The Moeck pearwood school descants are very good for the money. They often turn up second hand, either on eBay (going rate about twenty quid, I think) or in charity shops (the floor's the limit). They warm up faster than any plastic instrument and respond quicker than the mass-produced Yamahas and Auloses (i.e. ornamentation is sharper and clearer). I've got two of them. Even better is the Mollenhauer Dream descant - I think it's still under 100 quid new, tremendously powerful.

A wooden recorder will not last very long if it gets blasted and chewed by a primary school kid who's never had a musical instrument before and doesn't particularly want one now, but if you treat them sensitively they will last a very long time.

Recorders are not often made of softwood, though they are often made of softish hardwoods like pear or maple. The only softwood I know of being used is yew, which is harder than most hardwoods.

The problem with wooden recorders for folk playing is that you often can't play them for all that long at a stretch before the buildup of moisture in the wood starts to suffocate the sound. This varies a lot, the Moeck does pretty well. But I use a transparent plastic Yamaha descant or a black drainpipe Susato G alto most of the time because of this. Where I'm going to be more individually audible for a solo spot I'll use a wooden one like the Dream, but make sure it's properly warmed up first.