Best Off-Road Lights For Snow

Driving in the snow at night can be pretty blinding and make your eyes feel strained. That’s why the right pair of lights will help make visibility a lot better while taking those cold drives in the snow. At least, I’ve got just the information you need to help get your hands on a set of good quality lights.

It would be helpful if you were looking for natural halogen fog lights, like Hella or Cibie, with selective yellow tinting, which will help you see in fog and snow. On top of just having different lights, one should have low beam headlights or dipped headlights to see better during snow or foggy environments.

Early studies show that yellow light was less dazzling to other drivers, making it a safer color for headlights. Yellow light also cuts through rain, snow, and fog better than white or blue light used today by modern cars.

Best Off-Road Lights For Snow

Taking the two tips mentioned above to improve your visibility and put them together, you get something like low beam yellow-tinted headlights. The best place to position your lights is low, in the place of fog lights. Keeping the angle of your light shining on the snow low will reduce the glare from light, completely blinding you.

These are a few of the best fog lights for your off-roading experience:

  • The 6-inch KC HiLites Daylighters have been the quintessential halogen off-road lights for decades, and they are still available today. These are super easy to install by yourself and come with a 20 plus year warranty.

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  • Gravity G4 Amber LED fog lights. From the creators of the KC HiLites, a more modern design of fog lights was made that can light further ahead of the vehicle.

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  • HELLA 500 Fog Lamp Kit, ideal for off-road racing usage, this kit comes with all necessary parts to set your vehicle ready for harsh conditions. The halogen lamps housing is impact-resistant reinforced ABS housing that has an aluminum vapor-coated reflector.

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  • Cibie Type 95i Amber Fog Lamps are incredible for off-road usage. The Cibie brand is well known for its rally crossing successes which speak for itself. These Fog Lamps are strong, durable, and long-lasting, which come with an annealed crystal amber glass.

There are quite a lot of fog lights that are either halogen-based bulbs that one can get. However, like said before, most fog lights are moving to the LED sets, but even some of those products can come with yellow tints to ease the glare of snow on one’s eyes.

Why Use Low Beams?

Low beams only light up about 200 feet in front of you, plus the fact that they are angled low reduces the risk of glare. Snow being white has reflective qualities that send more UV rays into your eye. Snow being more reflective of light causes strain to the eye, like a flashlight being shown into your eyes; that’s how we get the term “snow blindness.”

No one wants to drive and not be able to see where they are going, with a white blanket constantly throwing backlight into your face. That’s why Low Beams, which are specially made of halogen light bulbs, are perfect as the warmer color makes the snowless reflective and easier on the eyes, like looking at cream-colored snow.

Low beams are not to be thought of as the same as fog lights as they are not the same. They are two different beams but are used in similar situations. Fog lights are placed low on your front bumper to illuminate the road during foggy situations as fog hovers above the road. In comparison, low beams are part of the main headlights and are used more regularly than fog lights, during nighttime or when dark.

LED or Halogen lights?

There’s a lot of modern cars moving towards the usage of LED lights rather than halogen lights. Halogen lights are found primarily on fog lights, but they are even being replaced with LED lights.

The reason why lies with the benefits of LEDs over the benefits of Halogen lights. LED lights are brighter than halogen headlights and often cast a broader pattern. They use less energy, last longer, and have a much whiter color than halogens, typically yellowish. On top of that, most people find LEDs more aesthetically pleasing and remarkable over the halogens that are “outdated.”

LEDs’ electrical usage is about 90% more efficient than incandescent bulbs because they don’t generate heat like other forms of bulbs. LEDs don’t burn out over time as halogen lights do due to heat and gas being released; however, LEDs do dim over time.

So in terms of life span and lighting brightness, LEDs are better, but at what cost though? Because LEDs are so bright that they can blind oncoming traffic far worse than halogen lights, especially if their high beams are on. It may make your driving safer, with wider area lit, but others might see it as a nuisance. 

When driving in cold weather, LED lights aren’t preferred, as LEDs don’t generate heat, snow clings onto the headlights, which can obstruct the lighting. Whereas with Halogen lights that do generate heat, that wouldn’t be a problem at all. The halogens are cheaper than LEDs and easier to replace. It all settles down to your taste and what you are willing to pay for. 

Conclusion

Driving your vehicle off-road in the snow will require the correct form of lighting to ensure a safe and enjoyable ride. That’s why it’s suggested to at least have a proper set of fog lights that would help you see better in snowy weather; also, maybe get a set of low halogen beams or fog lamps equipped onto your vehicle for an extra set of lighting.

With a few more light bars or fog lamps equipped for your off-road vehicle, one can never go wrong. It even might make your car look even more adventurous. Just remember that low beams are the key to seeing better when driving through snow or fog.

References

Louis Pretorius

As an amateur off-road enthusiast, I have always been drawn to outdoor adventure. I have decided to share all of my learning experiences with you as I dig a little deeper into my new-found passion and wonderful world of off-roading. My mission is to create the Ultimate Off-roading space on the internet in the process. Stay safe and happy Off-Roading!

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