We all know the big names in the off-road lighting industry: Baja Designs, KC Lights, and Rigid Industries, to name a few. In such a saturated market, how does any new company stand out? Heretic Studio is quickly making a name for itself with high-quality lighting that they make completely in-house, right here in the U.S.A.
Heretic Studio operates out of a small shop in Utah, and its team obsesses over the details. They produce both universal and vehicle-specific light pods along with bars for the most popular vehicles and UTVs.
I’ve had the opportunity to run both their 20″ light bar and 4Runner-specific fog light pocket kit, both in the amber color. These lights have been absolutely killer in terms of lighting performance and durability. After running some trails behind friends and having gravel tossed up at them, they still look great.
Find It Online:
- Heretic Studio 20″ Light Bar (Amber): Check Price
- Heretic Studio 4Runner Fog Light Pocket Kit (Amber): Check Price
- Replacement lens (Amber): Check Price
- Replacement lens (Clear): Check Price
Table Of Contents
What Makes Heretic Studio Different
Heretic Studio’s slogan is “Beyond Lumens,” and if you’ve ever seen one of their lighting units, they truly are. In addition to using top-tier LED and lighting components, their lights are literal works of art.
For all of their lights, the entire housing is made out of a single block of 6061 CNC billet aluminum. These blocks are machined with integrated fins for ultimate durability and heat dissipation. All of this means that the light housings are super rigid and don’t flex at all.
There is no plastic used on the Heretic Studio lights. The only component that resembles plastic on their lighting units is the polycarbonate lens cover. This is actually a better option than glass due to its improved impact resistance against road or trail debris.
Once you have any of their lights, you’ll want to show them off. The light housings are probably the nicest ones that I’ve seen. I really like the all-black, anodized aluminum construction. The small details, like the precise chamfering of the aluminum to the engraved logo, deserve to be put on display and not hidden behind a bumper housing or grille.
I think the bright silver stainless steel lens cover bolts provide a great industrial look and some contrast from the all-black light housing.
Heretic Studio believes that claiming to be a top-tier lighting product doesn’t stop at lumen count. They strive to have the best designs for both reliable and high-quality light output. Running their 20″ light bar and fog light pocket kit for the 5th Gen 4Runner, I can attest to the light output being precisely aimed and not just thrown all over the place like cheaper, inferior lighting.
Heretic Studio lights are premium lighting products, and you definitely get what you pay for. They have a weighted feel that’s substantial yet not bulky. From their fit and finish to their lighting performance, you won’t be disappointed.
Light Bars
Heretic Studio offers their light bars in white or amber colors and sizes ranging from 6″ to a massive 50″. They are not SAE/DOT compliant, but no light bar is. Light bars are dedicated off-road lights and should not be used with oncoming traffic.
I’m currently running the 20″ light bar with the popular combo beam pattern. This is the ideal mix of both flood and spot lighting types. In real-world driving, that means lighting up your immediate surroundings and probably half a mile down the road. Despite being one of their smaller light bars, this thing is insanely bright. I honestly can’t imagine how bright the larger sizes are.
All of the light bars use the common DT 2-pin connector type, allowing them to be easily wired to your switch panel or with their optional wire harness.
One unique customization option for the Heretic Studio light bars is engraving. If you don’t want the default engraved company name, you can contact them to request custom engraving.
Specs For 20″ Heretic Studio Light Bar:
- Wattage: 120W
- Amp Draw at 13.8V: 11.3A
- Voltage: 9V-36V
- IP Rating: IP68
- Dimensions
- Light Only: L 21” x D 1.5” x H 2”
- Light W/ Bracket: L 22” x D 1.5” x H 2.4″
- Lumens: 14520 lm
- Lux at 10m:
- Spot: 4125 lx
- Flood: 878 lx
- Combo: 2826 lx
- Candela:
- Spot: 412500 cd
- Flood: 87750 cd
- Combo: 282600 cd
- Beam Distance:
- Spot: 1285 m
- Flood: 592 m
- Combo: 1063 m
- DOT Compliant: No
- Prop 65: No
- SAE/ECE: No
Light Pods
Heretic Studio offers their light pods in both a 4Runner-specific fog light pocket kit and universal pods for applications such as ditch lights. For the latter, there are several options to choose from, including the popular 2×2 and 1×2 pods seen across the industry. All of the pod lights are available in white or amber colors and in either spot, flood, or combo beam patterns.
When I first received the Heretic Studio fog light pocket kit for the 4Runner, I was blown away by the quality. The fog light pocket kit is currently only offered in the combo beam pattern. It utilizes Heretic Studio’s Quattro light pod and features the same light pattern and characteristics as the aforementioned light bar. The fog light pocket kit includes a stainless steel, custom-built bracket that is powder-coated and fits perfectly in the factory fog light location. They are a completely plug-and-play kit.
The Heretic Studio fog lights are twice as bright as the factory halogen fog lights. Due to their high light output and pattern, these fog lights are not SAE or DOT compliant.
Compared to the newer factory LED fog lights on 2021+ 4Runners, the Heretic Studio fog lights aren’t less bright, but rather have a different lighting pattern. These aren’t intended to be a wide light with a clean cut-off to supplement your low beams. Instead, the combo beam pattern enhances your lighting further down the road for improved far-sight visibility.
Specs For 5th Gen 4Runner Fog Light Pocket Kit:
- Wattage: 24W
- Amp Draw at 13.8V: 2A
- Voltage: 9V-36V
- IP Rating: IP68
- Lumens: 2904 lm
- Lux at 10m:
- Combo: 500 lx
- Candela:
- Combo: 50025 cd
- Beam Distance:
- Combo: 447 m
- DOT Compliant: No
- Prop 65: No
- SAE/ECE: No
Final Thoughts
If you’re in the market for top-notch off-road lighting, look no further than Heretic Studio. I’m a huge fan of their craftsmanship and that signature deep amber color. Initially, I looked at the usual brands but was unimpressed with the “amber” lights really being more on the yellow side. I already have pretty bright white lighting, and I wanted my dedicated off-road lighting to be on the opposite end of the spectrum.
Additionally, I believe that a company’s customer service is often overlooked. Although you hope never to have to contact them, if you do, the experience can make or break your decision to buy from a company again.
For example, take one of my light bar’s mounting bolts. The nylon nut came cross-threaded, and the bolt broke in half. Within minutes of submitting my question to them about the specific size to buy a replacement, they offered to ship out a replacement free of charge. Let me reiterate, they literally went through the trouble of sending me a single bolt and nut – pretty awesome of them.
A small detail that I really appreciate is the ease of lens cover replacement. In the unlikely event that they become damaged, the lens covers can be easily removed by loosening the outward-facing Allen-head screws. This isn’t only for replacing the lens cover, either. If you want to switch between amber and clean covers, these can also be purchased separately.
Summing up, both my 20″ light bar and fog lights look great and have performed reliably in all environments. I honestly can’t say enough positive things about these lighting products! I highly recommend checking out Heretic Studio if you need some impressive off-road lighting.
