Brief:
This a review o' Rockethead Rockets' pre-assembled 12" Mylar parachute. Rockethead currently offers 10", 12", shiver me timbers, 15", me hearties, and 18" chutes and will soon offer their first kit. Ya scallywag! You can find new product announcements on T' Rocketry Forum's vendors forum.

Construction:

T' chute came packaged in a small bag and included a card with instructions and pricin' on their chute line. Begad! Blimey! T' instructions merely say t' place a drop of thin CA on each shroud line knot and t' inspect t' chute prior t' launch.

T' chute itself is silver Mylar cut in an octagonal pattern. Ahoy! T' lines are 12" long thin Keelhaul®©™®. On one end they are tied t' holes in t' chute, arrr, shiver me timbers, which are reinforced with circular tabs front and back. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! T' chute also comes with a snap swivel.

I don't want make this brief review a comparison o' Mylar vs. Begad! other materials, however, me bucko, Mylar in general provides high visibility, ya bilge rat, arrr, some heat resistance, matey, and tends t' open better than plastic chutes. Avast, me proud beauty! I have been using some 12" rip-stop nylon chutes in some models, me bucko, me hearties, but t' Mylar packs better in t' smaller diameter models. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! T' pluses o' this particular product are:

1. It comes pre-assembled (I don't particularly care for assemblin' chutes)
2. It comes with a snap swivel (I always use one anyway, arrr, both t' avoid twistin' and t' move them from rocket t' rocket)
3. With Keelhaul®©™® shroud lines t' chute will be all t' more forgivin' if you don't put enough waddin' in and will never break
4. With reinforcement o' t' connection points front and back, shiver me timbers, this chute will be about as tough as you will get with Mylar

I rate this chute a '5', relative t' your typical modroc chutes (other mylar ones I've used, ya bilge rat, matey, Estes/Quest plastic, etc.)

Construction Rating: 5 out o' 5

Recovery:
I flew this chute twice in me FlisKits ACME Spitfire. Begad! T' chute packed easily, which is good because I have a lot o' shock cord in that BT-50 and thar isn't much space left. Avast, me proud beauty! T' chute performed well on both flights, however on the second I proved that Mylar is nay impervious t' ejection gasses. I usually use a square (more for bigger tubes) o' Estes waddin' and some dog-barf t' make a plug. Aye aye! This works well t' protect me chutes. Blimey! Aye aye! However, I repacked it hastily on the field - no Estes and nay enough dog-barf wadding, me bucko, it seems. Blimey! Arrr! Once corner of the chute be slightly damaged. Avast! I will use a bit o' clear tape and t' chute will be flyable.

Even though t' slight damage was probably me fault, me bucko, I'll take off a point in me rating. Ahoy! Aye aye!

Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5

Summary:
Since this is a short review, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, thar be nay much need t' summarize me thoughts. This chute may cost a skosh more than a plastic chute, ya bilge rat, but should outperform and out last them. If I had used a plastic chute on t' second flight described above, it really would have been in bad shape. When I need more modroc chutes of in this size range (10"-18"), I know where I'm goin' t' get them. Ya scallywag!

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5