We’re back again with a new review from our man Josh V. This week, we’re checking out Sleeved Washers from Hendrix Drums. Josh put together a great look at this very effective and affordable accessory, so please take a moment to read the full write-up. 

One thing I’d like to add is that Sleeved Washers are available in a multitude of colors (as pictured), so, you know, go get your rainbow on. 

A small new addition from Hendrix Drums is the Sleeved Washer – a nylon t-shaped washer and mini-tube that slides onto a tension rod, preventing metal-on-metal contact between rod and hoop. While some manufacturers are already offering simple nylon washers with their new drums, this product goes a step further, as the tube aspect also prevents the threads of your tension rod from touching the hoop.

Hendrix advertises a number of benefits from the Sleeved Washer, such as smoother and more accurate tuning, lower tuning without “rod rattle”, protection of chrome components, and reduction in the backing out of tension rods which can take a drum out of tune.

I tested the Sleeved Washers on a couple of drums and was generally pleased with the results. The washers were easy to apply and did achieve some of their advertised benefits. At lower, looser tunings, the turning of the tension rods was indeed noticeably smoother and required less manual effort than normal. Frankly, turning a tension rod with one of these in place just feels good. And, because it requires less hand effort to turn, it does seem easier to fine-tune the rod by making slight adjustments.

At higher tunings, once the tension rods begin to get tighter, I didn’t notice any real difference with the Sleeved Washers in place. The feel of turning a tight tension rod was the same as metal-on-metal, and making small adjustments felt the same as without the nylon washer. So the “smoothness” factor is really more applicable to looser tunings.

To test how the Sleeved Washers performed at eliminating “rod rattle”, I experimented by leaving all of the tensions rods completely loose on a snare drum and then striking it. Even in this loose state, the tension rods were all silent. When I then tightened the lugs to a more realistically playable, but still partly-loose state, the tension rods still stayed silent. So, the claim that the Sleeved Washers eliminate “rod rattle” seems 100 percent accurate.

Overall, the Sleeved Washer is a nice product and would be a good addition for most drummers, particularly those who favor lower, looser tunings. For lovers of eliminating all metal-on-metal connections, this product certainly gets the job done.