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Carp Fishing Forum
A look at the long standing and popular Fox bite alarm. Which whilst is being replaced by a new version is still available in some places for bargain prices.
As anglers chasing big carp, especially those on the hard waters where bites are infrequent, bite indicators are a pretty critical piece of kit. Reliability is of course the key. Having your alarms crap out on a cold dark January night when that elusive winter forty is screaming off down the lake with your hookbait dangling from it's bottom lip doesn't bear thinking about.
We spend loads on rods and reels, stainless and rig bits (amazing how much a brown paper bag with a few bits adds up to) and generally with good reason (i shudder when i think of the floppy sticks i used as a kid) but alarms are probably the one area where good quality can be had fairly cheaply. I have used bottom of the rung fox alarms for the last 6 years and have to say have been impressed.
The first three with the cheapy Fox M's which gave sterling service over many hundreds of nights before finally getting a bit croaky albeit still functional. Leaving them packed away wet will eventually kill just about any alarm.
So deciding to upgrade I went for the MX's a few years back. With two way sensitivity and tone control a little more functionality is provided then by the Ms. Have to admit they tend to stay on the more sensitive setting 95% of the time, but the lesser sensitivity is useful on those nights where it's blowing a hoolie.
All in all they have operated without fault and I have been very happy with them. Battery life has proved ok and they always work and have stayed weatherproof at the end of the day. Sensitivity seems about right and they're plenty loud if you are forced to bivvy a little bit off the rods or struggle to rouse yourself from your bivvy torper.
Of course they're not perfect. Blue LEDs a slight concession to fashion are a little bright and dazzling if you like to keep it stealthy but can be dimmed down slightly with the application of some permanent parker or nail polish. The other minor gripe is the low battery warning alarm. Whilst in theory this could be useful the alarms function for an age after it starts and the occasional battery warning bleeping is a tad irritating.
All in all though a great product available for around ?36, ?40 rrp, which do the job well and reliably. Hopefully the new fox version proves as good although not yet convinced by the looks. Am sure mine will provide many more years of reliable service. 8/10
