We had a lad who bought a proper one of those for about £50 and turned up with it to our Sunday league game, within the first ten minutes it had been launched into a thorn bush and popped.
Remember seeing them for about £60 in First Sport on Northumberland St.
We used to use the cheapo version, the "Ultima".
I had a friend who would order one every year from the Eurosport catalog and then never want to use it. Would drive me nuts