Magicshine Allty 2500s

The Magicshine Allty 2500s has many of the features required by a good adventure light, including a very strong beam, numerous settings, a remote control, decent battery life, a replaceable battery, LED display, a sturdy mount, and a strong, high-quality construction. But the light has a worrying tendency to overheat, the LED display is slightly confusing and it's hamstrung by a shoddy app that struggles to function with any reliability. You can bypass the app and just use the preset features, which will give you a much improved experience. 

For more options, check out our front bike lights Beam Test 2024.

> Buy now: Magicshine Allty 2500s for £99.99 from Magicshine

Mount

It's easy to set up the light. The quarter-turn Garmin mount comes with four separate bands for different handlebar diameters, and once you've selected the right one, you tighten it using the supplied hex key.

Though slightly fiddly if you're switching bands, this was all straightforward and achieved a very secure fit. It's useful to have the choice of different bands though you wouldn't want to make this alteration in a hurry. Alternatively, Magicshine also sells an out-front computer mount, for £23.99.

Remote control

The Allty comes with a two-button remote control that you can tie anywhere using a Velcro strap. This is effective but it does have a slightly cheap feel and looks a little untidy once you've attached it to your bar. You'll need to activate the remote by opening up the rear battery storage panel with a coin.

The remote is easy to use once you've consulted the instructions. A combination of double and single taps allows you to cycle through the different brightness settings and solid and flashing modes. One button always returns you to the highest possible lumen setting. Pressing any button alerts you to the current battery life on the light's LED screen.

First and second impressions

At the second time of trying (my initial light was faulty) the Magicshine Allty 2500s made a good impression. It fits nicely in your hand and its combination of aluminium and plastic feels reassuringly sturdy. Its neat looks also suggest it will be simple to use, with just one button and a small LED screen.

Two circular LEDs take care of flashing, with a DRL – Daylight Running Light – above them handling the constant beam.

You can remove the battery using a silver coin-twist panel at the rear. So if you'd like to double up on battery power, you can always purchase additional batteries. These aren't currently available on the UK site but they are on the US site so you'd imagine this is just a matter of time. The charge port is via USB-C on the underside of the light.

Light functionality

One press of the button reveals the current battery level on the LED screen. Despite fully charging my light, and then doubting myself subsequently, the light has a habit of dropping down to around 80% if it's been unused for just a few days.

Pressing and holding the button switches the light on. On the screen you have displays showing current lighting mode, battery percentage (using five bars), available run-time for the current light setting, and current lumen level.

A single press of the button scrolls through all the lumen levels: 300/600/1,200. You will want to keep your hand away from the bulb once the light is – it gets seriously hot pretty quickly. Magicshine says that there is an improved cooling system on the 2500s but I can't say I was convinced.

Double tapping the button switches the light to a combination of flashing and constant. This only switches between 600 and 1200. The only way to access the full 2500 lumens is by using the remote control or by altering settings in the app.

App-robrium

Using the dedicated app, the personalisation becomes total – or it should. After using Bluetooth to connect the light, you can then create as many different Light Modes as you like, varying the brightness and whether the output is flashing or solid. However, the app often struggles to load and at no point was using it a pleasant experience.

The app – worryingly enough – tells you the temperature of the light. With its temperature frequently flying into the high 60s, I'd be more interested in Magicshine focusing on dissipating heat rather than adding infinite customisation. Once it's beyond 65°C degrees the light is almost too hot to touch.

When you try to reconnect the light, the app often seems to have forgotten your light, and you have to connect it again. You deleting the old light with a eft swipe that reveals a red delete button written in Chinese. Luckily it's a big red delete-shaded red, so my lack of Chinese wasn't an issue.

I frequently had problems connecting my light to the app, so many that I eventually gave up using it altogether.

It's one thing offering infinite customisation to light and numerous flash patterns, but if the technology to access this functionality is flawed, then it's a very different product from what it sets out to be. It's possible that the app will be improved, and yes, it's better a poor app than a poor light. But based on other users' experiences of Magicshine lights, I am not the only one to suffer such issues, so hopefully updates will be on their way.

Performance

Once out on the open road it was easy to put the light's functional limitations to the back of my mind, as its beam is excellent. The maximum 2500-lumen output is totally blinding, and it'll leave you dazzled if you look straight into it for any time at all.

I didn't use this setting except when I was out on rural roads during twilight or darkness as it actually carries some dangers for other road users. The remote control was very handy here, as it allows you to easily lower your full beam when another rider or driver is coming.

After giving up on the app, I used the preset variants for most of my testing and they proved more than adequate. I really like having a light on during the day while riding through London and the different available flashing options – or with a solid light in the background – provide a good selection.

The mixture of round LEDS and the rectangular daylight-running light produces a good covering of light on the road, with a solid central area of road illuminated in dark conditions.

I took the light into the shower to replicate some heavy showers and the IPX5 waterproofing held up well. I didn't see any drop off in performance.

Run-times

The shortest run-time is when using 2,500 lumens on full beam. Magicshine says this cuts out at about one and a half hours. I found the light actually ran for longer than this, though the run-time display itself is unreliable. It often steadily increases while you look at it, so it's not an exact measure.

Magicshine claims a six and a half hour running time with a slow flash at 600 lumens, which matched my experience.

The light charged as expected using the USB-C input.

Value

For £119.99 – or presently just £99.99 – you're getting a lot of beam for your bucks. However, you would expect the native technology to improve – not dull – the specifications of the light.

In fact, it's hard to get 2,500 lumens for a comparable price from another brand.

Dave reviewed the £165 NiteRider Lumina Dual 1800 light but didn't report many positives. I suppose that indicates that if you can get past the annoyances, and are prepared to use it without the app, the Allty represents pretty good value.

The NiteRider Max costs a whopping £220 and provides a powerful beam but uses the same mount that I was very sceptical of when I reviewed a different light in the range – a concern that Mat shared.

I'm not alone in my frustration with the app. George reviewed the £129.99 Magicshine Ray 2600b but only started to enjoy it once he'd deleted the app from his phone.

Luckily the Allty has a good range of settings right out of the box so you can also use it without the app. The Allty also has a remote and boasts an LED screen, but lacks the Ray's vibration settings or light sensor.

Conclusion

The Magicshine Allty 2500s is well made and offers excellent illumination for road and off-road riding. The beam is incredibly bright, there are plenty of preset settings, the buttons feel good and work well, and aside from the overheating, and a slightly unreliable LED screen, there aren't many things wrong with it.

But – and it's quite a big but – Magicshine appears to have hamstrung its entire range of lights by creating a subpar app. When you log into an app that feels like it's been created in a few days without much care at all, it cheapens the whole experience of using what is otherwise a pretty premium-feeling product. And if Magicchine could overhaul the app, the entire range would be vastly improved.

> Buy now: Magicshine Allty 2500s for £99.99 from Magicshine

Verdict

Well-constructed light with an incredibly bright beam – but it's badly let down by a very disappointing app