I am still looking for some input on the Tomar Blade lightbar.
Anyone here say it is brighter than the Code 3 Defender?
Comparisons?
Anyone here say it is brighter than the Code 3 Defender?
Comparisons?
Anyone using a Tomar Blade lightbar? Show pics/videos.
- Thread starter poesdad
- Start date
lotsofbars
Member
The Tomar Blade is without a doubt brighter than the Code 3 Defender. So are most Tomar products in general.
7d9_z28
New Member
I don't, but the local PD runs 2 or 3 of them. They have had them for like 5 or 6 (maybe more) years, they are even transferring them to their new Ford Police Interceptors... They are Bright as F#]{ and I am glad they are reusing them on the new cars. Every other PD around is going with sound off bars (sound off is semi local, I assume this is why)
I haven't seen a Code 3 Defender in action, but I guarantee a high power Blade will destroy it... :thumbsup:
I haven't seen a Code 3 Defender in action, but I guarantee a high power Blade will destroy it... :thumbsup:
The Sheriff's Office i work at usses two of them. however they were bought the first few months they were produced and they have both had water seal issues. the seal would not be water tight and after about 6 months, there was alot of moisture in the bar and sevral leds have had to be replaced. They replaced to gasket several times while under warranty and it never really got fixed. so buy one new or or at least try to avoid the first year or two they were produced
marionso14 said:
Anyone have video?
Very interesting that everyone says the blade is brighter than the defender.
PJD642
New Member
marionso14 said:
We've got two Blades, and had the exact same problem with the seals (one of the bars had NO seals as it came from the factory). Eventually managed to get 'em fixed (had to ship the bars back & have boards replaced due to corrosion, total PITA and not very cooperative/helpful people on the other end of the phone), but they are nice & bright. Not a big fan of the TD/Alley lights (3 LEDs in triangle - bright, but not too focused so not a lot of throw). I'll take a picture this afternoon.
And I'm not bashing Tomar in general..I've got RECT-14s & RECT-25s on my truck, and they are bright as hell with no moisture issues. But if you're looking at a Blade, especially used, open 'em up, check the condition of the seals and the circuit boards for moisture and corrosion.
emtanderson51
Member
emtanderson51
Member
cook2890
Member
When the uniform and install shop we started here in middle TN became an authorized Tomar dealer, we asked our rep about the Blade, and he recomended against it, due to the moisture invasion issues. He told us that Tomar wouldn't really talk about it, but he knew of several Blades that were having problems. I will admit it is a BRIGHT bar, but the moisture issues were a major concern. (This was a year ago, I dont know if the situation was fixed or not...)
cook2890 said:
I did not know about the moisture issue. We run Liberty bars on our vehicles, and have had a little moisture in them. None of the lightheads have had any issues from it though. Keeping in mind, we have a lot of snow in our area, I would say they have worked out pretty good for us.
Our fire department has one of the old blade bars on a supervisors vehicle, and it was bright in the day time. I have never seen it at night, and I don't know if it is the high power version.
It would still be nice to see someone do a comparison of the Defender and Blade next to eachother on video.
Based on a discussion in a different thread, I thought the Blade was going away? Looking at Tomar's website, it appears that the Scorpion is being presented as their flagship lightbar. Can someone confirm the Blade's future?
Tomar is definitely not doing well in the full-sized lightbar market. Other than the Scorpion, they only have the 930L Series (based on an ancient chassis) and the Spider Microbar. Hopefully, they're working on a new product for the future.
Tomar is definitely not doing well in the full-sized lightbar market. Other than the Scorpion, they only have the 930L Series (based on an ancient chassis) and the Spider Microbar. Hopefully, they're working on a new product for the future.
Sigma Safety
Member
cook2890 said:
We had a department near us buy 20 or so Blades about 4ish years ago, and every single one had failed within 8 months, due to water issues. No snow in my area, generally, but lots of rain (think "seattle" ). The distributor claimed someone had either tampered with them or installed them incorrectly so refused to honour the warranty. Eventually they fixed the problem, but the customer will never deal with said distributor again, and the entire fleet now has Legends on them. So, it wasn't a few bars. My understanding was that Tomar came out with a retrofit kit for them a few years ago, though. I have no idea if that solved the problem though.
emcom
Member
I know this is an older thread but...
I have had a blade on my patrol car since July 2007. It worked flawlessly for the first 2-3 years. We have a total of 3 cars with Blades. The two that were bought in 2007 started having problems first, then the one bought in 08 had problems soon after. I have had all the lenses and seals replaced on mine, had circuit boards replaced, had led modules replaced and as of July 2012 it was out of warranty.
Parts of my bar goes out in the rain and will come back on when the bar dries out. One time, I lost ALL blues on the front of the bar and had to get an old dash light out of my trunk to make emergency calls and traffic stops.
I spent the extra money to buy the Tomar CHMSL bracket and 2 rect 25 blues to go in the rear window. They are nice and have never given me any problem.
<<<The pic here shows the 2 rect25's before I got the CHMSL bracket installed.
I have had a blade on my patrol car since July 2007. It worked flawlessly for the first 2-3 years. We have a total of 3 cars with Blades. The two that were bought in 2007 started having problems first, then the one bought in 08 had problems soon after. I have had all the lenses and seals replaced on mine, had circuit boards replaced, had led modules replaced and as of July 2012 it was out of warranty.
Parts of my bar goes out in the rain and will come back on when the bar dries out. One time, I lost ALL blues on the front of the bar and had to get an old dash light out of my trunk to make emergency calls and traffic stops.
I spent the extra money to buy the Tomar CHMSL bracket and 2 rect 25 blues to go in the rear window. They are nice and have never given me any problem.
<<<The pic here shows the 2 rect25's before I got the CHMSL bracket installed.
gregorylights
Member
Eric1249
Member
Back when i was a leo the dept I was on had Blades. They had issues with moisture as well. One of the squads I would have to take the end cap off and run down the expressway. They did get replacement gaskets(?) and that seemed to fix the problem.
leftcoastmark said:
My old department purchased a Blade from the local Tomar rep, and also experienced said water issue (this was when the Blade was still newly rolled out). My issue was never with Tomar, but the local rep was absolutely horrible to deal with. If I were to purchase a Tomar product, I would go to great lengths to avoid dealing with said rep.
Side note, the factory rep (Michael Callahan) was quite nice.
roaddawg7
Member
Tomar has fixed the issue with the weather seal. I have a 2007 blade bar on my cruiser and it started having issues last year and it got bad, 6 led mods had to be replaced with a few burned out power ribbons. I suggested they put a new lens kit on to include new end caps. Once that was done it has not had an issue and with new lens kit its like new and just as bright as the new tomar scorpion bars my dept just got. The new lens kits for the blade have new weather seals and some of the dealers will send you the 2 strips for the front and back for free, the end caps you have to pay for.
pdk9
Member
poesdad said:
The defender is brighter IMO, but that's because it is a newer product and it has larger lightheads, while the tomar blade (one of the brighter lightbars out there IMO) was designed to be a VERY slim (but still bright) lightbar; I think the blade was what whelen based their legacy lightbar off of. The defender and the blade are both undoubtedly bright, BUT the biggest difference is that I find most code 3 products way overpriced, thus I personally don't purchase any of their LED products. It all depends on which options you choose for the blade (ie high intensity, standard, etc), but you're probably gonna save about $500 if u go with a new blade over a new defender, without sacrificing quality (most important thing IMO). I think you'll be good with either of those 2 lightbars, but there are also other lightbars I'd consider that are slightly more economical while still reliably bright (ie tomar scorpion, FedSig legend, SOS pinnacle, etc)
emtanderson51
Member