“Let there be light”, we proudly exclaimed a little over 12 months ago as we plugged Lazer Lamps top-dog Sentinel Elite’s onto the front of our LC200 test mule. Truthfully, it was probably something far less poetic. But you can’t exactly kick off a yarn with “time to pack up the cable ties” now can you?
When Lazer Lamps first reached out to us about putting their Sentinel range through a review process we were a little taken back. We’d frankly never heard of them. But their kit looked the goods, and digging into their history was actually a hell of a ride. Le Mans races. A decade in business. U.K. manufacturing. These guys seemed legit. But 12 months later, did the premium price tag result in a premium result?
How are the optics?
If Lazer Lamps could only advertise one feature of the Sentinel range it’d probably be the optics. Pardon the French, but they look bloody fantastic. Part of it is the array of 32 individual LEDs making up each 9in Elite light. They’re packed tight in an ‘ultra reflective’ vacuum sealed panel. The whole setup is fronted by what Lazer Lamps claim is an unbreakable lens. For tech nerds, they’re 3mm thick Lexan GE Polycarbonate lenses with a lacquer hard coat on the outside.
After 12 months and bulk Kays we’re happy to report they’ve held up to their promises. Countless wayward stones, plus sized bugs, and general road borne filth has barely made a dent on our lenses, and that’s without ever using the covers. We gave them a quick wipe down with a rag to knock the dust off, but apart from that these are exactly how the lenses look.
Is the IP rating fair dinkum?
Yes. Eagle eyed readers will note the ‘Cruiser has a snorkel. It was fitted before a trip up the north coast that saw the entire bull bar submerged under salt water multiple times. While it’s probably not something we’d mention in a used car ad, it is worth mentioning for how the Sentinel Elites have held up. A quick spray down with the garden hose at our next chance and there’s not a drop of water ingress to be found. No condensation (something cheap lights are prone for) and near enough no signs of water damage anywhere you look. In the interest of full journalistic integrity, the washers on the side fixings have slightly tarnished and are no longer shiny.
Do they shake, rattle, or roll?
Short answer, no. The long answer is also no, but we’ll explain why. Somewhere along the Oodnadatta track I’ve got a fancy 9in LED driving light in a ditch somewhere, the brand doesn’t matter. The corrugations fatigued the joints in the folded sheet metal mounts until they failed, the lights plug barely holding on until it too failed and the light left beyond as nothing more than a memory. Lazer Lamps mounts are nothing like the cheap junk of those old lights, instead, they’re a single piece cast design meaning not only are there no weak points to fail on corrugations, but there’s actually clever features built in to even further bolster their strength.
A centre pivot point bolts the mount to the bar, an additional bolt on either side controls the side to side movement. Once those bolts were clinched, they were locked tight. A similar arrangement on the side of the mounts holds onto the lights and gives up and down movement. They’ve never needed to be adjusted. There is still a slight vibration in the light pattern when hitting larger bumps at speed, but it comes from the bar itself moving independently from the body.
Are they worth the money?
Each individual 9in Sentinel Elite light retails for $745 including GST. A standard setup of mounts, lights, and wiring loom will set you back a not-insignificant $1557 all said and done. For comparisons sake, there are plenty of 9in LED lights you can spec up a full set for around half the price of the Lazer Lamps, so why should you spend extra? Well, from where we’re standing, and what we’ve witnessed, it comes down to build quality more than anything.
Those cheap lights may boast similar outright numbers, but the optics won’t be anywhere near as good. Back to back, the Lazer Lamps will have a smoother, more even spread of light without distracting or agitating hot spots. Spend 3hrs driving an outback road at night and you’ll know why hot spots suck.
That build quality means longevity too. A stray rock from a passing road train can easily pop most driving light lenses. With a cheap set when they break, you’re up for a full replacement cost, with the Lazer Lamps they warrant they won’t break, if they do they’ll replace the lenses free of charge.
Put simply, if you subscribe to the ‘buy once, cry once’ motto, they make a lot of sense. They’ll last for yonks, punch out plenty of light, and will be something you’ll transfer from 4X4 to 4X4.
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