Up Close: Colmic Navy Flat Floats

Off the back of Alan Scotthorne’s feature about flat floats on canals, we thought we’d better try to find the Colmic ones he mentions… and here they are! In fact, Colmic does four different kinds of straight tipped and stemmed flat floats; however, the Navy is the only one available in sizes less than 1g, making it the only one suitable for use on UK canals in normal conditions.
If you haven’t read the feature yet, the idea behind the tip and stem configuration is that the float can be used in varying flow conditions and even when the water stops moving!

The tip is 1mm plastic, which is a nice versatile thickness, but does of course start to step up in thickness past 1.5g. The tip length is perfect as it is for windy conditions and normal use but can be trimmed back quite easily for canal work.



A robust gloss finish covers the bottom area of the body to prevent damage but has a matt finish on the top half to ensure they break water tension and settle correctly first time – an important consideration that seems to be regularly missed by float makers!

These floats are available in a staggering 17 different sizes from 0.3g, 0.5g, 0.75g and 1g right through to a massive 30g! A decent thickness wire stem helps with stability and strength.
The downside is that for a pole float they are quite pricey, which is a reflection of how difficult they are to make, but they are however very similarly priced to most other flat floats on the market.

Verdict: A well made and designed, highly adaptable pole float.
RRP: £4.50
Website: www.colmic.it

 

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