Choosing the 'best' driving lights in a market spoiled for choice can be an overwhelmingly confusing experience. Compared to ten years ago there now seems to be a new brand every month with lights advertised on Ebay that claim a bazillion jiggywatts and more lumens than the sun. They cover the gamut of outright rubbish to to enmasse pretty average derived from similar light sources just rebadged and insta branded. Every reseller will claim what they sell is best (best for them or best for you is the question you need to consider!) Do your homework lest you suddenly have a rude night time discovery of you DID NOT get what you were promised or over time you have to begrudgingly admit they really are not that pleasant to drive behind. We have real issues with some media endorsements. Particularly some 'celebrities' who straight faced endorse the 'latest' when in fact they are just parroting 'FACTOIDS' in pure advertorial (cash for comment). More on those shenanigans in a future blog post. Anyone spending a large amount of hard earned money knows the sour taste of being misled. Whether deliberate or not the nett result is you the customer are the one poorer for the trust given at the time of purchase not the reseller or brand. Try going back for a refund? Let us know how you go! Some customers experiences we have heard spending a thousand dollars or more would make Kojak's hair curl.
We feel it is important and useful to strip back to basics what is actually important in assessing a lights performance for the function of driving at night. What we have done is present a simplistic construct that we will propose is irrefutable. Any light brand, sales person, 4x4 media guru etc that says any different should be treated with skepticism and is perhaps willfully ignorant to facts or more likely has their own financial agenda be it employment or other financial incentive. So here it is.
Light 'A' versus light 'B'.
Same brightness.
Same volume.
Looking at the spectographs, which light is going to be superior for the purpose of driving at night?
Correct answer?
If you answered 'A'? Bing Bong. Incorrect. The spectograph of a typical driving light LED demonstrates the lack of data on the right hand side of the graphic meaning less accurate detail and thus visual acuity. This is hard for most LED believers to accept, particularly those that have already invested in this technology whether as a consumer or reseller. The inconvenient truth is irrefutable and one our designers, Paul or David are happy to discuss at length with genuine people. Before some 'light industry experts' who say we have it wrong, remember we are NOT talking architectural or photographic lighting spec LEDs. These do exist however are not typically used in driving lights due to their lower efficacy. Insist on the exact LED specs from the chip maker and drill down to the real detail not the 'optomistic' brand marketing spin. If you answered 'B'? Correct! You have recognised what is important and delivers a superior illumination for the purpose of driving at night. This is how FYRLYT's halogen design performs with its 100 CRI halogen xenophot light source. The FYRLYT optics design package delivers a relevant volume of light unrivaled in real world driving, particularly the serious overlander or truck driver night after night. FYRLYT designed the LUXSIS 5000 and NEMESIS 9000 driving lights understanding the basics of eye physiology and adaptive night vision. Ask any other light brand or salesperson about adaptive night vision and you are likely to get parroted irrelevant FACTOIDS re 'like daylight' and '5000K' or similar hype. There is a lot more that counts than these throw away marketing hype statements that repeated infinitum soon get represented as facts when they are not. So why do some people not understand FYRLYT's success despite the industry's positioning of LED & HID as being the ultimate light sources? They have failed to realise or accept that when halogen is of the relevant brightness and volume it is still unrivaled for visual acuity with less problematic glare when driving at night. FYRLYT is indeed different to most brands. We are proudly Australian but not trying to spin some psuedo Outback legend bulldust that many do. (Some 9-5 'PR' marketing people have a lot to answer for!) If that makes us the larrikin or a lone 'campyr' of the industry it is a label we accept proudly. There has been too much nonsense in the lighting market for too long and the consumer is the lesser for it. If our attitude results in a few 'turkeys' having their feathers ruffled so be it as we prescribe to dealing a straight deck with a firm handshake and look our customers straight in the eye.
FYRLYT's designers, Paul Alisauskas and David Holmes invite any genuine discussion re driving light design and what may or may not best suit your purpose. Maybe it is FYRLYT or maybe it is not. We have no interest in selling you something that is not ideal for your needs. FYRLYT is here to assist you in good faith.