Curved Light Bar vs Straight Light Bar | What's the Difference

When looking to buy a new light bar there are many things to consider. Brightness, size, brand, IP rating, beam pattern etc. One thing is for sure a light bar is not a light bar. Here we will talk about the differences and similarities between curved and straight light bars.

The first thing you will probably notice is that most of the compatibles are the same. The lengths of both are usually the same, light output (lumens). They use the same mounting brackets etc. So with all of that being the same what is the difference? There are two main things, the beam pattern and appearance when mounting.

Beam Pattern

When you get a straight light bar you probably see, a spot light, flood light or combo beam patterns. This is just referring to how the light housing direct the light. With a beam pattern the light bar will concentrate the light more towards a single point giving you a smaller field of view but better illuminating the smaller area. The flood beam will do just the opposite of the spot light; it will disperse the light in a wider area allowing you to see more but it will not have the concentrated light in as small an area.

With a curved light bar, you will still be able to get the same combo patterns with the same basic idea behind it but this will disperse the light even wider. The curved light bar will give you the widest field of view, allowing you to illuminate the largest area possible.

Mounting

The other main difference is how these look when they are installed on your vehicle. The real benefit of the curved light bar is it will fit the curvature in most vehicles nicely. They match up almost exactly to the curve of the bumper if you want to mount it low. If you are looking at mounting it to the top of your vehicle the curved will also match up nicely with most windshields.

If you have a squarer vehicle like a Jeep this is where the straight light bars really......shine. Astatically the boxier vehicles look better with the straight light bars. Since there are not a lot of curves on those vehicles the straight bars look and fit the best.