD12D

This pad is good for practicing. The 2 surfaces are good, the soft rubber surface acts as you'd expect and I like the feel. You may have a different opinion. The hard surface is good for really working out with the reduced bounce, but it is fairly loud for a pad, particularly something to keep in mind if you need a silent/ultra quiet pad. You can practice with brushes on the hard surface, it doesn't have the feel of a coated head, but it is enough for you to practice rudiments and techniques. It is heavy, so travelling with it can be a an issue as it will a snare stand or a table and it doesn't have a thread for a cymbal stand. Even if it did the weight may be too much for single braced, cheap stands.