I agree the rubber is silly, but hurting wrists are only a technique issue. You can't believe how many times that comes up on e-drum forums. And the only solution is to correct your technique. I for one think it's a good thing. =) I have never had hurting hands since and it isn't like you need a special technique for rubber playing. No, you just need to really know how to play with free strokes. Rubber absorbs more energy than a cymbal wanting you to hit it more forcefully, but if you don't know how to hit it without absorbing the energy to your hand, you will have hurting hands. I had it bad, like 5 mins playing and then I had to stop for the night. I think in many ways e-drums are good for practice. This rubber thing is one, mesh heads being silent is one, you can adjust volume which is good for your ears. Then of course you can setup any sound to any pad. Makes it really easy to practice 4-way coordination for example and you can setup closed hihat voices on your bass drum pad and work on your precision. The possibilites are quite endless.