The Lair

I'm a little late on the conversation here, but I am back from the weekend to inject this thread with a little more nonsense. @08TRDOFFROAD is on the right page here. The claims that you are going to find from a lot of the Amazon offerings are very much falsified for marketing purposes. It all comes down to the quality and efficiency of the chips that are being used in the product as well as the optics involved. For example, if you scour around enough given accurate information you could find that there are many 5w bar options that draw more power and therefore with the A+B=C mentality they MAKE MOAR LUMENS and so they are better... However, a lot of times what you end up with is an inferior set of optics and a weak chipset which ultimately leads to less "usable lumens" than a properly tuned 3w bar. Take for example Rigid Industries. They have a hyperspot variant of their Dually XL lights. On the left is the D-XL PRO driving pattern and on the right is the D-XL PRO Hyperspot. Look at the spec difference between the two. They are so different... The big thing I want to point out is that the hyperspot doesn't even have one third of the raw output of the driving pattern, yet its beam distance is nearly double as is the peak intensity. Just a little glimpse into the value of optics, especially with LED which in its nature distributes light shotgun style and will not forward project unless they are forced to.




The real problem with all of this is that when it comes to sellers of this equipment no one is going to be forthcoming with the honest information. According to their marketing everyone has CREE chips, everyone has 6000d lens technology, everyone has IP69 environmental resistance, etc when in reality that's just not the case. Many run epistar chips, untuned optics (even some of the 4d sets run plastic lenses), inefficient circuitry and heat dispersion which leads to heat and encourages moisture intrusion.Almost all of the light bars that you see on Amazon are made in one of 3 production facilities in China and are just rebranded or have slight variations. I can say from my own experience that they have the ability to make changes and do custom work, but no one is going to reinvent the wheel when there is a steady stream of buyers for what is currently being offered.

All of that said I do truly believe that the Baja, Rigid, and VisionX's are making a superior lighting product than what else is out there. However, one must look at their usage, needs, budget, etc. I think that CaliRaised for example makes a good light for the money. I believe that they likely started with a rebranding of the current Chinese offerings, but with some popularity, volume, and a little bit of money have probably encouraged the producer to create a little better product for their customers over time (all unverified assumptions). If you are someone who wants the light bar for possibly aesthetics and don't need it every day or don't need the best thing since sliced bread I am not going to sit here and try to force feed you into spending money you may not have to sell one light bar. I would much rather educate and help you make the right decision for you. It's my problem if I don't offer something that lands in the wheelhouse, and I also realize that I can't be everything to everyone. I think that you will get 70-80% of the highest quality equipment if you go with something such as Cali. If you want what is currently the peak in performance I can certainly help with that, and although I can get fantastic deals on just about everything one must understand that they do come at a bit of a premium.

My hands are now tired and I might need a Tylenol. Hope that answers a question or two. Please feel free to reach out should you have any others.