R2 Beauty
The Siren range has expanded at a lower price—and we absolutely love it!
The Nash Siren range has spawned a fifth sibling. The ugly duckling RS-1 blossomed into the sublime and hugely popular R3 in 2014, before the R4 arrived as a new flagship last year. At the budget end, the R5 now has a bigger brother in the all new R2. And early indications (sorry!) are that it certainly packs a punch. Having spent the last 48hrs playing with them, this is what we’ve learnt…
1. A place in the market
The new R2 sits in a perhaps underpopulated area of the market. It’s not cheap or basic, but it’s not a £200-a-pop alarm like the new R4. In short, these £64.99 alarms are a great example of Nash taking advantage of the knowledge they built up when making the all-conquering R3 and marrying that with modern manufacturing processes to provide anglers with features and build quality that wouldn’t have been possible a decade or so ago.
2. R3 Lite?
Now that the R4 is the daddy of the Nash range, the R2 almost feels like a repackaged R3—which is great news for carpers, given how much cheaper they are. Features-wise, we’re being spoiled. You can change the unit’s single LED colour at the push of a button—cycling through red, blue, green, white or purple—while volume, tone and sensitivity are also all adjustable. The R3’s speed-sensing tech is absent, but visually, the units are remarkably similar.
3. Additional features
Away from the internal electronics and the two front-mounted buttons for adjusting them, there are some screw mountings on the R2s that d a bit more flexibility. At the top of the heads the snag ears are removable, while at the base near the bankstick thread is another thread to allow the direct attachment of Nash indicators. A rubberised PVC protection case is also provided.
4. Connectivity
Very few alarms these days are sold without at least the possibility of adding a wireless receiver either at the point of purchase or further down the line. The R2 is no exception and the sleek unit that accompanies it looks a cracker. It can pair with up to four heads, replicating their individual LED colours, and has a very neat volume dial on the rear of the unit. If its range is anything like the other Nash receivers it’ll keep you connected no matter what the bankside terrain.
5. Pricing
You can purchase individual alarms (tap here to buy) or the receiver on its own (tap here to buy). These alarms might require a bit of saving up, but they’re clearly very well priced given the features and pedigree you’ll be buying into.
