LED Lights Review/FYI

[Command]

Ok, so I decided to finally do a write up about LED light bars which includes a review of the ones I have "Olympus Offroad" so sit back and enjoy

 

First off, what lights do I have? well here's the list:

LED Headlights and fog lights (1600 Lumens each, total of 6400 Lumens and DOT approved)

36" dual row spot/flood combo light bar (16,000 Lumens at 234W)

30" dual row flood HD light bar (12,000 Lumens at 180W)

2 HDX Rock Lights (1000 Lumens at 25W)

3 Cyclops Rock Lights (1000 Lumens at 10W)

2 3.5" Flush mount light pods (1620 Lumens Each at 18W)

 

So secondly what the hell are Lumens and watts?

Lumens: the international unit of luminous flux, equal to the amount of light emitted per second in a unit solid angle of one steradian from a uniform source of one candela.  So basically 1 Lumen is equivalent to the amount of light one candle outputs in one direction.

 

Watts: The watt is used to specify the rate at which electrical energy is dissipated, essentially its efficiency. The lower the wattage the better efficiency.

 

Now that we have a general understanding I'll start with a review of the current lights I have and the company I bought them from followed by a general purchase guide.

 

Overall I'm going to rate "Olympus Offroad" 3 out of 10, I'm removing their banner from my windshield later.  In the early days they were great, although now that I've bought so much from them (yeah ironic I know) I am seeing some things that I don't like.  My HDX rock lights have corroded on the inside to the point they longer work, all my cyclops rock lights have followed suit along with my flush mount lights are starting to fail and visible corrosion is showing on the housing.  All are less than 1 year old and are at least IP68 Rated.  The light bars are still working just fine but have noticed moisture forming on the inside of their lenses so I would imagine they will eventually fail as well.  Brother also had issues including a light bar that failed almost immediately and then the replacement they sent was the wrong one.

 

When I contacted the company about the lights they said that I could send them back for repair but could not give me a timeline as to how long it would take,  I expressed my concern about having exposed holes in my bumper while they're getting repaired (I know not their problem, but still) they said they would work something out, haven't heard anything back.  Not to mention it is impossible to get a hold of anyone, took me 4 emails and 3 phone calls (to Colorado) to just get an answer.  Overall I'm not impressed and am search of a new supplier.

 

On that note I am going to help anyone out looking for a light bar and post up some general guidelines.  You do not always get what you pay for in this market, having said that I'm going to strongly advise that you do your research and DO NOT buy Ridgid Industries.  Not because they're a bad company but you can definitely get a better deal if you look, don't be afraid of "made in china" because 97% of them on the market are, regardless of what the company says.

 

Below is a list of assorted length lights and what kind of Lumens you should be looking at for the given length.  This way it will give you a general idea of what you should be looking for and if that bargain is really a bargain.  These values are intended as a starting point, with technology advancing monthly it seems it's impossible to list every type of light with a starting point.  Hopefully it at least gives you a starting point and a general idea of where to start, the higher the Lumens the brighter the light.  The lower the watts the more efficient.  Optics also vary by manufacture which depicts how far the light will go down range.  I recently installed 2 pod lights on another vehicle that they bought from Amazon for $35 for both.  Have to admit that they're at least as bright as mine if not brighter.  I will update this post with additional info as required.

 

6" - 3200 Lumens

10" - 5000 Lumens

20" - 9000 Lumens

30" - 12000 Lumens

40" - 16000 Lumens

50" - 20000 Lumens

 

[Powerram]

I love my 40" off brand single row  light bar, its really tough as it has seen a few hard impacts , Alberta rocks that smash every truck on the road windsheild and UN protected halogen glass headlamps, it has also gotten involved with my winch line and gave it a tweak while underload but straightened out once the winch line load was removed. No signs of moisture forming. Don't ask the brand,  I couldn't pronounce it when I bought it and now can't remember what it was. The same light from rigid was nearly $600-700 plus tax at the time. I have $200 with tax  into this one and it came with all nessary switches,relay and wiring plus instructions. Also it came with pedistal mount as a pose to ridgid  was end mount and wouldn't work in the location I had picked to mount it. Here is a pic of the light bar on my truck. It also managed to kiss a fallen tree on bump and grind while clearing the trail

[Command]

Couldn't agree with you more! I love the pedestal mount, makes things so much easier.  There are some great off brand lights out there but there are also some crappy ones, Ridgid makes great lights but for one of their 20" bars I could get 3-4 lights from an "off brand" company, that have identical or better specs.

 

Completely unrelated but I would like to clarify the "made in china" vs "American made" or "Canadian made" statement though.  The lights I have now are "made in America" but I discovered that all of the "LED guts" came from China and they just assemble them into the aluminum housing, which is made in America.  I'm all for buying locally but just keep that in mind when buying some new lights  

[sar4x4]

China gets a bad rap.  But China only builds what the US/CDN company specs.  China will make a inexpensive winch that looks like a WARN if the US/CDN company contracts them to.  Because we will buy it.  They make all sorts of products, from $ store stuff to satellites.  It is us the consumer that fool ourselves.  We buy the least expensive no-name part we can find, and expect it to last like an expensive brand name/long history/good warranty one.  Except for outright fraud/companies that mislead you, you GENERALLY get what you paid for.

 

IMHO

[Powerram]

There is something I really don't like about my led light bar, I don't like the "WHITE" light. I might pick up a can of the transparent headlamp spray and colour the light yellow.  White light and the blue light is hard on the eyes, it's much easier to see with yellow light, the eyeball auto adjusts better to yellow if it is overpowering wher white and those euro blue light make you manually squint if it becomes overpowering making for tired eyes over long periods of driving. Also I found it hard to see obstacles in snow with the LED bar  where a yellow light will shadow and change shades . IV had lots of different off road lighting over the years, this is my first light bar.

 

And by yellow light I mean the old colour of regular lights.

 

Another plus for led is the amperage draw of led compared to tradional lighting, no more dual alternators setups , heavy wiring, giant industrial continuous duty relays, or running balasts or other types of lighting.

[Command]

3 hours ago, Powerram said:

There is something I really don't like about my led light bar, I don't like the "WHITE" light.

 

Actually they make amber light bars. I have (well use to, it stopped working) a dual colour light bar. Where it's white and amber, you change the colour at the flick of a switch. It's not a filter either, the led's themselves are amber. It's a nice dark amber as  well but doesn't compromise light output. 

[NBFJCruz]

22in HD Dual row on top and 10in Slimline on the bottom.  Emitters are all CREE and 3W in the dual row bar and 5W in the Slimline and both are IP68.  I got them from a company in the states.  Brandname is Zeus Lighting but most are pretty generic as we have all learned in the last couple years.  I think the top bar was $220 and the bottom was $175 back when the dollar was still good.  (grrrr)

 

Still like the look of round lights on the truck but the light cannot be beat from these bars.

[simplywinter]

I picked up a offbrand double row 31" with the epistar chips from a retailer for 90$ shipped last summer brand new.  I had some slight moisture forming after several months.  So I took the end caps off, and resealed the lens to the housing with some rtv, and it went all winter no problems.  I was half expecting it to leak when I took it out of the box because it looks like someone with Parkinsons put the sealant on.  Couldn't be happier for the price, it was a steal and I would do it again even if I had to take it apart.

 

 

 

[Command]

Well I guess it was only a matter of time before I brought this thread back to life lol.  As some of you know I have been in a very lengthy battle over some of my lights.  So I figure I should pass this on to my friends here and update this review.  To put simply I am quite pissed off at this situation, I apologize in advance because this will be a lengthy update but one that has to be done as far as I'm concerned.

 

First off the summary of events.  The company is Olympus Offroad and the brand is Zeus Offroad Lighting.  Lights in question are 3 Cyclops Lights (Rock lights the size of a quarter), 2 HDX Lights (lights 1" in diameter that utilize one LED chip) and 2 Flush mount lights (same idea as a pod light but mounts flush into a bumper).  The issue was water permeation in all of them that destroyed the lights (which have an IP-68 rating), Olympus said they would warranty that.  I sent the lights to them via registered mail complete with a tracking number and they were delivered April 29 of this year.  1 month goes by and I hear nothing from the company, I am now 6 months into this and I still do not have the lights.  Olympus ignores my emails and phone calls, the odd time I get through I get the same "Who are you again?" and "we'll look into it" responses.

 

Olympus then accused me of not sending lights (although I have a manifest stating otherwise and proof they have been delivered) and requesting more than what was to be warrantied (emails state otherwise).  I filed a BBB complaint against Olympus but they received the same type of response from Olympus and nothing has been solved.  I now have been in talks with the Colorado Attorney General (Olympus Offroad is located in Colorado) in regards to this and further action that can be taken.  Below is a summary of communications between me and Olympus.

 

 

February 19, 2016 Initial contact with Olympus with regards to my lights

 

February 23, 2016 requested an update due to not receiving a response

 

February 27, 2016 I have yet to receive a response from Olympus also informed them that I have noticed other lights are starting to fail. Mainly my flush mount lights (on one only half the led's work and the other has condensation in it). I expressed my concern in regards to this since I have additional lights from Olympus. I received an automated message back stating that the message cannot be delivered due to the inbox being full.

 

February 28, 2016 I received an email from Olympus stating that I will need to mail the lights to him in order to get warranty work completed on them.

 

March 09, 2016 I informed Olympus that I will send them as soon as I can patch some holes in my rear bumper where the lights were located, at which point I was directed by an admin to call the owner but no one answered and I left a message. I tried again later with same result.

 

March 15, 2016 I attempted to call Olympus again and spoke to admin, who sent out an email to the owner and informed him to please call me. I received a response via email back from the owner and explained to him that someone from admin asked me to contact him in regards to the lights and see if we could get something figured out prior to shipping the lights in for repair. Received no response back.

 

March 24, 2016 requested an update due to not receiving a response

 

April 25, 2016 I called Olympus and finally received an RMA. Lights (2 flush mount lights, 2 HDX lights and 3 Cyclops lights) were shipped to Olympus.

 

April 29, 2016 package was delivered to Olympus Offroad.

 

May 25, 2016 requested an update with regards to lights. Was informed by the owner that he doesn't recall seeing the package and will attempt to locate them.

 

May 30, 2016 Informed the owner that I do have a tracking number if he requires it and that I'm not happy about this level of customer service

 

June 03, 2016 sent same email as before due to not reciving any response. The owner informed me that he has them now and will be shipped out today or Monday.

 

June 07, 2016 Admin contacted me requesting my shipping address, which was sent back to admin on this day.

 

June 21, 2016 requested a tracking number since i have yet to receive my lights.

 

June 24, 2016 requested an update due to not receiving a response

 

June 25, 2016 The owner replied that he will look them up, ship them off and confirmed which country i'm in (Canada). I confirmed that yes I was located in Canada and expressed my frustration on this matter and now after almost 20 days they haven't even left his facility, after being told twice that they will be shipped on June 03 or 07.

 

July 05, 2016 request an update due to not receiving a response

 

July 14, 2016 request an update due to not receiving a response. Also requested a tracking number and/or be compensated for the lights sent to Olympus that I have yet to receive back. Was informed by the owner that they did not receive the flush mount lights and only the rock lights and that they don't offer refunds on warranty repairs. Said that the lights would be shipped from their overseas warehouse and that he will get back to me this evening. I also informed the owner that yes those lights were sent because I am using temporary ones while they're in for repair.

 

July 18, 2016 requested an update due to not receiving a response

 

July 20, 2016 requested an update due to not receiving a response

 

July 22, 2016 requested an update due to not receiving a response

 

July 25, 2016 requested an update due to not receiving a response. Requested compensation for lights that were sent to Olympus and have not received back as of yet. The owner stated that he is waiting to hear back from logistics in regards to a tracking number and that I will not be compensated for the lights I have yet to receive and again denied that they received any flush mount lights. I replied to the owner with a copy of the manifest indicating that 7 lights (2 flush mount lights, 2 HDX lights and 3 cyclops lights) were shipped to him.

 

August 08, 2016 requested an update due to not receiving a response

 

August 09, 2016 requested an update due to not receiving a response

 

August 11, 2016 phone call requesting an update due to not receiving a response, left a message

 

August 18, 2016 phone call requesting an update due to not receiving a response, left a message

 

August 23, 2016 requested an update due to not receiving a response

 

August 25, 2016 requested an update due to not receiving a response. The owner replies indicating that my emails have been going to his spam folder and he thought everything was sent out and will look into it

 

August 30, 2016 Phone call requesting an update due to not receiving a response

 

August 31, 2016 requested an update due to not receiving a response

 

September 07, 2016 phone call and email requested an update due to not receiving a response, still haven't received a response

 

September 15, 2016 phone call requested an update due to not receiving a response, still haven't received a response

 

October 13, 2016 phone call, spoke to the owner for 20mins. Did not have an answer for me and will look in to it

 

October 17, 2016 email looking for update due to not receiving a response

 

October 20, 2016 phone call requesting an update due to not receiving a response, left a message

 

Needless to say my frustration level is quite high with them and I don't want to see anyone else go through this.  So far my light bars have been operating properly but every other light has either failed or about to fail.  I'll end my rant here and will update as required.

[Jawritch]

Holy smokes, even if the lights were junk have the customer service to back them up. That is almost worth more to me than highest quality!

[Command]

I agree.  I should note that all emails were sent to the owner of Olympus, not to admin. All phone calls were to the owner.  When I called the owner (and got through) after the BBB complaint he asked what I wanted to prove by filing a BBB complaint and that they're a bunch of jokers.  I told him I wanted my lights back and the reply I got was that he has no answer for me in regards to this and doesn't know what's going on.

[sar4x4]

Ouch.  Thanks for the heads up on that company!

[Command]

Update: The battle is over, Olympus Offroad has refunded my money and apologized for the situation.  However that does not change my opinion of the company nor will I be recommending them to anyone.

[sar4x4]

Wow.  Good to hear on the refund!

And the heads-up on the poor quality and customer service.  I certainly won't purchase anything from them!