Most of the cheaper grille guards won’t really protect against deer strikes unless they are designed and reinforced really well for each particular application. The words “universal” should be a warning unless you have a good fabricator to make the guard unique to your application, and therefore NOT universal. To me they are more wearable if not properly designed to include secure fitting. Most loop guards will simply bend and hit the bodywork/grill and the light tabs are good for drilling into radiators and AC components. Been there, done that with my first pickup truck, and that vehicle had an actual frame mount and not a single body like the Outback.
The LP Adventure Designs seem very well built, but surviving a deer strike on the highway (150+ pound animal) takes a lot. I have seen some fairly well designed kits from Australia sold as Kangaroo or ‘Roo bars, but I suspect they are economy or imported.
Warnings, since they are designed to support the weight and pull of the winch, can be a viable but expensive choice.
One possible source would be to look at rally car roll bar manufacturers.
Because of the costs of really good bars, for the second take, I chose better lights to see and avoid a deer.
