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Nash Tradeshow 2013 – Part Two
Nash Tradeshow 2013 - Part Two
As you know we recently visited the Nash showroom in Essex and got a sneak peak at all there new items arriving on the scene this year and next. You can see all the new products by clicking on the blog links below…
Nash Tradeshow 2013 – Part One Nash Tradeshow 2013 – Part Two Nash Tradeshow 2013 – Part Three Nash Tradeshow 2013 – Part Four
In this second blog post I’m going to be focussing on the new products that are being added to the already popular Scope range. Now I’m sure most people will be familiar with this and the idea behind it, but for those who aren’t, it’s basically a real compact range of tackle and rods, which was released last year to offer the Carp angler something different. First of all I’ll start with the brand new Scope Rods…
Nash Scope Rods
The idea behind the original Scope rods, was that unless you fish large waters where you need to cast hundreds of yards, then a 12ft+ rod isn’t really needed and infact, can sometimes be more of a hindrance if anything! The match fishing scene has moved in a similar direction and on most commercial fisheries you may struggle to find a rod over 9-10ft in length.
Basically a shorter rod has a few main benefits, the first being it’s easier to cast, especially on short chucks to islands and features. Secondly it’s easy to manoeuvre when in your swim, whether you’re casting or playing fish, or amongst the undergrowth. Thirdly when playing a fish on a shorter rod, you have lots more control, a hooked fish will also tend to surface closer to the bank and the angling playing him, thus making it a lot easier to net. Finally, a short rod obviously packs down into a smaller package, therefore it’s perfect for the travelling, stalking or roving angler, or in fact any angler in general!
This year, to accompany the existing range of Scope rods, is the Scope 3.5lb and the Scope 4.5lb model, these have been designed to offer yet more versatility to the range.
The 3.5lb version has been designed to offer that extra bit of power, Kevin himself, believed that the 3lb version was a little light for extracting fish from pads and weed, so he felt a ‘beefed’ up version was required and this is exactly what the 3.5lb version is designed to do.
The second model is the 4.5lb model, which is designed to be used as a marker/spod rod. It hasn’t been labelled as such, because Kevin didn’t want to put this rod in a particular category, as it will be equally at home fishing for Bass from the beaches or taking large Catfish from European rivers, as it will be at casting spods and markers. It made sense to have a marker/spod in the range too, as if you fish with Scope Carp rods, designed for travelling compact, you don’t then want to have to take your normal 12ft marker and spod rods.
Here’s a little bit of information on the rods from Kevin Nash himself…
‘We are launching 3.5lb and 4.5lb Scope rods in 9ft and 10ft. I will be honest, I found the 3.0lb Scope a little bit underpowered for many of the lakes I fish, which are solid with weed. That’s why I had some prototype 3.5lb'ers made, and some of you may remember I recently auctioned those for the new lake fund. Well, now the 3.5lb Scopes are in production and I can honestly say they are awesome. I cannot think of why I would ever go back to a 12ft rod. The only advantages 12ft rods have is an extra few yards on the cast, and I say a few as Terry Edmonds (Long Range Angler) has cast one of these 3.5lb Scopes over 170 yards! Also, the reach of a 12ft'er is sometimes helpful in deep reedy margins, but apart from that the advantages of the Scopes far outweigh traditional 12ft and 13ft carp rods.
We had loads of requests for a 4.5lbtc spod rod, so we have launched a 4.5lb version but we aren't calling it a Spod rod. You can use it for spodding, big river carping, cat fishing, even sea fishing. So why bracket it as a spod only?
But here is my tip for the year – this rod is an unbelievable tool for feature finding. I cant believe the angling world has missed it, but the fact is the longer a rod is the more the feel is dampened through the blank. I should have twigged this because in the past I have used a 12ft carp rod which ended up as only 10.5ft when I accidentally broke the tip. I found this shorter, stiffer rod was epic for feature finding. Well try a 9ft Scope – it's unbelievable. I can feel the lead drop at distance, and in shallow depths of water where I just didn't think it was possible, plus the transmission through the blank when dragging the lead back is incredible. If you want to be top of the game and find those features and hard spots where the carp are then get yourself a 4.5lbtc Scope!’
All in all these are perfect additions to the Scope range, which should be welcomed by all Scope fans!
Likes Extremely versatile rods, these two new models open up the Scope range to a whole new batch of anglers.
Dislikes I like the Scope mentality and existing range, so it’s very hard to fault these two new additions. The only dislike for me would be that they didn’t release the 4.5lb (marker/spod rod) earlier!
Nash Scope Bivvy
As you can imagine labelled under the Scope banner, this bivvy is compact, lightweight, and designed to be extremely user friendly and this is exactly the case.
The thought process behind this product is; If you fish with the Scope range you want all your tackle to be compact as possible and that includes your shelter and/or bivvy.
The Scope rods measure 44inches in length when collapsed, so the idea was to have a bivvy, that when collapsed would measure the same and this is what’s happened! As this little gem of a bivvy only measures 44inch when it’s in its carry bag, meaning you are left with an extremely compact parcel whilst in transit to and from the bank and whilst in storage. The bivvy features a fully removable front panel, meaning it can be fished brolly style, mozzy side windows and door as well as a rear vent to maximise ventilation.
The bivvy itself it manufactured from a real strong, but very lightweight and waterproof material named Aqua Sense Hydra, however most of the focus, to keep weight down as much as possible, has gone into the frame. In this case the poles are produced from the flexible but super strong duralumin, which is lightweight, yet extremely strong and rigid.
Here’s a little bit of information from the man himself, Kevin Nash.
‘Scope started with the short rod concept of better, more practical fishing rods, but as well as that the need to shrink my rod skins so that I could walk long distances through heavy vegetation with my rucksack on back and bed chair under my arm - off I go (I bloody hate barrows, but on the big pit its impossible to use them anyway!). So it follows that I didn't want to carry my Groundhog or Titan any more. I wanted a shelter to match the length of the Scope rod package – enter the Scope bivvy, which I now strap to my rod skins as it's only 44" long. Weight was the next issue, so we have used a really strong but very lightweight and waterproof material named Aqua Sense Hydra. A lot of focus has gone into the frame. The poles are produced from the flexible but super strong duralumin, with the spacer bars in place it is a really rigid strong structure and it goes up pretty damn quick too. It was essential for me to have a peak to eliminate as much rain ingress as possible when fishing into winds, as I don’t like fishing unsighted I always have the door open (or most of the time, no front at all). Because this shelter is so compact, and you cant get deep into the back as you would with a larger bivvy / shelter, this was an important point for me.
It comes with a removable front, which features mozzy side windows and door as well as a rear vent to maximise ventilation in summer. To be honest its been the mozzie issue for me this summer that has made me use the front. The door is post box style, so for those who want to seal up you can zip down the top of the door and look out with no rain ingress because its protected by the peak. I think this is a proper bit of kit which Scope minded carpers will love, and its silly light with the bivvy itself weighing only 5.5kilos. I believe when taking in all of the above it’s a great buy at £319.99’
Once again this is another impressive product added to the Scope range and all Scope minded anglers should be extremely happy.
Likes Extremely compact and extremely lightweight. This bivvy really pushes the boundaries in design and technology.
Dislikes With such high quality materials and high spec design you’d expect it to come at a price and without being hypocritical, for me (personally) it’s a little expensive.
Nash Scope Rucksacks
For 2014 Nash have released two new rucksacks to the Scope range, one is a classic style carp rucksack, the second is more of a standard, lets say ‘school boy’ rucksack.
First of all the Carp rucksack… This product features a huge capacity, has lots of external pockets, a drawstring rain cover top and a hardwearing waterproof base. A neat feature with this product is the back of the rucksack which is slightly rigid and features a clever air vent system, meaning that on hot days you don’t suffer from ‘sweaty back’ syndrome! It also means that when fully loaded this rack sack maximises comfort.
The second rucksack in the range is slightly smaller, but once again it still features a large capacity, several external pockets and a hard wearing waterproof base. The neat feature with this rucksack is that the bottom is removable and can be used on it’s own as a smaller carry bag (see pictures). The idea behind this is, that on hot days you can keep all your floater or stalking tackle in this little bag, unzip from the rucksack and head off chasing spooky Carp, without having to take the full rucksack! This little pouch is also insulated, meaning if you want to carry a drink or some lunch with you, then it will stay cool, even in the heat of the day! Another innovative idea from Nash!
Likes The zip off base on the smaller rucksack is extremely clever and well thought out!
Dislikes I struggled to find a dislike with these two rucksacks, they look and feel quality and are very competitively priced!
Here's a quick video of Mr.Nash talking us through all the latest products on offer...