Baja Designs Squadron Sport vs : the aftermath of the test

This is the aftermath of a torture test of Baja Design's new Squadron Sport LED light vs another brand shown here: • Baja Designs Squadron ... It consisted of me running the brand new out of the box lights for an hour while in a box and then submerged in ice water till cool and check for any moisture caused by the temp change/vacuum. Thread: www.pirate4x4.c...

[@GenesisHealthy]

Thanks for doing this test! I was seriously considering the "other brand" until I saw this test. I ended up buying a Baja Squadron Sport for my Kawasaki Versys 1000 LT.

[@louisschilling5705]

I run a set of Rigid Duallys rear facing and haven't had any issues with water intrusion....but of course I didn't dunk them :) My Duallys really crank out the light for their size and power draw....I also run a 20" Baja Designs Stealth bar in front that rocks!....And I also run 3 Baja Designs LaPaz 8" HID's none with any issues.....

[@dgfhszdr]

My d2's have been in the desert and in cold, but I can't see how a "max temp to freezing and submersion" is relevant to reality. Obviously a company can design for certain properties. This video seems to fault Rigid because they didn't build for impossible vacuum + submersion. The BD lights not doing the same is likely just a side effect of the replaceable lenses that drove a more robust front water seal. I really like the ability to change my lenses on the Squadron XL's, and that should be the focus imo.

[@usmcdoc14]

Chris Hawley In reality we drive offroad for hours and then "bow plunge" into streams, this is a VERY common thing. So the test is relevant to reality. Actually the test before it was with room temp water and the results were the same, the test was amped up to see if it would effect the BD's. Its a problem inherent with all of the "cube style" (regular and chicom) lights, the clamping pressure on the square seal can be uneven and gapped.

[@dgfhszdr]

Fair enough to say but in reality the conditions that have "deep water crossings" are not the same ones with blazing desert sun... But room temp to ice water would be closer to reality. Even then, the lamps are designed with heat sinks that require airflow to work, so the video shows impossible temperature changes with impossibly low air flow over the heat sinks. What you do show is that the one vendor's seals fail before the others which is, as you point out, probably due to the user-serviceable design. But the implication that's unrealistic is that in actual use, overheat to freezing transitions will occur at the same time as submersion, for a sustained time leading to a thermally induced partial vacuum that compromises the seals, and further that the product is unsuitable for use, both of those implications don't stand up to actual conditions achievable in the field. On the other hand if there are a range of failure points, it's reasonable to assume that some would fail earlier and some later -- on both products. In real use the differences in the two products are more to do with the optics and resulting spread / range differences. Anyway, in not a you tube troll and appreciate the effort you put into making a video and uploading it. Sorry my analysis doesn't perfectly align with yours but hey, it's just some wiener in the internet right? :-)

[@usmcdoc14]

Chris Hawley I disagree...a little LOL. All LED drivers require a heatsink of some sort, a PROPERLY designed LED light will have a sink that is capable of regulating temp with no airflow (other than convection) in a normal operating environment (say a 70-80* day) without overheating. Otherwise it should have an active cooling system installed (like aftermarket LED "replacement bulb" headlights). That would be indicative of a bad overall design. Of course most of them do have circuitry to prevent overheating in extreme environments (desert heat) by lowering the driver output. These were forced into a "hot" but still normal operating temp, they were not forced into an "overheat" or "limp home" mode. My "square" LEDs have fogged and died due to just the normal exposure to the elements (see my flicker/fail video) so it shows that even without submersion the design is poor. The submersion can and will happen (albeit maybe not into ice water, but at least into room temp water) during night time off roading, as myself have done it a few times. The ice water just produces a much quicker reaction to the same vacuum that will exist in "normal" use. The diffrences between the 2 product are night and day, not only in light and pattern but also construction. The other ones have been attached to the back of my trailer where I don't have to care about them any more. No this discussion is good as it allows viewers to be educated on product design and use. Also it forces manufacturers to improve their product to meet the level and standards of their competitors and customers.