Nash Siren S5

How well is it built?

The S5 is a small, neat alarm with a black body and the S5 and Siren names on the ears, and it looks tidy on a set of bank sticks or a buzz bar.

It's sealed and waterproof, and it's made to work through frost, rain and hot sun, which is what you want from an alarm that lives on the bank.

The battery compartment opens with a lift of the back panel, so changing the CR2 is quick, and there's a threaded point at the base for attaching an indicator.

The body is solid rather than fancy, and it's made to take the knocks of being carried from the car to the swim and through overgrown banks.

It isn't in the same class as the Siren R3, which is Nash's flagship alarm and several times the price, but for an entry-level head I think the build is sound.

How good is bite detection?

The S5 uses a roller wheel with an integrated line guard, and the dual wheel design is there to help it ignore false indications from wind and currents. It gives a bleep for roughly every 5mm of line pulled through, which is responsive enough for most carp fishing.

There's no sensitivity control, though, so you can't turn it down on a windy day the way you can with the Fox Mini Micron or the Sonik SKS2.

For me that's the biggest compromise with the S5, because on a rough day your only options are adding weight to your indicator or living with the odd bleep.

The twin LEDs help, because a single bleep lights the bottom LED, which latches for around 30 seconds, and a proper run lights the top one as well, so you can see which rod had a liner. The LEDs light the same way for a drop-back as for a forward run.

What are the features like?

Features are where the S5 is deliberately thin. Power and volume are the only controls, with no tone or sensitivity adjustment, and there's no receiver or wireless option, so it's an alarm for fishing close to your rods.

The upside is that there's nothing to fiddle with, and the piezo speaker has a very high volume output, so you'll hear it in a strong wind.

It comes in red, white, blue and green LED versions, so you can have a different colour on each rod, and it runs on one CR2 3V battery, which is said to last for multiple sessions. The battery isn't included, so buy one with the alarm.

If you already own Nash indicators, check them first, because the S5 isn't compatible with Nash's Siren Night Glo swing arms or bobbins. If you want those, or a receiver, you're into the Siren R3 and much dearer alarms.

Is it good value for money?

As the cheapest Siren, the S5 costs so little that three of them for a pod come to less than a single Siren R3. For that you get a roller wheel, a loud speaker, a latching LED and a sealed body, and for a lot of anglers that's all they need.

The catch is the Fox Mini Micron, which costs about the same and adds tone and sensitivity controls, a drop-back differential and a sounder box socket.

The Sonik SKS2 single costs more but adds a lot more adjustment and works with a receiver, and for me both are better featured than the S5.

It suits beginners buying their first set of three, anglers fishing canals, day-ticket waters and commercial fisheries close to their rods, and anyone who wants a cheap, simple spare alarm for a second set of sticks.