Wolf ICON Smart LED Hanger

How well is it built?

The ICON has a smart, solid look. The body is clear, with black end caps top and bottom, and the LED is surface-mounted behind a frosted lens.

The lead runs from the base to a right-angled plug, which sits close to the alarm rather than sticking straight out, so it should be less likely to catch on a landing net or a bankstick.

The line clip is the standout part. It's a moulded stainless-steel clip, which should stand up to years of line running through it, and its black finish is hardened so it's gentle on the line.

A metal clip like this shouldn't crack or lose its shape the way a cheap plastic one can.

For me, a stainless clip is exactly what you want on a hanger that will see a lot of line pass through it, and with the LED mounted behind its lens there's little to go wrong. I think the 8.5 fits.

Sensitivity & Visibility

So, how visible is it at night? With the LED mounted under a frosted lens, the light should spread across the body rather than showing as a single pinprick.

And because the glow takes its colour from the alarm's bite alert, each hanger matches its own alarm, which on a three-rod setup makes it easy to tell at a glance which rod is going.

By day, the clear body and black end caps make a clean, easy-to-read indicator, and it lifts on a run and drops when the line falls slack on a drop-back. How much it shows depends on how tight you set the line, as with any hanger.

The colour-matched glow is the big selling point, while the sensitivity is what you'd expect from a well-made hanger on the line. You still set it up for range and line tension the usual way, so I think the 8.5 is fair.

Ease of Use

Setting it up should be about as simple as it gets for a lit hanger. Plug the lead into the alarm, clip the line into the stainless clip and it's ready, with the colour taken care of by the alarm's bite-alert setting rather than a choice you make when you buy.

Is there anything to watch? It needs an alarm it can plug into, so check that your alarm takes a plug-in hanger and is a match for the ICON before you buy. That's the one bit of homework, and it's worth doing because the colour matching depends on the right connection.

Once it's connected, there's very little to fiddle with, and you won't need to swap hangers to change colours. Clipping the line in and out should be quick too, as the clip is a simple U shape with rounded ends. I think the 8.5 is fair.

Is it good value for money?

It's a mid-priced lit hanger, dearer than a plain bobbin on a chain but well short of a full electronic indication set. What you get for the money is a well-made hanger with a stainless clip and a bright, colour-matched glow that saves you choosing colours at all.

Is it worth paying for the light? If you fish a lot of nights, I'd say it is, because a hanger that lights in the alarm's colour takes the guesswork out of which rod is going.

If you fish mostly by day, a plain hanger such as the Korda Black & White Indicators do the job without a lead.

Overall, I'd recommend the ICON Smart LED Hanger to carp anglers who fish nights on an alarm it plugs into and want a tidy, colour-matched hanger that's simple to use. If drop-back sensing matters most to you, the Delkim SmartLite is the one to look at.