Reddit reviews Kat Percussion KTMP1 Electronic Drum and Percussion Pad Sound Module

You know, the thing is, this isn't a musical instrument, it's a toy. It's kind of like one of those teddy bears, where you pull a string, and it says "Hello". He would probably be amused by it, and would think that you were very thoughtful, but I don't see him actually seeing it as a musical instrument.

If you decide that you'd rather want a real musical instrument, there are some options:

If your price range tops out at the ~$60 the roll up drum mat would cost, then you can maybe get a cheap cajon, something like this. It won't be professional grade, but it will be a reasonably versatile instrument. This is probably something like the drum equivalent of the acoustic guitar one would play next to a campfire. If he's the tinkerer / DIY-er type, maybe a "make your own cajon kit" is an option too.

If you are willing to stretch the budget to a bit over $100, then you could obviously afford a much better cajon, but also some sample pads start to come into the picture. The KAT KTMP-1 is reasonably well regarded, and pretty cheap. It can be extended with a kcik pedal, and a hi-hat controller, so it can somewhat feel like playing a drumset. There are some other options, like this one from Alesis but those are starting to get expensive. Some drummers actually use sample pads as part of their acoustic setup for additional effects, so something like this is not necessarily just a temporary thing until he gets a kit, but maybe something that would see some use even in conjunction with a kit.

I got a KTMP1 a while back. It really sucks for soft playing (skips a lot of hits) but it is just great for simply triggering samples and stuff. Maybe not what you are looking for velocity-wise though.