Has anyone ever used the "bangbangche" light bar from amazon? Is it too good to be true? Not looking for some indestructible product, but, obviously, I'd like it to work.

https://www.amazon.com/Lights-Bangba...0FC0S90D67HX28

I use a different "manufacturer" from Amazon for cheap offroad led lights. Probably only one or two actual manufacturers for the cheap stuff. I've been running them for 3yrs on my tow rig and 2yrs on my offroad Jeep. Have yet to replace one. I prefer the cheap style vs expensive name brand. The name brand stuff does work better. The cheap stuff won't make me sad when it gets hit offroad or stolen.

I personally purchased the cheap
Light bar from Walmart, it out lasted the one my wife bought that was way more expensive, here kept getting moisture in it.

Shame..... that we have to think like that... depriving yourself of something because it may be stolen or damaged during a theft....It would be nice if people keep their stinkin paws off chit that dont belong to them.

I've been using this one for over a year now, no complaints. It's been through snowstorms, rain, some very bouncy high speed trail runs, and even fully submerged a couple times and I have zero moisture inside and it works perfectly. It's not quite as bright as the name brand stuff but it's also about 1/10th of the cost, and plenty bright enough for running through mountain trails with zero light from anywhere else.

I went with that bar over the name brand because it was so cheap, and so far that gamble has paid out very well for me. Even if I were to buy a brand new one every year, it would still take about 10 years before I spend as much money on those as I would have spent on name brand in the first place.

I mean...basic question - can you afford for it to not work? I'm of the mindset that there are certain things that I NEED to function 100% of the time. Winch, battery, engine, scuba gear, firearm, etc.. At the end of the day so far I haven't had an experience where my trip would be ruined if I can't get a light bar to work. Non-functional scuba gear at 200' would probably put a dampener on things lol. I'm planning on buying a China light for the 4R as soon as my rack is done in the next 2 weeks. The reason I do bring up scuba gear in particular is because I'm going through a light-purchasing exercise for my scuba gear as well. A functioning light underwater is much more urgent to me than out on the trail. I'd rather that money go towards more important things TO ME such as lockers, skids, etc.. I also tend to take my truck places where those items are of more value to me than a light bar.

That being said, I'm sure others will come along that feel the need that their light work 100% of the time all the time. So to them I'd say that spending the funds on a Rigid or what-have-you is worth it.

Honestly, I run a michtuning light bar in my lower front grille, which is another cheap amazon knock off. I have no complaints with it, i have not fogging or condensation behind the lenses, and it puts out a lot of light, but im sure a rigid light would put out more, but for the money it is totally worth it. So yes I would say a cheap light bar is worth it.

I bought a bunch of ultra cheap lights and I ended up changing all of them out...

My problem with them wasn't that they stopped working, but the performance was dismal.

The beam pattern is where they fall short. The reflectors don't really put the light where it needs to go, but instead you get a huge floody wall of light which ends up diluting the areas that need light because you throw it everywhere. On top of that, you dont get anywhere close to the advertised output which just compounds the problem.

I still didn't go Baja design, Ridged, or other brand name, but I started looking for more expensive generic / Chinese light bars. Still got them on e-bay, but they did cost more money than the average no-name bar.

I've had much better luck with the bigger single row LEDs as the reflectors are much larger and deeper. The performance against the Ridged clones was substantially better.

Here is what I run now... it had a much more focused and pronounced hot spot than the smaller dual row lights I have used in the past.

The electrical load was also a good deal greater than the ultra cheap generic ones. I have measurements with an amp meter, but I need to dig up all those notes.

Interesting thread. I've been on the fence about how to put more light on my rig. I've only got the stock roof rack and I haul kayaks and a rooftop luggage pod so I don't really want to do any roof mods.

I'm in the middle of adding a hidden winch in the front so the lower grille area is about to be taken up. I should have room for a couple of smaller lights once the winch install is complete.

My headlamps are gettting pretty yellowed and I had a bit of moisture after pressure washing but that seems to have been a one time bad deal. I've considered getting new assemblies and/or having them professionally restored, then adding HID or other higher intensity headlamps.

Overall, I rarely need the big lights with the exception of the occasional night run. I've kicked around wiring a harness up the side of the windshield with a waterproof connector. A lightbar with a magnetic or suction cup mount that I could add to the roof as needed would actually work fine for my purposes. However, I haven't come across much info on temporary mounts. The other-other option are some that attach with straps that hook into the door frame.

I've used a number of small cheap LED lights for backup and work lights. The first set looked good and put out a lot of light but the lenses weren't sealed correctly. After a few months they both ended up with water intrusion. I've replaced them with another set that were almost the same price but had much better reviews. So far so good....

One thing with cheap lights is it's good if you're handy with repairs / mods. If the seal does not look very good, seal it with silicone.

And PLEASE... do not turn them on when driving on the road. It gives people who use light-bars a bad name.

Care to share what brand-model-vendor you got that works well so we can check them out, too?

I had to look it up...

ebay seller motorbox1984 is who I bought both my bars from.

I bought a 30" and 40", been on the truck since 2016. No problems.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/180W-30inch...-/282650990681

https://www.ebay.com/itm/40inch-240W...-/272156197589

Cheap compared to brand name, expensive compared to the bottom barrel stuff, but I think they are worth the money you pay. It was a substantial performance upgrade when compared to the stuff the OP linked in the original post.

I know that lightbars are king for great visibility off-roading but consider this, I added some LED bulbs to my runner along with the LED Hi-beams. The result is incredible. My advice is try those two things before going balls deep on an expensive lightbar. You may be perfectly happy with this alone. I wanted a light bar at first but after seeing how bright the LEDs are I passed on it all together.

Regarding the mentioning of hot spots; a properly designed optic for a light bar will never have shot spot unless you are too close to an object you are illuminating. Even a spot light should not produce any hot spots in the beam spread, when aimed correctly and used as its intended (aimed far out in front of the truck)


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I put a Nilight 20 inch on my son's 3rd Gen.

That sucker throws some light! For $27, I'll take it. It has a nice spot in the middle and floods to the side.

Where I live, there are deer everywhere. We run lights on the road cautiously. It makes a huge difference to not hit them.

From someone that has had knock off and name brand (rigid industries). I am not bashing on anyone with knockoffs, I think they have their place and I'll explain that later. First, I did not pay retail for the rigid stuff, I have gotten them on killer deals. Second a list of lights I have had. The knockoffs, all lifetimeled brand: 1 13.5" double row, 1 40.5" double row, 1 30" single row, and a pair of cubes in white. All of these were a combo beam pattern (spot and flood) other than the cubes we're a spot beam. Now to what I have currently... The rigid stuff, 1 30" single row, 1 set of white spot cubes, and 1 set Amber flood cubes.

Brightness: pretty much the same. But this is NOT what matters. Any array of 4,8,10 ECT... 5w LEDs will produce a lot of light, that is the nature of them. So I personally don't care how many "lumens" they produce. It can be handy to know this but it is not the biggest factor.

Build: rigid is better, but not by 5x the price. They are all metal housings with polycarbonate lens. I will say the rigid is a bit heavier and feels better and has an overall better appearance as far as quality is concerned. But again it is had to mess up metal and plastic lol. I will say the only bar I have ever had moisture in was the 13.5" knockoff. I had to replace it 3 times under warranty.

Actual usable light. THIS IS WHAT MATTERS! This comes down to the brightness (that we already know is good from all sides) with the addition of BEAM ANGLE. Simply put the rigid mean angle is better in every way without argument. The general Spot beam for a knockoff is 30degrees. This is measured center out (I am pretty sure... Not 100% on that) and on one bar I had it was a 20 degree spot (the lifetime single row 30"). The flood pattern for knockoffs is 60 degrees and the single row lifetimeled is 40 degrees. Now compare that to the rigid. Their standard spot has a 10 degree pattern with an optional 5 degree hyperspot (I have never used one of those). And a flood pattern of 20 degrees (optional diffused lens if you need more than 20 degrees).

So if you have two bars that produce the same lumens but one has a 30 degree "spot" and the other has a 10 degree, what do you think will have more useable light? Now what I have been talking is getting distance from your light. I'll say that my pair of rigid spot cubes shines the same distance as the lifetime 30". So now think of how far a 30" with the same optics will shine..... Of course, I do not have as much flood light from these rigid products and that is true. This is where knockoffs come in handy. If you want flood lighting, 100% go knockoff and don't look back! Heck, I have 6 $11 per pair lights around my roof rack because they work great for area lighting!

Summary: I think both cheap and name brand has their place and is worth it. I do think if someone can afford to buy the name brands, and has the use for them then I 100% recommend them. The flip side is that they are very expensive... So obviously get what you can afford. You still won't be disappointed in buying a cheap bar. Just know when to use it (I'll give you a hint, not on roads). Hope this can shed some light (hehehehe) on name brand vs cheap and what really sets them apart. Just remember, brightness hardly matters compared to beam angle.


TL;DR. Both are bright. Rigid shines far (way way way farther), knockoffs are great if you want flood lighting or just want some standard extra light.