LED Light Bar Recommendation in 2017

Michigan Jeep Man

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Oct 26, 2017
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Detroit, MI, United States
Hi guys,

I'm thinking about buying a 30-inch light bar to mount on my JK's hood (I know, I know... this is a TJ forum), and wanted to get everyone's opinion on some options:

1. Rigid Adapt: Looks pretty cool and I like that they can change the beam pattern instantly. Looks kind of expensive though.

2. Rigid RDS: Curved bar should give a wider beam pattern and help with visibility?

3. Rigid E-Series: I keep reading that Rigid makes the best lights. This looks like a way to get some Rigid lights without breaking the bank.

4. People often compare Rigid's stuff to lights made by Baja Designs and Vision X. Anybody have any experience with those brands lights? Are they better or worse than Rigid lights?

5. I saw in a bunch of older forum posts that people are liking stuff made by Aurora (the website looks kind of crappy and makes me worry about the quality of their lights), Lifetime LEDs, and Black Oak. I know all three of those companies are on the cheaper end. If anyone has actually had experience with any of these lights and Rigid's stuff (or comparable lights like Baja or Vision X), how do these cheaper lights bars compare?

I want to buy the best, but I also don't want to spend a fortune if there isn't a noticeable difference. I’d really appreciate your thoughts on the options listed (or throw out some alternatives if I missed any!).


Thanks for the help, guys!
 
My experience from dealing with people in China is that almost all of these light bars come from the same factories and use the same parts (they just lie to you and tell you that one light bar has "better" LED lights, therefore they can charge you more). I've heard that from numerous sources, and it wouldn't surprise me if it was true either.

The most important part of a light bar is that it's sealed very well so that water can't get into it and ruin the electronics. Other than that, don't buy into the whole "CREE LEDs" and other hyped up marketing bull crap.

I wish I could help more, but I'm not a light bar fan at all by any means, and therefore my knowledge on the subject isn't the best. I know a lot about LED headlights though, which is similar.
 
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Correct @Chris I have 2 small Rigid LED Spot Lights which I bough way back when. Since then I have added 2 cheap eBay Chinese ones to the rear of my TJ and I cannot tell the difference between them on which on is brighter. the cheap Chinese one get used every time I reverse my jeep and they have been on there for a quite some time now with no issues. I don't thing it pays to buy Rigids as they are way over priced. I actually repaired my friends Rigid Spot light when after a trip it stopped working and it was simply a loose surface mount resister in it's tiny circuit.
 
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Yep, that sounds about right @JeepNWilly.

Most people don't consider the fact that to buy all the tooling and equipment you'd need to make your own production line for things like this, it simply isn't worth it when you can go to a manufacturer that already exists and have them build it for you with their tooling. Another thing to consider is that there's nothing revolutionary about light bars. There really isn't any technology at work there that is going to be that much better than another light bar.

I know for a fact that with the LED headlights, they're all made by the same factory, but they sell them to distributors who then come up with a name for them and sell them to consumers. Funny thing is, one guy will be charging $300 for LED headlights that are the EXACT same as the same guy who is selling them for $150. The only difference at all is that each one of these sellers is selling them under a different name, even though they are the same headlight.

It's the same with light bars I suspect. I'm not saying that you can't pay a little more and potentially get one that might be a little more waterproof or something, but for the most part, they're the same.
 
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