Personally, when I’m taking my side-by-side camping, hunting, or off on a long weekend’s adventure, I like going in at night. It makes for a little harder camp setup, but you’re not missing part of the following day. You’re there, you’re done, everything is ready to go once the sun comes up. But that means heading out in the inky blackness of the wilderness, where street lamps aren’t a thing.
And while headlight technology for side-by-sides has come a long way from what could only be compared to old-fashioned gas lamps when they first hit the scene, accessory lighting is basically still required if you’re going to see anything past 35 yards. Which you want to do, especially given the rutted out off-road trails with sharp edge drops that litter western trails.
Hell, even East Coast drivers benefit from them, as black bears and trees can sometimes jump out at you. And whitetail? Don’t even get me started on how often folks hit those in the dark.
As such, there are a ton of accessory lighting options available to you, and from a host of manufacturers. But Rigid Industries’ new Phoenix lights might just be the most adaptable, and configurable, of the bunch, as you can basically make whatever sort of lighting solution your mind can dream up.
The keyword for the new Phoenix lights is “configurable,” as these lights have a ton of different selectable settings, as well as mounting options, pod options, and more. First and foremost, customers can choose between a 5-inch Phoenix pod, a 7-inch Phoenix XL pod, as well as the modular Phoenix Connect, which basically turns them into a pre-wired lightbar spanning either 30, 40, or 50 inches. Perfect for either truck or side-by-side applications.
Likewise, you have the option for two different lumen intensities, with the standard Phoenix pods pushing 10,167 lumens, while the Phoenix XL’s throwing 14,290 lumens. That said, the pre-wired Phoenix Connect lightbar uses the 5-inch Phoenix pods as the base, not the XLs. But there’s even more adaptability built in.
Rigid Industries Phoenix Off-Road Side-by-Side Lights
Photo by: Rigid Industries
Rigid Industries Phoenix Off-Road Side-by-Side Lights
Photo by: Rigid Industries
Photos by: Rigid Industries
The Phoenix lights are also introducing the brand’s first five-mode color system, which lets the driver switch the lights’ color temperature with the push of a button, going from white to amber, and letting you cut through the dust and sand and dirt kicked up on the trail. Furthermore, you’ll have access to three different light power settings, so you can choose how much you illuminate the trail ahead, too. And while the standard lens is a spot beam, Rigid will offer an optional drive or combo lens.
Other than that, I don’t have much info to go on other than they’ll become available next year. What I do know is that based on the above information I got from Rigid, these look to be one of the most adaptable off-road lights around, and I really want to test their versatility sometime next year.
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