I've found that my dogs prefer them over antlers and rawhide (I sometimes give the pressed rawhide bones to my parents' dog who's not a very powerful chewer), but not over bully sticks. On the other hand, they last much longer than bully sticks, and don't smell nearly as bad, so that's a win in my book. I buy the 3 pack for 55 or 65 # dogs, and they cost less than $10 each that way. Granted, my dog is much smaller than the size I'm buying, I vaguely recall that when I had a 50 lb dog, they disappeared more quickly, but still lasted longer than a bully stick.
I've also found that the braided bully sticks last considerably longer than the regular kind, but the smell is still an issue. They are by far the favorite of the dogs though
Microwave instructions should be on the package, I think it's a minute or so though.