DENALI D7 Off-Road Lights First Impression Review|1986 Toyota 4Runner
These Lights Are Ridiculously Bright
We had the opportunity to test the DENALI D7 LED Auxiliary light set and spoiler alert, we were blown away by the performance. I (Zach) had heard from friends and coworkers that the D7 was a powerhouse and to watch out for blinding reflective street signs when rounding corners with the lights on. I was a bit skeptical initially, but my first impression of the DENALI D7 confirms all of it!
Here are some specs from the DENALI product description:
D7 Kit Specs
- LED’s: (14x) 10 Watt Cree XPL HI
- Power Draw: 10 Amps
- Beam Distance: 1505 Feet
- Beam Width: 200 Feet
- Raw Lumens: 15330
- Operating Voltage: 12 VDC
- Pod Size: 4.4” Round x 2.9” Deep (each)
- Pod Weight: 1.8 lbs (each)
- IP67 Waterproof & Submersible
In all of our travels in the old 4Runner, we have sported a cheap light bar from amazon. To be fair, considering what I know now about lighting, it is amazing that the little amazon lightbar lasted as long as it did. More on that comparison in a different post. The DENALI D7 is in a different league of lights than the cheap Chinese bars on Amazon and even some offered by “major” lighting companies. The D7 is a quality-built, rigorously researched product that is esthetically pleasing to look at and packs a real punch.
Opening the Box and D7 Build Quality
The value of spending a bit more money on a light like this is apparent as soon as you open the box. Everything came packaged well and the boxes and packing material were all top-quality. Because I already had wiring on the 4Runner with a relay, I simply needed two of the lights. The light kit is available for the pair with a harness and wiring connectors. When we mount these lights to the GX470 in the future, we will use the DENALI harness.
The lights themselves are beautiful. The optics are visually appealing and sharp and the case is robust and understated. One of the biggest reasons that we chose this light was because of the relatively small size and the inconspicuous body of the light. When they aren’t on, the DENALI D7 doesn’t stick out to thieves and that is a good thing. When you turn them on, the D7 is no longer understated and subtle, it becomes a monster.
DENALI D7 Light Output and Beam Pattern
We took a little drive down to the river for a relaxing evening of swimming and enjoying the last bit of summer weather before it’s gone. This presented a great opportunity to flip on the D7’s and see what all of the fuss was about.
Holy cow- the DENALI D7 is in fact, very bright! 15,000 lumens is very impressive on paper but in real life it is really fun. The drive down to the river winds along narrow roads with heavy forest on either side and the D7’s make it look like daylight.
The D7 is a spot beam pattern and I can attest from my limited testing that the D7 reaches at least the claimed 1500 feet if not farther. We parked at the edge of one of our favorite river launch sites and aimed the truck downriver. From our spot, we could see the reflective signs at the next launch site, nearly a half mile down river.
The beam pattern is clear and concise and the optics truly focus the light down-range with very little spill. Our old light bar had light spilling out everywhere, often wasted on areas that we didn’t need lit up.
DENALI D7 First Impressions
The D7 is an amazing piece of kit, period. It is truly amazing what a step up in budget gets you in terms of lighting. Being that we haven’t had a lot of time with the lights, time will tell when it comes to durability and waterproofness, but early indications are that this is a well-built light set that should last a very long time.
