Picking the Right Rigid Light Bar For Your Machine
Light up the trail with one of the biggest names in the business
There are a few brands that become synonymous with the product, so much so that when people think of that product, the brand name pops into mind first. Like when you think of a sport UTV and you call it a RZR, even if it’s from another brand. To an extent, that is what Rigid Industries has done with the LED light bar. Rigid quickly etched a top spot in the market with high quality products that could handle the abuse off-road driving and riding dishes out. When it comes time to add some lighting to your machine, how do you know what to get? We decided to help you with picking the right Rigid Light Bar and other Rigid Industries lights for your machine.
Table of Contents
1. Editor's Choice: E-Series Dual Row
The E-Series is the classic, versatile, all-around Rigid light bar. With its E-Series, Rigid bumped up the LED technology to more than double the raw lumens and added blacked-out circuit boards that provide a more refined look. Dual-row lights give you a massive increase in illumination over single row, so if you are in serious need of it, as in, you’re a serious nighttime rider, you should consider going this route. A 30-inch bar, for example, would look great mounted to the top of your cage on your machine and give you 32,700 lumens of light.
2. Best Value: Radiance Plus
The Rigid Radiance Plus light bar is the perfect solution for those who want the company’s legendary quality with a little less investment. The Radiance bars are built with the same high-grade aluminum alloy housing with a black exposed circuit board, optimized forward projecting Broad Spot optics that combine the attributes of a spot and flood beam pattern. Radiance bars have built-in back-lighting available in white, amber, red, blue and green for a cool custom look that can really accent your machine. It includes a wiring harness and multi-trigger switch for a quick and painless installation. A 20-inch version of this Rigid light bar will give you 7,128 lumens of light, which can really add to the illumination of the trail in front of you.
3. Best Compact Light Bar: SR-Series Pro
Rigid Industries' SR-Series PRO LED light bars all share a low profile design that is less than 2" tall. To keep the height down, these light bars rely on a single row of LEDs with either Hybrid or Specter optics in a variety of different beam patterns. Prices in the SR-Series PRO vary quite a bit depending on size and optics. Available sizes include 6", 10", 20", 30", 40", and 50". All available packages are fully IP68 compliant for dust and water ingress. The 10" SR-Series PRO we have pictured above is one of the more affordable options and promises a 50,000-hour lifespan
4. Best Light Pods: Radiance Pods
A Rigid light bar is just the start of what Rigid Industries has to offer. Sometimes a light bar isn’t the right call. If you need to add some light, but in specific spots, Rigid Pods are a great way to go. The Radiance Pod is built with the same high-grade aluminum alloy housing as you would expect. Nine hundred lumens of light each, these small cube-shaped lights mount just about anywhere. Perfect for mounting to the A-pillars of your ROPS, or in the rear of the machine to light up the cargo area. Different color options give you options for custom looks, too.
5. Best Tail Light: Chase Tail Light
One thing that is pretty tricky is following someone on a night ride, especially if the conditions are dusty. Trust us - we’ve been there. Even the best Rigid light bar in the front of the machine means nothing if the guy behind you can’t see you. In desert racing, machines are required to have chase lighting, that adds bright illumination to the tail lighting, so you can be seen. The Rigid Chase LED light has six modes, including brake, tail, strobe and courtesy - all of which combine to keep you visible to the guy behind you. Multiple color options add visibility and, of course, custom looks, too.
6. 360 Series
Say you wanted to add additional lighting, but didn’t want a Rigid light bar, instead wanting the classic round-look of off-road lights? The Rigid 360 Series is for you. These tough, aluminum housing lights are pretty sweet looking and bright to boot. The 4-inch white LED lights pump out 3,020 lumens each and like the Pod lights, will mount just about anywhere. Mount several to your roof for a cool look, or mount them low on your bumper and use them like fog lamps on your truck.
7. D-Series Pro 3" Light Pods
Another ultra compact lighting solution from Rigid are these D-Series Pro 3" light pods. These are offered with a variety of mounting options to suit most any lighting application. Measureing 3" by 3", these light pods are available in either a black or white finish with blacked out circuit boards. The ones pictured above are the Flood Diffused configuration, but the D-Series Pro pods can also be found in Spot, Driving Diffused, Driving, Flood, or Hyperspot. The Flood Diffused is ideal for low-speed driving as they offer a generous 60-degree pattern. As a point of comparison, the Spot (10 degrees) and Hyperspot (5 degrees) offer a much narrower beam that reaches greater distances.
What to look for in lightbars
Light bars are one area where you should think about the "buy once, cry once" credo. You can find all sorts of inexpensive options, but in our experience they don't hold up to off-road abuse and don't produce the same amount of light you'd get from a quality light bar. We would also suggest looking at dust/waterproof ratings. Specifically, light bars that are IP67 or IP68 certified mean they are tested to ensure they can withstand being submerged at least one meter (about three feet) deep in water for at least 30 minutes.
How big of a Rigid light bar can I use on my SxS? How big of a Rigid light bar can I use on my SxS?
The better question is, how much light do you want and how much do you want to spend? Most full-size UTV cabs are big enough to handle up to a 50-inch bar, but you mostly see 40 inches as the max, simply because it gives you some additional wiggle room to mount and protect your lighting investment. The better question is, how much light do you want and how much do you want to spend? Most full-size UTV cabs are big enough to handle up to a 50-inch bar, but you mostly see 40 inches as the max, simply because it gives you some additional wiggle room to mount and protect your lighting investment.
How bright are LED lightbars?
It varies from size and manufacturer, but for example, the standard halogen headlight produces around 1,500 lumens of light intensity. You also need to look at how light is cast. Focuses lighting, like spot lights, casts light forward, giving you better penetration into the darkness in front of you. That beam will be more focused, so you won’t see as much of the surrounding terrain as you would with flood lighting. Most good light bars, like Rigid, give you both in one package.
How do you choose a light bar that fits your machine?
Before you hand over your hard-earned money, make sure a light bar can be mounted to your machine. Most UTVs can handle light bars from all the major brands, but it's worth checking to make sure you aren't wasting money. As for finding the right size light bar for your machine, we like to keep things a fair bit narrower than the machine we drive. We'd suggest taking some masking or painter's tape and putting a strip on our ATV or UTV. Then add or subtract tape until you find a size you like. Most light bars are offered in 10-inch width intervals.
Additional Resources
Recent Updates
June 14, 2021: Added the SR-Series Pro light bar and D-Series Pro light pods to the list
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How big of a Rigid light bar can I use on my SxS?
The better question is, how much light do you want and how much do you want to spend? Most full-size UTV cabs are big enough to handle up to a 50-inch bar, but you mostly see 40 inches as the max, simply because it gives you some additional wiggle room to mount and protect your lighting investment.
How bright are LED lightbars?
It varies from size and manufacturer, but for example, the standard halogen headlight produces around 1,500 lumens of light intensity. You also need to look at how light is cast. Focuses lighting, like spot lights, casts light forward, giving you better penetration into the darkness in front of you. That beam will be more focused, so you won’t see as much of the surrounding terrain as you would with flood lighting. Most good light bars, like Rigid, give you both in one package.
How do you choose a light bar that fits your machine?
Before you hand over your hard-earned money, make sure a light bar can be mounted to your machine. Most UTVs can handle light bars from all the major brands, but it's worth checking to make sure you aren't wasting money. As for finding the right size light bar for your machine, we like to keep things a fair bit narrower than the machine we drive. We'd suggest taking some masking or painter's tape and putting a strip on our ATV or UTV. Then add or subtract tape until you find a size you like. Most light bars are offered in 10-inch width intervals.
Derrek's love for all things ATV started when he was a mere 11 years old, growing up on his family farm. His mom gave him and his sister a choice - get a horse, or a three-wheeler. The sister wanted the horse, and Derrek wanted the ATV. Luckily he won out, and was soon burning up the trails on a Yamaha Tri-Moto 200. By the time he was 14, he had saved enough of his own money by working on the farm and in his folks restaurant to buy a new 4-wheeler. That happened the day he and his mom were driving past the dealership and saw 1987 Banshee. His mom had no idea what he was buying, and he never looked back. He's been riding ever since, and been writing professionally for many years. He has ridden all over North America and been behind the controls of just about every machine out there. And yes, he still has his 1987 Yamaha Banshee.
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