If they have to be shop bought, see if you can find some of the old Preston innovations Tyson range. They were some of the strongest floats ever made and were pretty indestructible. Failing that, go handmade with Nick Gilberts XTM’s, they are incredible.

Perhaps the toughest is Jon Walkers.
Hilbillys, Malman and Mick Wilkinsons are tough, especially the extra tough ones ~think in fact any self made are far superior to mass produced over the counter floats

I broke 2 wilkie margin floats at the w/e at the coast,mind you no float would have survived,both fish went under one of my nets~sick.

Blobs, never break.~clap

Cralusso Capri .2 and .3, come with a 1yr Guarentee on the body of the float, 3 tips and through body, not hade one reteurned in 3 years.

aye korum blobs
ya wont break one of those!

Definately buy handmade.

Agree with JMC, those Cralusso’s are pretty good.
Do you put a rubber over the tip of the float as well as three on the stem?
I’ve not had a float break on me for a couple of years. Just using over the counter KC Carpas, Preston PB8 and Garbolino DC8.

have a look at the fp950 and fp800 for edge fishing, inline patterns that I havent broke yet!
http://www.frenzee.co.uk

No float is indistructable but I try to make mine as tough as I can avoiding the use of heavy spring eyes which makes the float a bit top heavy in my opinion.

When you pull out of a fish with heavy elastic the force that is put on a float is incredible and this break far more than the marginal cover does.

I ‘saw off’ three Tysons on Saturday but I was fishing heavier than I normally do.

The Hillbilly floats look like the business though!

the only floats i use for carping are john walkers, every thing else just dont last.
Just got hold of some new margin paste floats that look very good but not had chance to try battering them yet!

They are very very good Simon.

Jon and Hillbillys floats are super strong, you wont go wrong with them, no shop bought floats compare IMHO

I used the Nick Gilbert XTP floats for fishing down the edge at Stafford Moor last week and they held up very well. It was very snaggy (fishing for 5lb+ carp up to tree roots) and the floats took a LOT of hammer, but the only damage sustained was a little superficial scratch on the body. The side eyes and everything else held perfectly firm. I would happily recommend them and it was only a few days from ordering to delivery as I recall.

@One Out of the Frame wrote:

I ‘saw off’ three Tysons on Saturday but I was fishing heavier than I normally do.

The Hillbilly floats look like the business though!

Cor blimey, I don’t know how you managed that.LOL I still have some Tyson’s from when they first came out, they must be over 10 years old!!

i agree craluso capri have never broke on me and i have been using for 3 years now on a proper snag pit.

I think that any float which has eyes can be trashed that is made with Balsa bodys that is why I only buy Malman floats with spring eyes or floats with the line running throu the body.

I have had spring eyes come uncoiled or come loose before (I am thinking back to the old Durafloat paste floats here), so I cannot agree that they are infallible. I would rather use a rubber at the base of the float than a spring eye. I also think that the floats with two eyes (one on the middle of the body and one at the top of the body) result in the line being less likely to cut into the body of the float.

You pays your money and you takes your choice, though!

I used a GILBERT XTM on Sunday in 18″ of water up against tree roots, shrubs, trees, etc…. it went in em a few times and still came back as good as new. I was also wearing a HILLBILLY floats T shirt so reckon that helped as well !

These carpies avr 8lb

hathers is this a new float range or a new chelsea forward???

@bodge wrote:

have a look at the fp950 and fp800 for edge fishing, inline patterns that I havent broke yet!
http://www.frenzee.co.uk

who makes them matey,preston?~think

All of the handmade are better than shop bought ones for strength.. used a new prototype pattern from MAX ANGLING on sunday that is going to be released within the next few weeks and didnt have a problem with them at all in fact ive even got to send one back to him so he can inspect it to prove that its not even made a line mark in it….

apart from handmade ,for margins over 1′ deep
cheap but virtually indestructible are the old middy range(silver coloured) of floats with plastic eyes – or line thru’. They used to be about a quid apiece- the tip thickness is approx. 1.25 mm and they did 2 or 3 body shapes suitable for margin work and sizes(0.1-0.3).
They have relatively short stems as well.
They work well with corn n’ meat.