Dark Defense / Diode Defense Pod Lights

So, I've stumbled across this on Facebook and they seem to have a pretty mid tier light option to offer. IP68+ rating, good output, nice design etc. Has anyone used these yet? Any comments? My new bumper should be here next month, and I'd like to get all my lighting sourced prior to then. Not looking to spend more than I am on armor for lights like BD (yes...I know...they are phenominal lights), but looking for the best I can get on a mid tier budget.

https://darkdefence.co/

https://diodedefence.com/

 

i saw these on facebook as well. not going to lie im kind of interested in trying them out. their prices are not bad as well. i also wonder why they recommend buying a harness for the from Amazon.

 

@WhiskeyTangoFoxtrot same here. Just would hate to drop the coin and end up with junk. I am very surprised that nobody on here has used them yet

 

yea same here. if they sold a harness that matches up with the lights then i would be more inclined to give them a try.

 

Hey guys, I thought I'd chime in here!

I am actually the owner of Dark Defence. It was formally called DiodeDefence, however we had to change our name after getting a legal notice from the friendly owner of Diode Dynamics. They have a great company and we don't want any marketplace confusion so our name was officially changed to Dark Defence!

Our lights are mid-tier as @redtaco2007 said. They're ip68 waterproof, interchangeable lens/serviceable, well-built PCB, real USA-designed Cree XLamp XM-L2 chips drawing a total real wattage draw of 43.5-47 (Average of 45watts). Powder coat paint, stainless hardware etc. It produces rated lumens of around 4200+ and you can see several examples of the real-life light output in videos on our Facebook page: We've also done extensive testing leaving these underwater for days at a time with no leakage.

We also stand behind our 30-day guarantee and will offer a full refund with NO restocking fee for anyone that decides the lights aren't right for them. We really only want people using our lights that LOVE them and so far we've heard nothing but positive.

It was our first desire to create some real powerful pod lights that we're medium-priced yet would produce brightness close to the other high-end competitors and I think we've knocked it out! Right now there are some limitations like limited mounting options without customizations and you have to get your own harness. These are mainly just inconveniences that we will hopefully address soon so people don't have to manually do stuff to get them working. But for right now they are priced acordingly.

If anyone else has any feedback, questions or would like to try out a pair, let me know or check out our website at https://DarkDefence.co.

You can also contact me or follow my page on FB here: Right now we are running the same group buy sale for $65 per pod light or ($130/set) until further notice due to Covid-19. You can use the coupon code DDS465 to activate this deal on our website: https://DarkDefence.co.

Thanks again guys for noticing what we're doing. Hopefully we will be more widely recognized as people realize how good our lights are!

 

Also, I just wanted to note that our light housing is similar to other lights seen selling for cheaper, however ours us using upgraded real US Cree XM-L2 XLamp chips that are far superior than the cheaper junk being sold in similar housings on Amazon and other sites. We have a test videos of wattage draw on ours and also real light output below:

Video of our lights VS. other cheaper models with inferior components - (Forgive the name 'diode defence' it has been changed to "Dark Defence" as described above). Also forgive my annoying foice and terrible video. It was just a spur of the moment video I needed to kick out.

Video of our DDS4 lights in a real-life fixed-brightness video (Stock headlights vs DDS4's) - Here's a few more images also of our pods:

 

I just wanted to update this with some better photos I recently took the other day featuring fixed camera settings for an accurate representation of light output. As you can see these 3" pods put out some serious light compared ALL others around our price point. You can also see the sprinter van in the background - one of my friends fabbed up some ditch light brackets for the sprinter and is also really enjoying the lights for gravel roads etc.

Also, as an FYI, we are still doing the $65/light $130/pair sale.

Available in yellow or white: https://darkdefence.co

Single lights: Coupon code: DDS465

Pair of lights: Coupon code: DDS4130


The sprinter lights from behind me were not turned on when shooting the fixed camera setting photos below the first photo seen below the first image and was taken around 30 minutes after sunset.

 

Going to pull the trigger on a set. @blondi.josh are there any discount codes for tacomaworld members? Tried the ones you posted above but they were expired. Thanks!

 

If anyone is interested they are running 40% off today through monday. July40 is the code

 

Did you get a pair yet.
I wonder if there fog light kit will work with the 2nd gen tundra 06-10 ?@blondi.josh

 

I ordered yesterday. I’ll post some pics once they come in. I have two Baja designs also so I’ll compare them.

 

I'd be really interested in seeing that comparison.

 

Dang missed out on that code. Been wanting to replace my Amazon pods without going to the BD price level.

 

Hey guys, sorry for not getting back sooner! For some reason my email notifications weren't coming through on post replies to my inbox, but I've fixed that now.

I've created a coupon code just for Tacoma world members: "TACOMAWORLD" for 25% off the site! If you have any questions, just message me!

Just as an FYI, we sold out of our spot+flood yellow combo lenses, but should have them back in stock by the end of July. If you order lights with this option, we'll send you the lenses seperatly after they arrive from our manufacturer.

Also @chrslefty, we don't have a fog light conversion yet for the 07-13, however there are many mounts available on the market that should be able to be adapted to the DDS4 pods. If you message me I can send you several options for the Tundra, if you're still interested.

 

Just ordered a set after talking to Josh via PM. Super fast response and very helpful!
I plan to post some pics of my current Auxbeam spots from Amazon vs the DDS4’s in an open field near my house.

 

Thanks I've seen the other brackets from BD and DD.
Definitely interested in seeing the comparison shots.

 

So I got my lights 3 days after ordering and finally got a chance to hook one up this evening to do a super quick side by side. I’m still going to do the same in an open field tomorrow but the initial impressions are pretty awesome!

DDS4 vs Auxbeam 3” pod in my driveway, both clear spot

The Auxbeam I’ve had for 2yr


Auxbeam only - focused hotspot, little to no spill over, cooler light color almost blue

DDS4 only - great hotspot and large amount of spillover, more natural color light

Both - can really see the color difference although the camera does exaggerate the yellow of the DDS4 a bit

I’ll try my GoPro in the field to see if it does any better with the lighting and more accurately showing the differences, but the final pic does show pretty well what you get with $35 pods vs $130 pods. I’m excited to try these out off-road!

 

Despite a rain storm coming through and knocking out my power, I was able to get the lights hooked up and test them out in the open field near my house.

The DDS4 have a nice finish to them, I believe they’re powder coated. I’m curious to see how the finish stands up the the NC sun since my Auxbeams have faded badly becoming chalky looking after only 1yr.

To my pleasant surprise, the DDS4’s have the same type of water right connector that I used on my other lights. I did have to swap the polarity on mine because I had it reversed but that took 10min, pretty easy. This made swapping the new and old lights a piece of cake.

While mounting the lights, I noticed that they come with all stainless hardware which is great for weather resistance. I had slightly shorter SS bolts and nylon locknuts that I used on my old lights so I reused them to avoid having to worry about the nut backing off. Minor personal preference thing. One minor hardware issue, when mounting the bracket screws into the side of the lights, the screw bottoms out on the next cooling fin before fully tightening down the bracket. I didn’t want the light bounding around at all so I put some stainless washers between the bracket and light housing then inserted the screws. A better fix for this would be to simply grind down the screws or use screws that are maybe 3mm shorter. Squeezing those washers in was a little tricky, it’s a tight little space but it worked as you can see in the pic.

Screw bottoming out


Washer in place, screw tightened down


Even in the daylight, against my garage you can easily see the DDS4’s shine, not so much with the Auxbeams. My friend @Tacomasprime05 and I looked at them head on in the daylight and again, it’s not even close. I think he said something to the effect of “holy... what do you need those for?!” Haha

The Auxbeams are a more focused, higher temp (more blue) light but light output isn’t even close! I love the spot pattern of the DDS4’s. They have a nice strong hot spot and plenty of spill over to light the surrounding area, and really good throw. The tree line in the distance in my nighttime pics is about 175yd.

Auxbeam 3” 20w pods, no headlights (tried aiming different ways, didn’t make much difference)


DDS4 pods, no headlights


I think the pictures speak for themselves. I’m all about “bang for the buck” so I’m not the guy who is gonna spend $350 for a set of pods when I’m not desert running; I go for the best blend of cost and performance. This showed me hands-down that the DDS4’s offer a ton more performance for about +$95 ($130 vs $35). Honestly, I think the ~$100 price point is a sweet-spot for pods, though there are very few options there for some reason. On paper, these match Baja Designs Squadron R’s which are 3x the price!

Thanks again @blondi.josh for offering these lights at such a great price point and for the recent deal!


TLDR:
Pros-
Brightness, true 40w, real Cree LEDs
Nice powdercoat finish
Stainless hardware
Water tight plug connectors
Great spot pattern and throw
Lens options, Easily swapped and inexpensive
Great price point and value at $130 vs $35 Auxbeam, $230 BD Sports, $390 BD Pros
Owner Josh is very responsive and great to work with pre-purchase

Cons-
Bracket screws should be maybe 3mm shorter
I’d prefer a nylon locknut for the mounting bolt
I’ll add more if I find any

 

Nice. Be interested in seeing the difference between some BD's. May have to pick up a pair.

 

I’m building a light bar out of 8 of them and will keep you guys posted!