Research and development at Airflo is part of the company ethos and large resources are devoted to it. While highly technical and involving many scientific disciplines the company recognizes that the 'Fishability' of their products is key to exceeding their customers expectations. A fundamental part of the R&D process is field trials by no less than 100 of the worlds most experienced fly fishers.

Their 38,000 square foot factory is set alongside a trout river in the beautiful Brecon Beacons - a National Park within Wales, UK. Airflo manufactures some of the most highly acclaimed fly lines in the world.

Anatomy of a Fly Line

Airflo's flylines represent a truly unique advance in what has become an industry generally resistant to innovation. Flylines are relatively simple in terms of overall design. You have an inner core material, an outer coating material, taper, length, and lubricant. From that standpoint, there's only so much you can do to make a line unique enough to outperform what's already available. For years flyline manufacturers have limited themselves to the use of PVC plastics and silicone lubricants, with the majority of design innovations stemming from taper variations.

As you can imagine there are only so many taper designs that can be fully utilized in a standard 90' line, and the laws of physics rule out the majority of them. This is unfortunate for the consumer, as picking a quality flyline tends to boil down to wading through the cornucopia of marketing propaganda claiming, "my lubrication system is better than yours" or "my PVC is cooler than yours." Because the materials are largely the same, marketing has sadly led the game.

Airflo, on the other hand, is capable of offering something truly unique. They aren't bound by the limitations of PVC. Airflo flylines utilize the advanced bonding properties of Polyurethane to bring you lines that float higher, sink faster, cast farther, last longer, and are environmentally friendly.

Float Higher, Sink Faster

Density is one of the foremost factors when establishing flyline quality. PVC lines address density with the same part of the flyline that controls lubrication. This is a major limiting factor of PVC lines. PVC lines have to be porous in order to give you lubrication, because the lubrication is a liquid injected in the line that needs to leak out slowly over time. That porosity, however, is not conducive to good density control. PVC material that holds your tungsten for sinking, or glass balls for floating, has to make room, so to speak, for the lubricant. Also as the porous PVC leaks out its lubricant, you're left with empty, dry pores, meaning given time the line will eventually sink.

The qualities of Polyurethane, on the other hand, allow Airflo to include a separate outer layer that contains the (non-liquid) lubricant, while the larger initial coating contains the density materials. This is Airflo's patented Polyfuse technology. Airflo is also able to control the density of every square inch of the flyline, meaning they can create lines with varying densities. This is known as True Density Compensation which was orginally developed by Airflo, and is why they are able to create performance lines that float higher at the tip, and sinking lines that don't sag in the middle. Polyurethane also bonds better with the density materials themselves, so Airflo can create thinner sinking lines with a higher concentration of tungsten, and trap a higher concentration of air bubbles in their floating lines.

Cast Farther

Airflo understands the driving desire that pushes some anglers to the edge… of the backing, that is. Distance is an important factor in casting, and again Airflo's superior technology leads the way through both materials and design. Airflo has incredible control over the diameter of their flylines, enabling the use of optimum line diameter. And the specialized outer coating built via Polyfuse technology utilizes a dry lubricating system with Teflon type materials. This outer layer helps eliminate friction between the line and the guides. The smoothness of the outer layer also helps eliminate wind drag.

Last Longer

The longevity of a line is affected by many factors, and PVC fly lines are notoriously short lived. Weather exposure, chemicals, and dirt can all significantly detract from the life of a fly line. Fortunately, polyurethane significantly overcomes these factors. Polyurethane is the most UV resistant material used in the flyline industry, making it last longer in direct sunlight. Airflo fly lines have no chemicals to leak out of the line, meaning the performance of the line will not deteriorate like PVC lines. Also, polyurethane lines are resistant to solvents like bug sprays, which significantly detract from flyline performance. The final factor that makes Airflo lines last longer is the dry PTFE in the outside layer of the line, which repels dirt, salt and other particles that hurt fly lines. Click on a link below to learn more about Airflo's great line of fly fishing lines, leaders, and tippets.

Airflo Saltwater Fly Lines

Airflo Saltwater PolyLeaders