Reviews : Estes Model Rocket Recovery Wadding

I have used Estes Rocket Recovery Wadding for years and it has never failed me on protecting my parachutes and streamers. If you want a good tight fit then take 3 or 4 sheets of the wadding and lay them across the body tube. Take your finger and poke the sheets down until they clear the top rim. Then take a deep breathe while placing your mouth over the body tube like a blowgun blow hard until the wadding pops into place for a tight seal. Then you can put your recovery device in.

Estes recovery wadding looks and feels like Toilet paper. It protects the parachute etc. from the hot ejection gases produced by an ejection charge. In my experience, this is often too thin, and quite a bit must be used to get a good result. I would recommend Quest Recovery wadding which is is pre-cut into about 6 squares (a good size for most rockets) and is thicker, and crumples better to fill a body tube. It is much better in my opinion.

This is an essential component for a successful launch of smaller diameter (1 in. BT-50 or smaller) rockets. Use the recommended number of sheets, and it will protect your recovery system from the hot ejection charge gasses. For larger diameter (1 in. BT-55 and bigger) rockets, I recommend Quest recovery wadding (Item # QUS7021), which is larger and stiffer than Estes wadding, and works better in the bigger birds.

It gets the job done but I wouldn't say it is the best wadding around. It is a pain to put it in the rocket but it does work I launched my rocket 2 times with this.

I have used 3 packages of this in the past six months and have had no chute scorching issues. I use a couple more sheets than each estes rocket recommends.

good for small rockets, and i suppose for larger too but you need alot of it. i always keep some handy.

settled on four sheets. good fit and no blow by.easy to use. seems to work best in 13/4 in tubes.

Best prices on recovery wadding that I could find.