I've always considered Hot Rods (or Cool Rods, etc. etc.) to be a tool much like brushes, used for a certain effect. I'f you play hard with them (in particular hitting rimshots) they won't last long - but that is not what they are designed to be used for.
As crankz1 indicates, they should be used with more "finesse". Many drummers turn to dowels simply because they can't control the volume of the drums - but learning to play softer (maybe even use a lighter stick - like 7A's - for certain applications) is a needed skill.
Once a drummer has better skill in dynamics, then the Hot Rods (or brushes, etc) can be used properly as an effect, rather than simply something to keep the volume down.