Baja Designs Squadron Pro Headlight

What it is

• A light desinged for aggressive night ridding
• Projects alot of light while drawing little power

The Baja Designs Squadron Pro headlight features four T6 bin CREE XM-L2 LEDs at 5000K that produce 4300 lumens while only drawing 3.6 amps and a power consumption of 42 watts, these lights come with a 49,930 hour LED life expectancy as well. The lights themselves are encased by a hard-coated, polycarbonate lens wrapped in an anodized aluminum plate which gives the headlight a 25.5 oz net weight, IP69K Certified(submersible to 9ft), IK10 Compliant (Mechanical Impact Testing), has a vibration rating of 7.7 7.7G_rms, and has a operating temperature of -40 degrees Celsius(-40 degrees Fahrenheit) to +80 degrees Celsius(176 degrees Fahrenheit). This headlight comes with a lifetime warranty, stainless steel fasteners and mounts, and a reverse battery and transient voltage suppressor protection. Even the wiring has waterproofing so moisture can't find its way into the light this way.

How it works

• Easy to install and to adjust.
• Is easily bright enough for night racing.
• Reliable and can take blows without even a flicker, usually.

Installing the Squadron Pro in my Husaberg/KTM shell was relatively easy. For the most part, it’s almost as easy as taking the stock light out of the shell, and putting this one in. The only thing you need to do different is drill a hole on each side just below the old spots for the rubber mounts, and install the extensions where rubber mounts will fit right in. The extensions accommodate for the extra room required for the squadron pro to be mounted and allow adjusting the angle of the light to your liking.  The plug on the light fits right into the stock plug, taking away the need for a wiring harness kit. The Universal Kit is different and will need a wiring harness ($39.95) that attaches to the bike’s battery and is otherwise a bolt-on (rubber strap, really) operation.

The squadron pro, as you can imagine with its four LEDs, is very bright. It is a very crisp white light common to LEDs. So bright that in some cultures, it's known as the second sun. When out riding at night, the pattern is very full. When angled properly, the main ball of light is thrown only 32ft forward, but the ambient light from that main ball reaches up to 600 feet! As you can imagine, I very rarely outran it, about 70mph was when this light told me to slow down, but not only was I able to see in front of me very well, I was able to to see with my peripheral vision. When measured directly from the sides of the headlight shell, the ambient light made the ground light at 26 feet on both sides from center. The reliability for this light has been very good, despite being pounded through whoops, having roost being thrown at it, and even been dropped once, this light never once flickered, nor dimmed at all. Except for one time.

As for the lifetime warranty that comes with this light, Baja Designs walks the talk. I came back from a night ride early because the light had began to flicker out on the trail. I parked the bike in my shop and saw nothing was wrong so I didn't think much of it. The next day I took it out, the light wouldn't turn on at all. So I called up Baja Designs and told them what happened. They had told me to send the light to them and I did. A week later I had the headlight back and it was working just as good as before. A solder connection on the board came apart and they had took care of it no questions asked.

Compared to a stock KTM headlight there is no comparison. Candles to spotlights. One of the downfalls is how bright the light is, it nearly blinds people if they look into it. So for a dual-purpose bike on the street, even with the dimmer, it is truthfully too bright unless you can turn it off and still have another light.

If you're looking for a light that's just better than stock so you can get home if you’re caught out late, or you’re looking for a dual sport light, this isn't for you. This is a light designed for serious night riding and racing, and it does that extremely well. I recommend this light to anyone interested in doing those things. The price backs this statement up as well, going for $249 for each of the headlight options. This is not a cheap light, but this second sun is worth every penny of it.

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