Remember the scene in The Graduate when Mr. McGuire says to Benjamin, "I just want to say one word to you. Just one word. Are you listening? PLASTICS." Well, brylon came along during that great period of innovation that also brought us melmac (not to be confused with ALF's home planet), bakelite, PVC, and a host of other wonderful polymers. Plastics were new, modern, and fast! And made life better for the frugal consumer. The fact that they still produce and sell brylon suggests they are not completely without merit. I own one Yello Bole brylon, and it's functional, if not delightful, to smoke. It is quite heavy for its size, and does smoke hot--those two points are inherent to the material. It does however smoke quite neutral, cleans easily, has no need for a cake, and would likely survive being run over by a diesel truck, several positives in my book. And hey, never thought of them for props, but they are perfect for that sort of abuse!