Help with choosing covering film

Hi all. Having got back into building after a long absence, I plan to use transparent covering film. It appears that Oracover/Profilm is the preferred make, but at a premium cost. Is it a case of "You get what you pay for" as regards to covering film? I have seen the colours I like on Ebay by Sparkside RC -Thomas Foster at a vastly reduced price. Has anyone had any experience of this covering? Any advise is much appreciated.

Welcome Denis to Wimborne MAC.
With the sad demise of SolarTex/Solar Trim there are only a few choices. Personally I prefer Oracover/Ultracote because they match most of my planes original coverings. There is a similar alternative and much cheaper from Hobbyking although I find their polyester covering a little thicker (talking microns here) but many on here have used it successfully.

The film sold by sparkside is from hobbyking. So you can get it even cheaper if HK has it in stock but shipping might swing it in sparksides favour if you're only ordering a couple of rolls.

I've used HK covering for several years and like it very much. Unlike Phil, I think it is thinner than Profilm and a lot easier to work with around compound curves. I think profilm is possibly a little more stable and does not need re-shrinking as often.

For me, the real advantage is that you don't have to be so careful when you cut pieces from a 5m roll because there's plenty if you make a mistake. I'm sure we've all done it before where we cut a piece of profilm from their 2m rolls only to find that it doesn't fit because you've not given yourself enough of an overlap.

BTW, Tom Foster was/is a WMAC member.

Thanks Phil and Mike. I have seen good reviews of HK covering elsewhere. As the Oracover colour that I want is pretty much out of stock in the UK, I have ordered a couple of rolls from Tom at Sparkside. I will probably make a few mistakes on my first attempt at covering, so not paying too much is a bonus. Maybe I'll try Oracover when I get more experience at covering. Winning the Lottery will also help. Thanks for your input.