The market is flooded with all sorts of gear for every aspect of a 4×4 build. That’s why we compare the market’s best: to make the decision easier for you.

Whether it be lights, recovery boards, fridges, storage or winches, we’ve tried and tested it.

Here are a handful of the most popular gear tests of 2016.

1: LED light bars comparison

We lined up single- and double-row LED light bars on a dark outback road and tested how decent each light’s output was, as well as how much currant they drew. Great White, XRay Vision, Ironman 4×4, Dura Vision and Narva came along for the ride.

2: Recovery boards comparison

Strapping a set of recovery boards to your 4×4 is a no-brainer. You’ll never know when you’ll need them, and when you do they’ll prove invaluable. There are plenty of boards on the market, but can any get you out of strife as easily as a set of MaxTrax?

3: Product test: Runva 11XP Premium winch

We ran Runva’s 11XP 12V Premium winch through the gauntlet to see if it was as good as people said. The winch comes with a 15,000lb-rated snatch block, wired and wireless remotes, black powdercoated aluminium hawse fairlead, a rated bow shackle, shackle thimble attached to the rope’s end, and a neoprene winch body cover. It retails for $879.

4: 4×4 Vehicle loading and GVM explained

You’d be shocked at how many 4x4s we see out on the tracks that are loaded incorrectly, or are carrying too much weight. This article explains how to properly prepare your 4×4 – and distribute weight evenly – for remote-area travel.

5: Product Test: Unichip Q4

Unichip’s Q4 tuning module alters – on the fly – the mapping of an engine to suit driving situations. It can hike performance, and bring power on more effectively and efficiently. Check out what happened when we fit one to a LandCruiser ute!