LED Light Bars and Old School Lighting

[SDHQ]

I have looked high and low and there has been no "real testing". Certainly not on Youtube (or it has been hidden really well or not indexed). And Googling comes up with some comparisons but nothing current where the products we care about are looked at side by side.

Real testing would be side by side or duplicate drive testing with still cameras or DV's with locked white balance, same conditions, etc. It would compare the best product from each manufacturer or products in the same price range or products with similar element count or wattage or length, or function/use, etc.

Ideally I'd just like to see the light bars that are used on the current ADD and SDHQ bumpers honestly compared.

So as far as I can tell we're talking about:

40" Vision X Reflex LED bar (22 10 watt LEDs total, mix of 4-35 degree LEDs on the edges and 18-10 degree LEDs in the middle positions) List $1600 ?

39" Vision X Evo Prime LED bar (24 10 watt LEDs total, mix of 4-40 degree LEDs on the edges and 20-20 degree LEDs in the middle positions) List $1970 ?

40" Rigid "E" Series LED bar (80 LEDs total, 195 watts total, LEDs are grouped in sets of 4. outside 4" on each side are flood pattern, inside 32" are pencil beam) List $1300 ?

The Rigid bars are cool as with the higher number of elements they really fill the enclosures edge to edge. The Vision X look more like a collection of round lights. Not sure I like it as much. Superior performance would certainly tip the scales.

Here are a couple differences between the above bars you mentioned...

Both the above Vision bars are running with newer technology 10 watt leds, not the 3 watt style that are in the earlier Vision X bars or the current Rigid bars.

The newer Evo Prime has an integrated electronic thermal management unit. This allows the 10 watt led to be driven at a higher efficiency which means more lumens output.

Also we can modify either of the bars to have what ever combo of led's you want (ie. 20 & 40 degree on the Evo Prime and 10 & 35 degree on the Reflex)

Here is a shot of the Reflex & Evo Prime..

 

[SDHQ]

I would youtube both rigid and vision x and see what real testing has been done. Spec sheets are one thing, real testing is another. I would call Taylor at Rigid and talk with him. I'm only a fan of them. And I like their lifetime warranty.

Limited lifetime... "after a year we do repairs on a case by case basis" per Rigid...


Vision X.. You have a problem in 1 year, 5 years, 10 years.. No issues... SDHQ and Vision X has you covered. Period.

 

[SDHQ]

Anyone have photos to compare the light output of the LED's vs HID vs Halogen? I am new to LED's and like the concept but have not seen real world photos of them in use. How well do LED's work in dense fog?

Light output based on lumens -

Vision X product-
35 watt HID 3500
50 watt HID 5000
70 watt HID 7000
39" Evo Prime 20640
40" Reflex 17600
40" Xmitter Prime 16416

The HID's will through the light further than a LED. It all depends on the speeds you are trying to light up!

 

[Addictive Desert Designs]

Shoot it, drag it, run it over, beat it with a 2x4, etc and it will speak for itself.
Just my thoughts.

 

[Addictive Desert Designs]

Maybe you missed the IP-68 & IP-67 rating of the Vision X lights when it comes to waterproofing. Those ratings are what the military/nasa and such go by, unfortunately when Nasa calls and wants led's for their lunar rover they don't go by what a youtube video shows.. LOL

Also a pic of the lunar rover driving next to some grass doesn't show any real world test.

 

[SDHQ]

Shoot it, drag it, run it over, beat it with a 2x4, etc and it will speak for itself.
Just my thoughts.

Also a pic of the lunar rover driving next to some grass doesn't show any real world test.

LOL.... Houston, we have a problem... Can you youtube it so we can figure it out...

ADD.. best is probably to do some research on some of the ratings... They cost quite a bit more to get and actually do a bit more of testing than just dragging it behind a Jeep.

Here is some info on the Nasa project...
NASA - NASA Tests Rover Concepts in Arizona
Vision X USA - NASA Taking Xmitters into Space for a Visit to the Moon

 

[Addictive Desert Designs]

Here is some info on the Nasa project...
NASA - NASA Tests Rover Concepts in Arizona
Vision X USA - NASA Taking Xmitters into Space for a Visit to the Moon[/QUOTE]

LOL.... Well I wasn't planning on taking the Raptor to the moon anytime soon, But I'll keep that in mind.

Look everyone, I don't own Rigid or have any money invested into it. I talking from experience and what I see coming in and out of here all the time. This thread was here to ask opinions, I'm simply giving mine. In this industry everyone who has some stack in a company says there's is the best ever. And rightfully so. You should believe in your product and take pride in it. Clearly sdhq does. Thats a good thing.
Bottom line, when I'm buying a light that is gonna cost me a $1000 or more I want to see that it will handle the abuse that I will probably never give it. But the peace of mind is what I'm buying along with the performance.
Youtube maybe lame to the "headquarters" but it does show that it can handle abuse. I know it's not nasa write ups but like I said, my truck isn't going to the moon so I'm not so worried about zero gravity conditions. But I am worried about rocks being blasted into it, getting covered in mud , hit by tree's etc. And the youtube video shows that it can handle more then that.

Even though I don't have any stock in Rigid Industries, I have seen enough of them and their quality that as of today I am going to be their vendor on the forum. I will Back them with ADD's name!!!

 

[SDHQ]

LOL.... Well I wasn't planning on taking the Raptor to the moon anytime soon, But I'll keep that in mind.

Look everyone, I don't own Rigid or have any money invested into it. I talking from experience and what I see coming in and out of here all the time. This thread was here to ask opinions, I'm simply giving mine. In this industry everyone who has some stack in a company says there's is the best ever. And rightfully so. You should believe in your product and take pride in it. Clearly sdhq does. Thats a good thing.
Bottom line, when I'm buying a light that is gonna cost me a $1000 or more I want to see that it will handle the abuse that I will probably never give it. But the peace of mind is what I'm buying along with the performance.
Youtube maybe lame to the "headquarters" but it does show that it can handle abuse. I know it's not nasa write ups but like I said, my truck isn't going to the moon so I'm not so worried about zero gravity conditions. But I am worried about rocks being blasted into it, getting covered in mud , hit by tree's etc. And the youtube video shows that it can handle more then that.

Even though I don't have any stock in Rigid Industries, I have seen enough of them and their quality that as of today I am going to be their vendor on the forum. I will Back them with ADD's name!!!

Maybe you were missing the point... These guys were asking for info and I was giving these guys the facts on the Vision X lights, not my opinion. A point I was making is that the off the shelf Vision X products are good enough for Nasa, the military and many other government and private entities to use. Vision X doesn't have a youtube page touting their lights, they have their lights tested in a laboratory where they receive their grades.

You can read above my facts about the warranty and the light output of the Vision X bars.

SDHQ has been around the block a few times...we are celebrating our 12th year in business...We are passionate in what we do and sell and at the same time we keep in mind the facts. If there was something better we would offer it...

 

[Addictive Desert Designs]

OK, Here is a quick discription
Also has a LIFETIME warranty!!!!

The new "E" Series High Intensity L.E.D. Light by Rigid Industries. General Specs: 93% Optical Efficiency Shockproof No Vibration 80 LED's with 50,000+ Hour Life Span Easy Two Wire Installation 14.44Amps 195 watts 18000 Lumens Patented Hybrid Technology runs lights at 90% efficiency which is unmatched in the industry. 8" of flood reflectors on the outsides of the light and 32" of spot reflectors on the inside half of the light. This will optimize both functional light spread and light distance for increased visability. Dimensions: 3.375" High 3.625" Deep 41 3/8" Long Why LED? A light-emitting-diode (LED) is a semiconductor diode that emits light when an electrical current is applied in the forward direction of the device, as in the simple LED circut. The effect is a form of electroluminescence where incoherent and narow-spectrum light is emitted from the P-N junction in a solid state material. Advantages of LED lighting: 50,000 hour life expectancy Very High Lumens per Watt No glass lens to break No Bulbs to Burn out No Ballast to Mount Rigid Industries Advantage,it's all in the reflector. Patented Super Efficient Reflector 93% efficient vs. 72% "Brand X" reflectors Available in both Pencil and Flood Beam More Light with Less Power, Heat and size. Much Father Projection Multi Source Light No "bouncing" beams Virtually eliminates HID vibration If one LED fails the other LEDs will not Greatly Reduces eye fatigue

Lights size available from 4" to 50"

 

[pirate air]

My thoughts..... You probably can't go wrong with either Rigid or Vision X. I bet both companies will take care of you if need be. I would love to have a plentiful amount of both leds and hids on the front of my truck. Leds for their awesome flood pattern and hids for their blinding the long rang.