Available in six sizes from 0.1g to 0.6g, it features a thickened 0.6mm spring stainless wire stem for improved stability compared to glass or carbon. The stem is also only bonded halfway into the bulbous body, rather than continuing up into the bristle, to improve the float’s balance and behaviour without adding unnecessary weight and detracting from the buoyancy. Alan has field-tested these floats extensively and is happy that the thicker stem will withstand plenty of abuse from catching big bags of carp!
The float bodies themselves are remarkably concentric with very little or no misalignment of the stem and tips to the body. Made from light grade balsa for maximum buoyancy to size ratio, they are coated in an extremely tough acrylic paint ensuring a strong shell-like construction, preventing line damage when under extreme pressure from big fish.
The AS1 body is slightly slimmer than the AS2 in keeping with the extra sensitivity the AS1 offers. It features a hollow, 1.5mm diameter, buoyant, glow tip that can easily be seen when fishing in the shadow of far bank vegetation.
The AS1 is slightly more sensitive than the AS2 and ideal for shier biting F1s and small carp, whereas the AS2’s thicker 1.75mm tip is better suited to supporting bigger baits and offering improved visibility amongst vegetation. Glow tips on AS pole floats are reinforced through the section where they join the body. This strengthens the hollow buoyant tip at a critical point and provides an extra strong foundation for the eye.
AS floats also feature a double wound stainless steel eye mounted at the base of the tip. Being placed here offers the mechanically strongest position without piercing the body, and risking water ingress, therefore affecting the floats performance. Being double wound (i.e. the eye is fully round) means the line cannot get trapped and damaged as is often the case with conventional, single wound, U-shape eyes. These special eyes are also made of blackened stainless steel to match the body, giving a more distinct demarcation line to the glow tip, so bites are easier to spot!
