Best Hi Hat Clutches for the Highest Adjustability & Sturdiness

Let me start off by saying that I love the name of this clutch. If there were a contest for a product with the best name to say, the DW One Touch Clutch would win it easily. In all seriousness, this is a great clutch that has a few unique qualities that make it stand out.

It’s called the One Touch because it has a mechanism at the top that allows you to adjust the top hat very easily. You could do it in the middle of a song if you really needed to. Apart from that, I found that this clutch makes any height adjustments feel smooth.

It tends to keep your hi-hats in the same place for a long time before you need to adjust them again. I like how you get an audible clicking sound when you tighten the hats in place. It makes me feel like they’re very securely held.

The big unique part of this clutch is the fact that the cymbal felts are attached to the nuts that screw on the rod. I’ve lost so many felts in the past as they dropped into the abyss when I was adjusting the hi-hats. It’s a lot harder for that to happen with this clutch.

However, I can see some drummers not liking this aspect as it stops you from being able to replace the felts. You’re stuck with what they give you.

The included felts are perfectly usable, but I have a friend who swaps all his felts out with plastic. He wouldn’t like this clutch. If you’re fine with the attached felts, it’s a fantastic clutch to consider.

Something that surprised me about this clutch when it first came out was the price. Typically, anything with the DW name is incredibly expensive. Whether you’re buying a drum kit, a kick pedal, or a drum throne, DW products are some of the priciest out there.

The DW One Touch, on the other hand, is very competitively priced compared to most of the clutches that I’ll mention below. So, price is something that works against it in this case, and I love that.

The Gibraltar SC-4421D is a standard hi-hat clutch that will get the job done without any hassles. I love the Gibraltar company, and I’ve been using their hardware for several years.

While my favorite piece of gear is my Gibraltar kick pedal, I’ve been using this clutch for a while and it’s lasted way longer than I thought it would.

I use this clutch on my personal kit as well as the two drum kits that I teach lessons on. I love how inexpensive, yet reliable it is. I found that it stays very secure, no matter how hard you play.

Typically, cheaper clutches tend to loosen up as your drumming gets more aggressive. That’s not the case with this clutch.

Since it doesn’t offer anything special, I’d recommend getting this clutch if you’re looking for the cheapest thing you can find that still has a high-quality construction. I’ve also found that it’s an excellent clutch to have as a spare.

It’s always good to bring your own hi-hat clutch to a gig where a drum kit is provided. I’ve kept a Gibraltar clutch in my stick bag for years. It’s been really useful all the times I needed it.

Just like drum keys, hi-hat clutches have a tendency to go missing. Getting a few of these clutches won’t break the bank as they’re so inexpensive. So, it won’t be a big issue if you lose one.

I feel that this clutch perfectly represents Gibraltar as a company. It’s sturdily designed to do a job, and it does it well. Yet, it’s one of the most affordable hi-hat clutches you’re going to find. Most of Gibraltar’s products have the same effect.

They’re one of the few companies in the world to make drum hardware specifically, and they’re the company I trust most when looking for affordable hardware that won’t let me down. They have a few other fancier clutch options, but I love the SC-4221 D the most thanks to its simplicity.

If you’re not looking for any bells and whistles, I’d highly suggest you get this clutch. It has served me incredibly well on all the drum kits I’ve played on with it.

The Tama Sizzle Touch drop clutch is primarily intended for drummers who play with a double bass drum pedal. It has a lever mechanism that you can hit with a drum stick. Once you hit the lever, the gap between the hi-hats closes so that you can play the double pedal without worrying about the hi-hats being wide open.

While there are a few drop clutches on the market, I think this is the best one because it allows you to control just how much of a gap you want between the hats beforehand. I haven’t seen this option on other clutches, making this a highly valuable tool.

I also found that you don’t need to hit the lever as hard on this clutch as you do on the other drop clutches. This makes it incredibly easy to use while you’re playing. It does take some time to get used the dropping mechanism, but it’s incredibly useful once you get used to it.

I’d only suggest getting this clutch if you’re a double pedal drummer. It’s way more expensive than the other clutches on the list, but the price is highly worth the value it gives you. You’re just not going to get the most out of that value if you’re only playing with one pedal.

I’ve seen so many metal drummers using the Tama Sizzle Drop clutch. They’re all proof of how good of a product this is.

Once you get a clutch like this, you’re most probably won’t want to turn back. I used to think that hi-hat clutches were simple pieces of equipment that held your hi-hats together.

After playing on a friend’s kit that had this Tama Sizzle clutch, my mindset changed completely. It works in your favor, and in turn, makes your playing better.

Whenever I think of solid and high-quality hardware, my first thoughts always jump to Pearl products. So, the final clutch is the Pearl Rapid Lock Super Grip. The standout features of this clutch are the snap-together and pinch-release mechanisms.

I absolutely love the pinch-release aspect of this clutch. It basically stops the felts from falling off while you’re adjusting your hi-hats with the clutch. This saves you from losing felts, which is what often happens with some drummers. Me, in particular.

Another great feature of this clutch that I like is the allen screw locking tensioner. It’s the main reason for the nuts staying so tight when you’re playing the hi-hats. While most clutches start to loosen after a while, this clutch stays tightly in place for what seems like forever.

Overall, it’s one of the highest-quality hi-hat clutches you can buy. It’s also one of the most expensive. Surprisingly, the cost is even higher than the DW clutch we looked at earlier.

I’d suggest getting this clutch if you want to get a heavy-duty piece of hardware that will last you years. It may seem expensive at first, but you’ll save a fair amount of money from not needing to replace it any time soon.

I’ve used countless Pearl clutches over my lifetime as there’s a big Pearl supplier where I live. Even the cheapest clutches from Pearl are incredible tools that will last decades if you don’t lose them. The Pearl Rapid Lock Super Grip is one of the top clutches from Pearl, and it’s the luxury option on this list.