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New HF Road shock edge lights

Discussion in 'Lighting' started by tacoman2001$, Mar 17, 2024.

  1. Mar 17, 2024 at 1:26 PM
    #1
    tacoman2001$

    tacoman2001$ [OP] Well-Known Member

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    Has anyone tried these yet? I just ordered a set. Looks pretty cool with running lights and low and high beams. Looks a lot like a baja design LP6 but way cheaper. They also include an amber lense and black cover. Seems like a cheaper LP6 and for $150 might be worth it.

    59237_W3.jpg
     
  2. Mar 17, 2024 at 1:41 PM
    #2
    SoCaltaco65

    SoCaltaco65 Well-Known Member

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    LOL its a complement when everybody else tries to copy your products....It may look like a BD LP6 but I guarantee it doesn't perform like one.

    750 lumens vs 11225
    o_O
     
  3. Mar 17, 2024 at 1:46 PM
    #3
    tacoman2001$

    tacoman2001$ [OP] Well-Known Member

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    Probably true hard to cut the price from $500 to $150 without cheaping out somewhere. Probably not meant for lighting geeks but for some cheap lights seems like a better option than some Amazon lights. I need to find someone with some LP6 so I can compare when I get mine.
     
  4. Mar 17, 2024 at 1:50 PM
    #4
    SoCaltaco65

    SoCaltaco65 Well-Known Member

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    So youre going to purchase the HB's and support a Chinese company that copies tools and other items?

    if you look closely at this pic, you can see my LP6's shining on the wash bank that is over 1/4 mile away.

    IMG_4272.jpg
     
    llibrm likes this.
  5. Mar 18, 2024 at 3:07 PM
    #5
    Baja Designs

    Baja Designs The Scientist of Lighting Vendor

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    Lately, there's been a surge in look-alike lights heavily inspired by our LP Series. While these alternatives may come at a lower price point, it's important to remember the reasons why alternates are less expensive.
    • For instance, the Harbor Freight lights offer only a "Limited 90-Day Warranty," whereas Baja Designs stands behind its products with a "Lifetime Warranty." We are holding back from a very detailed component comparison, but just know the circuit board, optics, and lens/housing materials are wildly different. We would also like to stress the fact the same Baja Designs lights on our website are used by weekend warriors to the most elite divisions of our Special Forces. We intentionally overbuild our lights compared to lights with warranties less than lifetime. Your lighting upgrades shouldn’t be viewed as disposable.
    With over 30 years of expertise in developing cutting-edge lighting solutions for vehicles, Baja Designs guarantees superior performance, quality, customer service, and a lifetime warranty. To see for yourself take a look at the “science of lighting” dropdown on the Baja Designs homepage and our Effective Lighting Score. These two pages were designed to help articulate the Baja Designs difference.

    Hey @tacoman2001$ , we'd love the opportunity to collaborate with you to ensure your vehicle receives the proper investment, complete with all the benefits that come with a genuine Baja Designs Light.

    Best,
    Bill

    Bill Sonevongxay | Forum Sales & Support 
    Email: Bill@bajadesigns.com Phone: (760)560-2252
     
    JLee, TOP TACO, HiFire and 5 others like this.
  6. Mar 21, 2024 at 11:24 AM
    #6
    BDSKJChris

    BDSKJChris Well-Known Member

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    Where are the LP4 lights manufactured/assembled?
     
    paranoid56 likes this.
  7. Mar 21, 2024 at 2:03 PM
    #7
    Baja Designs

    Baja Designs The Scientist of Lighting Vendor

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    Hey @BDSKJChris,

    Since 2022, Baja Designs has owned and operated a Tier 1 facility in Toluca, Mexico. This facility serves as the assembly point for several of our product lines. Each light undergoes rigorous testing procedures at both our Toluca facility and our headquarters in San Marcos to ensure that they meet the high-quality standards we are renowned for. If anyone has any other questions, please feel free to reach out at bill@bajadesigns.com

    Best,
    Bill

    Bill Sonevongxay | Forum Sales & Support 
    Email: Bill@bajadesigns.com Phone: (760)560-2252
     
    SoCaltaco65 and LOLLY like this.
  8. Mar 22, 2024 at 12:56 PM
    #8
    BDSKJChris

    BDSKJChris Well-Known Member

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    That's just china, with extra steps.
    In either case, while it seems like you guys put out an excellent product that carries a great warranty and is user serviceable. I think for most people's use case it is hard to justify the high cost compared to a harbor freight product that, while not as robust or reliable, will accomplish the task at hand for 1/3 the price.
     
    Glueman, SR-71A, TacoFergie and 3 others like this.
  9. Mar 22, 2024 at 5:31 PM
    #9
    tacoman2001$

    tacoman2001$ [OP] Well-Known Member

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    That was my thought. While there's no warranty you can still go through 3 before you break even. What are the chances I go through 3 before I change up my setup or get rid of my truck. They are osram LED too so my only thought for breakage would be drivers.
     
  10. Mar 22, 2024 at 9:52 PM
    #10
    paranoid56

    paranoid56 Well-Known Member

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    kinda depends on your usecase. if you just need something to look neat and light up a little then ebay lights are fine. if you want to depend on them for higher end cases then get something good. Haivng lights take a shit at a bad time sucks lol.
     
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    #10
    jackn7 likes this.
  11. Mar 23, 2024 at 11:13 AM
    #11
    soundman98

    soundman98 Well-Known Member

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    so i take it you must also own a rolex watch to tell the time as accurately as possible?

    no one denies the better build specifications of bd lights, and no one denies the quality of rolex watches either.

    but that doesn't mean that every single person MUST use a rolex/bd light for every single scenario. for many cases, a discount walmart option performs more than adequately for the situation.

    i would never run a rolex watch to work-- it'd be damaged within the first day. but i'll happily run a $5 discount watch that might not keep perfect time. i can easily burn/scratch/crush many hundreds of those before getting up to the cost of the rolex.
     
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  12. Mar 25, 2024 at 4:42 AM
    #12
    BDSKJChris

    BDSKJChris Well-Known Member

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    Unless someone on here is running the Baja 1000, they could probably forego the expensive lights.

    If you want something to look neat and impress broverlanders on instagram, then go ahead and spend JW speaker money on a chinese made, possibly "Assembled" (aka Packaged) in mexico product. If you want functional lights that are also made in china and won't break the bank, grab the harbor freight lights. While you are at it, using some of the money you saved, grab a spare set to keep in the truck in case you manage to ever break one.

    on a whim, I decided I would grab the new Harbor freight lights, 2 of the flood/spot combo 4 lead lights and a complete wiring harness came to $297.xx out the door after tax. A single LP4 costs 437.xx before tax and shipping. These are going to be mounted to a tractor as work lights and I would bet money that they will see harsher conditions than about 75% of the high end lights installed on people's trucks.
     
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    #12
  13. Mar 25, 2024 at 12:03 PM
    #13
    Baja Designs

    Baja Designs The Scientist of Lighting Vendor

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    Hey @BDSKJChris,

    Your assumption that our lights are manufactured in China is entirely inaccurate and false. None of our lights undergo production overseas. Opting for a Baja Designs product goes beyond simply acquiring premium lighting; it means choosing a proven and trusted solution utilized across diverse industries worldwide. Whether it's on top-tier racing circuits, in military operations, agriculture, or beyond, our products consistently deliver reliability. We engineer solutions built to withstand the test of time, ensuring you're always illuminated and never left in the dark. Our range of lighting solutions offers diversity without straining your budget. Starting from our S1 to our Squadron series, prices begin at an MSRP of $232.95. These options provide an excellent entry point for those looking to enhance their lighting setup. While some may not choose Baja Designs solely for aesthetics but rather for reliability, we stand by the assurance that there's no need to purchase an extra set in case of failure; our solutions reliably transport you from point A to B without doubts about being left in the dark. So, do you keep an extra Tacoma in your garage, or did you purchase it for its reliability?

    Best,
    Bill


    Bill Sonevongxay | Forum Sales & Support 
    Email: Bill@bajadesigns.com Phone: (760)560-2252
     
    TOP TACO, Steves104x4, llibrm and 3 others like this.
  14. Mar 25, 2024 at 12:07 PM
    #14
    Baja Designs

    Baja Designs The Scientist of Lighting Vendor

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    If you have any questions or need guidance on building a lighting setup for your rig, don't hesitate to reach out. Feel free to send an email to bill@bajadesigns.com. We're here to assist you every step of the way!

    Best,
    Bill

    Bill Sonevongxay | Forum Sales & Support 
    Email: Bill@bajadesigns.com Phone: (760)560-2252
     
  15. Mar 25, 2024 at 12:47 PM
    #15
    545

    545 Well-Known Member

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    Since you have stated that your lights are only assembled in Mexico, where are your manufacturing facilities?
    For the LEDs and circuits, sourcing from Asian countries is highly likely, but what about the housing and reflectors/lenses?
     
  16. Mar 26, 2024 at 4:39 AM
    #16
    BDSKJChris

    BDSKJChris Well-Known Member

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    So then where are they actually produced? where are the boards made, where are the LEDs, drivers, boards, etc...actually manufactured, not "assembled"?
    I am willing to bet that the housings might be made in North America, as well as the brackets, hardware, and maybe the lenses and reflectors. But everything you have said so far screams that this is manufacturing of the meat and potatoes of the light is done on a different continent and final "assembly" happens in mexico, which can range from actual assembly of the product, (bolting pre-made components together), to just packaging the product, (Throw it in a bag, some protective foam, a neat box and tape it up and slap a "Assembled in North America (using globally sourced components)" sticker on it and charge 3-4 times what the competition does.

    When you go to the same marketing school as Chemical Guys, Oakley, 5.11, etc...

    You should look into the concept known as the "Law of Diminishing Returns".

    Also, my Tacoma was not 325% more expensive than every other midsize truck on the market, so not exactly an apples-to-apples comparison there. and to answer your question, if I could buy a brand new Colorado for roughly $10,000, then yes, it would make way more sense to buy 4 of those than to buy a single tacoma. Even assuming the colorado would barely make it to 100,000 miles and then fail beyond repair.

    What exactly did you hope to gain by pitching Baja Designs products in a thread about a product that should not even warrant a response from Baja Designs?
     
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  17. Mar 26, 2024 at 4:44 AM
    #17
    BDSKJChris

    BDSKJChris Well-Known Member

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    Bro Please, it's not made in china, I promise bro, just email me and we can sell you $300 worth of lights for $1,500, bro you'll be just like the Navy SEALs. They'll turn your taco into a tube chassis Up-armored Trophy Truck ready to take on Mad Max Rockatansky. Bro please, we said state of the art facility in mexico, please email me for a lighting solution.
     
    Last edited: Mar 26, 2024
  18. Mar 26, 2024 at 9:24 AM
    #18
    Toy_Runner

    Toy_Runner Well-Known Member

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    I wouldn't expect a further response from BD based on how this is going.

    I am firmly of the opinion BDs lights -ARE- overpriced. I can't justify the massive delta between them and a good competitor in say, diode dynamics. But I do have some comparisons that I can draw (and have made elsewhere, if you search my post history) between vehicle lighting and flashlight tech (as autist as that sounds: it is). HF is benefitting from being able to rip off their competitors designs, and make a "gūd enuf" product for 90% of people buying them. But they don't compare evenly. They save a massive amount in R&D right off the bat, which BD spent the money on.

    Its also a case where there are very few pieces of the drivers will come from anywhere other than taiwan or china. China makes decent, high volume, low complexity chips, like will be used in both HF and BD driver circuits. That doesnt make them comparable.

    Edit-

    In a similar vein, JW Speaker has made several very excellent lamps, which were, and are, costly. But within 2yrs of them bringing them to market, you could buy "the same" looking lamp from any of 150 different chinese manufacturers on Amazon for 1/6th the price. But they are generally junk, made with cheap chips, cheap, high output/low surface intensity LEDs, with poor optics without antireflectove coatings, shortcuts taken in the drive circuitry, etc (I've bought 8 or 9 and torn them apart at this point). Are they "good enuf?" Maybe, for a beater wheeler you just need to get down the backroad to the trailhead and not worry about if you smash a rock or tree with them. But are they Good (meaning in performance) headlamps? No. They have a bright, shiny beam, they have a horizontal cutoff, they have integrated turn signals ajd drls and bells and whistles. But compared to a real jws 8700 their output is trash, the lenses fade quickly and fail to keep out water. They're exactly what they are... cheap chinese rip off junk. But its your money, dude.
     
    Last edited: Mar 26, 2024
  19. Mar 26, 2024 at 9:37 AM
    #19
    Off Topic Guy

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  20. Mar 26, 2024 at 9:48 AM
    #20
    BDSKJChris

    BDSKJChris Well-Known Member

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    Don't get me wrong, I definitely see the value in purchasing made in USA, buy it for life quality products, I too am a nerd for a good flashlight. But a flashlight will see infinitely more abuse than vehicle mounted lights on a daily driver. I own flashlights from Surefire, PflexPro (1K lumen drop-in in a 6p host), Malkoff, KAC, Cloud Defensive, all while pricey especially when compared to import options like olight, really are a made in the USA product in every possible sense of the word, they also perform extremely well, also Malkoff, KAC, and surefire have years of their products being proven in harsh conditions.. While there are other great performing imported options out there for way less money, I would not stake my life or safety on them.

    I never said I would expect comparable performance from the harbor freight option. But if it is 1/4 as good, (Color temp, actual light output, CRI, reliability, etc...) then the value is there.

    The issue I have with BD in this case is

    1) they are making it seem like nobody should consider the harbor freight option and jump right to their website and spend 4x as much, which for most people's use cases is extremely overkill. In my case, these are going on a tractor so I can see better when clearing snow at night or mowing later in the evening, with the added bonus of being useful as area lighting. Spending $1,000 for the BD equivalent wouldn't make sense when a post hole digger for the machine is like $1,200.

    2) they seem like they are either reluctant to divulge where the lights are made, or ignorant of where the components come from. If you expect me to pay almost $430 for a single light, I expect you to be able to tell me where it came from.

    3) Used by special forces, baja 1000 racers, etc... marketing just bolsters point number 1. Keep in mind Rigid Industries sold to .mil for a while too, sig sauers latest and greatest service weapon for the US is riddled with issues, a .gov contract =/= a great product, just an expensive one.
     
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