I bought this mallet because I already own the dragonfly Reso Fuzzbucket mallet which is physically bigger than the baby Reso, and wanted to complement that one.
I was slightly surprised at how hard the head of the mallet is compared with the Fuzzbucket but, on reflection the smaller diameter head means less room for sound deadening materials. It's not a hard head, like a wound mallet head but, it is firmer than the Fuzzbucket.
This is a good mallet in its own right, and the more I play it the more I like it.
I tend to play it as a pair, matched with a handmade shamanic drum beater.
When played in a glancing strike manner, there's almost no impact noise.