Light bar suggestions...budget $500

Does anyone has experience or is using Cali raised light bars? What’s the best light bars for the money I’m meaning $500 and under. Front lower grill or on the roof above my front window.

 

I got their ditch light pods. Work great so far. Had them about a year

 

Dang I wish I had that budget, I have a $30 Amazon special 32 inch and it works fine.

 

That’s a good budget to work with, I don’t know about Cali raised, but I do know my roof rack LED light bar from Amazon and my hidden bumper LED light bar from eBay have lasted for a while now and put out quite a bit of light.

 

If your budget is that high, I’d never sink to Cali.

@Iggy might be running another group buy on his lighting. Superior quality to Cali, comparable to Rigid.

Cali is mid grade at best.

I’d go with good quality offbrand or I’d get something worth the trouble, like Iggy, Rigid, Baja.

 

Checkout Auxbeam. I spent more on the mounts than I did on my lights, so keep the cost of mounts in mind too.

 

I like ridgid as well

 

Thank you for your interest in our company! Let me know if you have any questions and we can get you all set up!

 

We have Diode Dynamics Stage Series bars below MAP to blow them out, FYI

Compare 'em, they're pretty awesome for their price

https://www.theretrofitsource.com/assemblies/off-road-lighting.html

 

If you're still looking, check these out. I just got a 20" single row and it's the tits. The quality on it is great and it's bright as hell. I was running a cheap Amazon one that quickly shit the bed, so I stepped it up a notch. Night and day difference in the optics. They're both advertised as a spot/flood combo and there is a HUGE difference in the spot beam on the lightforce ones. It throws like further than I thought. Hit up @memario1214 for good pricing.

https://www.lightforce.com/products/single-row-led-bars-0

 

I have 20" rigid SR combo on both the taco and 4Runner and both have rigid duallys in the fogs. Very happy with it. The 20" really reaches out.

 

The sierra Dual amber/white selectable led bars are nice...its what I'm using...good quality and u get two bars essentially in one unit

 

How big of a bar do you want? I have some Black Oak LED pods and they are Veteran owned and Operated as well as Lifetime warranty. I would definitely buy from again, their customer service is top notch and I think they do LEO/Firefighter/Veteran Discounts

 

Look up a brand called NiLight on Amazon. I've had a 20" (IIRC..) bar on my truck for almost a year now and a few of their smaller pods w/o any problems. Anything over $100 for some LEDs is absolutely insane imo.

The way I look at it is thats money better spent on good shit, like sliders, skids, or even tires. And for $30 if the LED bar I do have craps out, Ill just toss it and buy a new one

 

That's roughly the budget I had last year and ended up going with Extreme LED (https://extremeledlightbars.com/)
Nothing but great things to say about the light bar and ditch lights I got from them. I wanted 10W LED's and they had them in both their X6 light bar and their Stackerz pod.

 

I’m also looking for a light bar, for my AllPro Apex bumper. There are so many options out there it’s hard to tell which one to go with, especially without seeing it in person.

I’ve owned and still use many off brand LED flashlights. They work good and they last. However when it comes to work, I use Streamlight, the HL version too. The difference is night and day. I’m not sure what it is, their LED, reflector, glass, construction etc but the light is more focus, clear, bright, and goes further. So I understand there is a difference in quality. Of course the price is 5-10x the price of an off brand Amazon or EBay flashlight.

Unfortunately Streamlight is not in the truck lighting business or I probably would of gone with them. The only other company I would think that is comparable is RIGID. But if I could get close to the same quality without spending $100’s that would be great.

For reference:

 

What about the kc light bars? They're less than half the cost of Black oak. How do they stack up in quality?

 

I have had and do have everything from Amazon cheap duallys to Rigids.

Current list as of last weekend:

SAE/DOT Rigid Duallys for fogs (replaced Amazon duallys)
20" Lightforce SR bar from @EatSleepTacos (replaced Amazon 20" LED bar)
40" Heretic LED light bar for the roof rack
2x1 Black Oak LED pods on the rear roof rack
2x1 Rigid Duallys in the rear bumper as "reverse" (f*ck you) lights

It is 100% a "get what you pay for" mentality when it comes to lighting. Seeing is believing and when I changed my amazon duallys out for Rigid duallys, the difference and change was DRASTIC. I can honestly say that I will NEVER go back to Amazon lighting again.

Rigid - quality product, proven time and time again.
Lightforce - quality product, in-line with Rigid.
Heretic - No leaks, issues etc. Had on the truck for roughly 5 years; bought used. Rain, snow, intense sunshine and it keeps going. Really like it.
Black Oak - I am sponsored by them. Had a leak in one of the pods. They sent out a replacement and I kept the old one. Lathered it up with caulking and it is as good as new. No issues and I have the replacement to do with as I please.

My best advice to you before ponying up the moolah is venture out to the local crowd and ask for some reviews first hand. See how well their lighting holds up for where YOU live. Ask for some night time testing if possible and do first hand research and then make your decision from there.

Good luck.

 

with that budget i would take a look at baja designs. you will get amazing made in usa light with awesome output.

 

With so many of the LED bars being almost identical in appearance with a big spread in price makes it difficult to make a decision. I've owned bars from cheap Autofeel to Baja Designs. You are paying for the stuff you don't see, the circuit board and led chips are the difference in price. I think the Chinese rate every chip 10X's higher than spec. Cheap bars can be very tuff and last they just don't put out as much light.