How to Choose the Right Beam Pattern: Spot, Flood, or Combo?
A question we get a lot is, “What beam pattern for my LED Light Bar should I get?”.
Spot – A spot beam has a narrow beam spread and is great for task specific lighting. For example when you want night time road or trail visibility you want the light focused and intense in a specific area. The spot pattern is great for that.
Flood – Flood has a wide degree beam pattern so the light is more spread out. When you want to light up a certain area and everything around it, like your camp site, or a work area, the flood is the right choice.
Combo – When you want versatility, the Combo is a good choice. It gives a mix of spot beam pattern LEDs and flood beam pattern LEDs all within the same light. The trade off is that you are not splitting up the beams so neither the flood nor the spot beams produced are as bright as a dedicated spot or beam light.
The Best? – Well that all depends on your specific situation and budget. If you can afford it, a great combination to have is a dedicate spot coupled with a dedicated flood. For example, it is typical for us to outfit a Jeep Wrangler with a 20″ spot LED light bar mounted on the bumper which is used for road/trail visibility. Then have a either a couple of 6″ flood LED light bars mounted at the lower corners of the windshield.