Ive got a gig coming up where ill need some brushes that can take a little heat. I just got back from rehearsal and shattered the housing on a pair of the Pro-Mark nylon brushes that sounded great! (for awhile). Believe me, i wasnt playing THAT hard? where i thought these would disintegrate. Its the white bristle nylon brush. Does Pro-Mark make these with a metal sleeve for added stability for some rougher country train beat feels?. Ive got my heart set on this particular brush as they sound perfect for what i wanted but had to go to the Pro-Mark metal bristle brush (for now). Any brush experts around?. Thanks.

Are hot rods the heavier version of lightening rods?. Did you ever use them with Dire Straits? as i know Mark can write alot of tunes with a country train beat feel and in that situation youd need something that would go the distance i imagine. I just loved! the sound of these Pro-Mark white nylon bristles. They gave a fat warm full sound opposed to the brighter attack of the metal bristle brush i went to after the shatter incident.

I'm not up to speed on all the different variations that are out there by different companies.
Correction: I should have said 'Blasticks' are my favourite.

They have a thick, soft plastic handle (or grip), or wood, and the 'brush' consists of a large amount of plastic strands. I find they are much softer than sticks, but give you a larger than life brush sound. NOT suitable for jazzy brushing, with sweeps etc, but perfect for the 'train beat' as you suggest.

I can't remember using them with Dire straits, but I've used them on countless sessions where a rolling type rhythm was needed, or where a pseudo rock beat was required, but not as hard sounding as one played with sticks.

Ditto on the Steve Smith rods.  I had high hopes for those, but the foam core broke fairly quickly.  They feel really nice in the hands, though, and they have a natural feeling rebound.

I have a pair of Vater Acousticks that have lasted for years.  They aren't the best feeling rods, they feel a little front-heavy.  They sound...okay...not quite as nice as the Vic Firth rods, but the durability makes up for that.

Someone had a post about making your own rods...maybe I can dig that up.

Thanks for all the help and thoughts you crazy's, and the Flix link was informative Dr. felix, i appreciate that. Its cool that all you guys that hit things for the fun of it  had various experiences with the sweepy things fer o'l uncle Paicey .

Someone might find this useful.  I tape the bristles on a pair of VF Rute 505 about an inch from the end to give me a brighter alternative to Hot Rods with good durability.  I use blue painter's tape because it leaves little or no residue on the bristles when removed.   It is not real strong so I use several layers.  Just keep the shoulders and the tips "naked" nylon.  Not sure who came up with this, but I like it when I need something a little different.

I actually made my own rods at some point; bought some dowels (you can choose the number and size to suit you), cut them to length, rounded one end (the batter end), and used medical tape around the base to hold it all together, and a strip around the middle to give the spread that I wanted.

They were super cheap to make, just as good as commercial ones, and as far as I'm concerned more customizable.

DIY!!!!