Want to buy the Best LED Light Bar for your off road truck or all terrain vehicle, but confused where to start? Check out our LED Light Bar Reviews and buying guide

At first glance, it may seem as if all light bars are pretty comparable in their quality and function. However, this is many times not the case. Even if a light bar is of high quality, it may not necessarily be the best light bar for your specific needs. In order to make sure you get the most out of a relatively large investment, you will want to carefully consider a number of factors, read up on a few LED light bar reviews, and do the research necessary to ensure you are purchasing the best LED light bar for your needs. Before you start your search, read through this article to learn how to find the best light bar possible for you.

Factors to Consider When Purchasing an LED Light Bar

The first and arguably most important factor you will want to consider is what size light bar you want. The larger a light bar is, the more bulbs it will have, meaning that the bigger you go the brighter your light will be. In spite of this, there are plenty of smaller LED light bars that still produce tons of light. LED light bars range in size from 4 inches all the way up to 50 inches, and which one is best for you really depends on your vehicle and your budget.

Deciding whether to purchase a curved LED light bar or a straight LED light bar is really a matter of personal preference. With neither shape having a clear advantage over the other, the choice is a matter of aesthetics. Pick which shape appeals to you most and go from here.

LED light bars either come equipped with a single row of LED bulbs or two rows of LED bulbs. Double row light bars are obviously going to produce more light, and though they are a little pricier, are usually the preferred choice of the two. If you are looking for a low-profile LED light bar, however, you will probably be limited to a single row of LEDs. Though the double row lights are brighter, which type looks best really depends on your vehicle and your personal tastes.

The beam pattern of an LED light bar refers to how wide of a beam the light produces. Spot beams are much narrower and reach a longer distance, making them preferred for on-road driving. Inversely, flood beams are much wider, and since obstacles at the side of the road are more of a concern on a backroad trail, the best off road led light bar is one that is equipped with flood beam bulbs. To be covered no matter the situation, consider purchasing an LED light bar with a combination beam pattern that is equipped with both flood and spot LEDs. This is a highly popular choice, and most of the best LED light bars available today come with both spot and flood LED bulbs.

Certain colors are advantageous for certain situations. White light, for example, is the brightest color and is the best for most driving situations. Amber light, however, is better for fog and low visibility conditions since it does not reflect back into your eyes. Colors such as blue and red are good attention-getters and are preferred for emergency vehicles. Besides these, there are a also a variety of colors such as green that are made purely for aesthetic value. Like beam patterns, some light bars come equipped with bulbs of multiple colors. Choosing which color works best for you is a matter of intended purpose as well as personal tastes.

Between rain showers and mud puddles, your LED light bar is certain to get soaked. If you are searching for the best LED light bar for marine uses, this is even truer. In order to make sure that water doesn’t corrupt the electronics inside your light bar, you will want to purchase a light that is completely water resistant. In order to see how much protection a light offers against water, check its IP rating. An IP rating of IP68 or IP69 are both excellent ratings, with IP69 being the highest possible. These ratings ensure that your light is able to survive complete submersion without allowing water to penetrate through to the electronics inside.

Wiring up an LED light bar doesn’t have to be a complicated task, but to make the process go smoothly, you will want to make sure you have the right connectors. All LED light bars either come with ATP or DT connectors. Match this connector type with your wires and you will be all set to mount your light.

While every light bar is made to run off of a standard 12V battery, there are still three different voltage levels that they come in—12V, 24V, and 48V. Generally, the more voltage a light bar is rated for, the brighter it will be and the more power it will consume.

While there are many great LED light bars out there today, there are unfortunately an equally large number of cheap imitations that are made only to get your money. While many of these light bars look great on the outside (and their price often looks even better) they simply do not perform at an acceptable level. These cheap imitations will simply never shine as bright or last as long as a good, quality LED light bar. But if these light bars look fine at first glance, how can you make sure that the light bar you are considering is a well-made, high-quality product? Fortunately, there are several precautions you can take in order to ensure you purchase a light bar that is worth your money. First of all, you can look at the light bar’s security ratings.

Avoid purchasing a light bar with an IP rating that is IP65 or lower, as these light bars are poorly constructed and offer little to no protection against the elements. At BlackOakLED, all of the LED light bars we stock are rated at either IP68 or IP69 and have also passed military standards. No matter how well marketed a light bar is, its security ratings do not lie—use them to gauge just how good a light bar really is. Next, you will want to check what kind of warranty a company offers on their light bars. If they are not confident enough to warranty their products for a lengthy period of time, then you should not be confident enough to purchase them.

Each light bar we stock at BlackOakLED is covered under a limited lifetime warranty, and most any company stocking high-quality light bars will offer similar warranties on their products. A good light bar is made to last a lifetime, meaning that a reputable company selling high-quality products should have no issue warrantying their LED light bars for this long. Lastly, you can read online LED light bar reviews to see what other people thought of the light bar you are considering. This is a great way to get helpful, unbiased information about a product.

Poor quality light bars come in all types and price ranges. Whether it’s a great deal or it is highly expensive, price alone is not enough to gauge the quality of an LED light bar. By paying attention to a light’s security ratings, warranty, and reviews, however, you should be able to easily tell a good light bar from a cheap one and be able to purchase the best LED light bar for you.

See Black Oak LED Light Bar Reviews

4 Inch LED Light Bar
The smallest light bar offered at BlackOakLED, this little light is still able to produce an impressive 2,240 lumens of light. Equipped with both spot and flood pattern LED bulbs, this light bar is able to both light up distant objects as well as objects at the side of your vehicle. This feature makes it great for both on-road and off-road driving, and with a sturdy construction and IP69 security rating, it is able to handle the respective abuse of both driving conditions as well. If you are looking for an ultra-bright light that is highly compact and affordable, the 4 inch LED light bar is a great choice.

The next size up of affordable, compact light bars is our 6 inch LED light bar. Like the 4 inch model, this light bar is one of the brightest options available for its size, able to produce a total of 3,360 lumens of light in both spot and flood beam patterns that make it able to illuminate both far and wide obstacles. Given their more compact size, this light, as well as the 4 inch light bar, is the best LED light bar for ATVs and other smaller vehicles. Made using the most durable materials available, this light bar has achieved an IP69 rating and has passed both US and Chinese military standards. If you are looking for a durable, ultra-bright LED light bar that is still compact and affordable, the 6 inch light is a great option.

The largest size offered that would still be considered on the smaller side, our 10 inch LED light bar is able to produce 5,600 lumens of light while still being a compact, affordable choice. This light bar serves well as both a light for smaller vehicles such as ATVs UTVs, and motorcycles, as well as larger vehicles such as trucks and jeeps. Made using the most durable materials and proven manufacturing processes in the industry, this 10 inch light bar is able to survive even the roughest driving conditions, and, since is equipped with a combination of spot and flood beam patterns, is well-suited for both on- and off-road driving.

This 20 inch LED light bar is the perfect compromise between being large and bright and being compact and affordable. Able to produce 11,200 lumens of light, this light is one of the most popular and best LED bars for trucks on the market today given its brightness and affordability. With a combination of flood and spot beams, it is well suited for all driving conditions and is made to survive even the harshest of environments. If you are in the market for a good, mid-sized light that will illuminate the road like it was the middle of the day, then this light bar is a great choice to consider.

The thirty inch LED light bar is the first of the sizes available that would be considered a “large” light, and it packs the illumination to show this. Able to produce 16,800 lumens of light, this LED light bar is powerful enough to illuminate objects hundreds of yards down the road with daylight like clarity. Equipped with flood beams as well as spot beams, it is equally well-suited for lighting up objects at your vehicle’s sides as well. This 30 inch LED light bar is made using the most durable materials available, and has passed both US and Chinese military standards. If you are looking for a large, bright, and durable light bar, the 30 inch model is a great option to consider.

The second largest size offered, this 40 inch LED light bar is a whopper of a light, able to produce a total of 22,400 lumens that will light up a dark road like it was the middle of the day. If you want a large, bright light to put on your truck or other vehicle, this light is one of the best options available. With both spot and flood beam LED bulbs, this light is well suited for both on- and off-road driving, and is built to stand up to the punishment of any road condition. Consider purchasing this light bar if you are in need of a light that will light up the road and turn heads with equal effectiveness.

Why settle for anything but the biggest and the best? The largest size available, this 50 inch LED light bar is able to produce an astounding total of 28,000 lumens of light in both spot and flood beam patterns that will light up distant objects and objects at your side with equal clarity. Made using the most durable materials and proven manufacturing processes available today, this light bar is built to stand up to even the most punishing conditions. If you are looking for the biggest, most fearsome LED light bar on the market, then this is it. If you have the room to mount it, this light bar will certainly make any customized vehicle look great and will light up the road with daylight like clarity.

Robert Reynolds