Knock offs! Knock offs everywhere!
We have been doing this awhile now and always hear "oh I can get a bar half that price online. They are all the same by" more times than we can count. Saying a light bar is a light bar is the same as saying a car is a car. Or even a truck and a car are the same thing. Sure, a Porsche 911 and a Ford Ranger both have 4 wheels and a motor. But they are certainly not the same.
When it comes to light bars there are a few basic things to avoid. To keep it short and simple:
1: 2D optics. 2D optics are the lights that looks like a solid chunk with little holes cut out. These will NOT focus light well. Even in spot beam. Our DuraSeries use a similar optic (with the addition of a reflector) as our FLOOD beams. Think about that for a second.
2: Epistar chips. Epistar chips tend to burn out quicker than all others. Now keep in mind they are fine if you are only using the light occasionally. We sell bars with these chips. They are great for ATVs and side by sides but not for a light that is used all the time.
3: Glass lens light bars. This should be obvious. you want a PVC or Poly carbonate lens. One little rock and your glass light bar is shattered.
But now, to the point of this post.
We had a customer get us to install a bar for him that was purchased online. It was suppose to be the same as our HyperSeries Bars. Looking at it you could tell it was actually CREE chips and not Osram due to the white board. We took a side by side picture showing the brightness and output difference. Both bars were good, but the true HyperSeries has a much more even and brighter output! The other bar also had different mounts and no breather valve!
If you ever have questions about a light from another company feel free to send us a message. We know everyone isn't going to buy from us and we have no problem giving you suggestions or feedback about other products. We've seen it all and are happy to help! We don't want to see anyone ripped off by someone trying to sell something like a 2D optic bar for an unfair price!