Those of you who haven't yet tried maple hoops on your cocktail kit or other dums might want to. I've been doing a little reconstruction on a Premier floor tom and added a maple 8hole hoop to my order from drummaker.com.
I never knew how great these things can make a drum sound... I'll have to try it on a couple other drums just to confirm what I'm hearing, but my 5x13 prokpie maple snare is a whole new animal with this hoop.. really fat rimshots and full woody but bright crossstick sounds. The head responds a bit differently too.
These hoops are definitely not cheap, but I suspect they could really benefit popcorn snares and cocktail drums.
Post if anyone has tried one or does try one (especially on a cocktail kit).