Spot, Flood, or Combo? Choosing the Correct LED Light Pattern for your Defender

A question that we're often asked is; 'what beam pattern for my LED Light Bar/Spot Lights is most suitable'? Below we have detailed the differences between Spot, Flood & combo beam which will help you in making your decision. Flood isn't always best, and it depends on the application, but keep in mind that usable light is most effective.

Spot Beam

A Spot Beam is a narrow beam and has a spread of around 8º (degrees). This is great for task specific lighting e.g. when you want to illuminate a pitch dark road or gain increased greenlane/offroad visibility you want the light focused and intense in a specific area, i.e. just ahead of you. The spot pattern is perfect for this application and will suit most on road driving.

Flood Beam

Flood Beam has a wide 90º beam pattern and so the light is a lot more spread out. This application would be most suitable for when you want to more light up a particular area, such as a camp site, work area or car park - the Flood Beam is the right choice.

Combo Beam

When you want versatility, the Combo is the perfect choice. A Combo Beam gives a mix of both Spot Beam and Flood Beam pattern LEDs all within the same light meaning you get the best of both worlds. The only downside to this is that you'ret splitting the beams so neither the flood nor the spot beams produced are as bright as a dedicated spot or beam light.

In summary

In an ideal world, you would have a combination of dedicated spot and flood beam LED lights fitted to your Land Rover, but understand this totally depends on your situation and budget. We commonly advise & supply 52" LED Light bars to fir to the roof of customers Defenders, and then recommend that extra, smaller dedicated LED Light bars be fitted to the front bumper, or roll cage such as circa 20" Light bars for road visibility.