Magicshine’s Allty series of headlights features everything from commuter headlights to multi-thousand lumen headlight options. The new Allty 1500S is one of the latest additions to the Allty lineup and upgrades the previous Allty 1500 with some exciting new features. With a retail price of $109.99 the Allty 1500S offers 1500 lumen of output and a removable 5000mAh cartridge style battery. The headlight also features dual lighting elements with a DRL and a single focused LED for long distance visibility. One of the other big features of the Allty 1500S is the OLED screen which displays the battery status, estimated time remaining and the lumen output for the active mode. The headlight modes can also connect via Bluetooth to the Magicshine’s App for mode customization and a wireless remote.
The Magicshine Allty 1500S combines an OLED screen and removable battery into a bright 1500 lumen headlight.
| Rating | 9.3 / 10 |
| Retail Price | $109.99 |
| Measured Weight (in g) | 153 (headlight), (handlebar mount), 18 (remote) |
| Likes | + Daytime running light + Intuitive and crisp OLED screen + Removable and replaceable cartridge style battery |
| Dislikes | – Confusing app – Difficult to removing the cartridge style battery |
| Where to Buy (US) | Magicshine 15% OFF coupon code: “TheSweetCyclists” |
UNBOXING
The Magicshine Allty 1500S headlight comes in black cardboard boxes with Magicshine branding and a glossy illustration of the headlight. Inside the box you’ll find:
- Allty 1500S headlight
- Wireless remote + velcro strap
- USB-C charging cable
- Handlebar mount + three different length straps
- Allen key
- Instruction manual
The packaging is very reminiscent of cell phone designs with its rigid cardboard and custom cut foam piece holding the light and mount in place.
MOUNTING
As with the other Magicshine Allty headlights, the 1500S uses a standard Garmin quarter turn style mount molded into the base of the housing. This allows the Allty 1500S to be used with a variety of third-party Garmin compatible mounts. Magicshine includes a simple plastic handlebar mount with a plastic strap, the same one that’s found on most of their headlights, that lets you mount the light onto your handlebar. It’s one of our least favorite designs as it uses a strap and bolt design that is a bit tedious to install or remove from a bike. With multiple straps included the mount can be used on aero bars, commuter bars or standard handlebars. As always, we’d recommend using an out-front mount instead like the Magicshine TTA or Topeak UTF mount. The Allty 1500S is also a non-directional headlight which means you can mount it upside down on the bottom slot of an out-front mount. The only downside of the upside-down mounting is that the button and OLED screen are out of view.
FIT & FINISH
The Magicshine Allty 1500S takes the previous Allty 1500 to the next level with multiple hardware and software upgrades. Visually, the light keeps the same rectangular design the Allty light series is known for with a metal housing. The light also features a dual lighting design with a horizontal DRL on the top and a powerful single LED below it. The lens is a simple non-directional design with a standard cone beam and a raised lens for improved side visibility. Due to the additional height of the DRL, the front portion of the light also protrudes below the main body of the headlight giving the Allty 1500S a unique appearance from the side.
Rather than using a standard integrated battery design, Magicshine has utilized a cartridge design that lets you remove or replace the battery easily. To remove the battery you press down on the tab on the bottom rear of the light and slide the battery out. It takes quite a bit of force to remove it, especially the first time you do this, as it’s hard to get a good grip. The battery can be charged on the light or removed as the charging port is built into the rear of the battery. While this design isn’t as convenient as using common 21700 or 18650 battery cells found on Fenix or Reelight headlights, this cartridge design lets you run multiple batteries for longer rides or replace the battery. Assuming Magicshine continues to stock the battery, that makes the Allty 1500S a more future-proof light than integrated battery bike lights. Note, the Allty 1500S’s cartridge battery is similar to the Allty 2000 but uses a tool free design for removing the battery.
One of the most exciting features of the Allty 1500S is the OLED display screen. This is nearly identical to the one found on the Allty 2000 and has a sleek white on black display. Rather than having to guess the battery status based on colors, the screen displays a five bar battery display as well as the battery percentage on mode changes. The center of the screen lists the estimated time remaining along with the lumen output on the bottom. On the top left you have a circle indicator which identifies if the mode is a constant or flash. It’s not a very obvious icon though and doesn’t add any useful information in our opinion. The screen also displays the lock icon when the headlight has been locked which eliminates any confusion about the headlight state.
The headlight has a simple single button user interface placed below the OLED screen. With the inclusion of the oLED screen, the button itself isn’t backlit like the other Allty lights. A short hold turns the light, a single press cycles through the modes and a long hold enables or disables the lock out mode. Magicshine has also separated the constant and flash modes using a double press. It’s an easy to use light as the actions are straightforward and the OLED screen provides visual feedback. Using the Magicshine app you can also enable “smart mode” which will turn off the main LED during the daytime based on an ambient light sensor. Additionally, there is a “sleep mode” which turns the light off after 5 minutes of no motion. Both the smart and sleep modes are disabled by default and have to be turned on via the app.
Magicshine has also added a wireless remote to the Allty 1500S headlight. It’s the same two button remote found on the Monteer lights and has a basic velcro mount to place it near your handlebar grips. The remote has the same user interface as the main button but lets you switch to the max output mode by pressing the square. This is similar to the boost modes found on the Moon Sports lights and lets you get the full output with a single button press. The remote is lightweight and only requires a thin velcro strip to mount it onto handlebars. Unless you plan to mount the headlight on your helmet, we think the remote isn’t a particularly helpful feature as it’s easy enough to switch modes on the headlight itself.
LIGHT OUTPUT
Magicshine has programmed five output modes into the Allty 1500S in the factory default configuration. There are three constant modes: low (300 lumen / 12 hr runtime), medium (750 lumen / 10 hr) and high (1500 lumen / 3.5 hr). There are also two flash options: slow flash (500 lumen / 10.5 hr) and quick flash (500 lumen / 31 hr). The quick flash mode provides the maximum 31 hour runtime and is a great option for daytime riding to attract attention. As you can see in the beam image, the Allty 1500S has a cone style illumination pattern with a bright spot in the center. The DRL contributes almost nothing to the beam optics and instead just helps people see you and add a small amount of illumination around your handlebars.
We found the medium mode was more than sufficient for most type of riding while the full 1500 lumen high mode is quite bright. Runtimes on the light are all quite long so even in the maximum mode you won’t have to charge the light that often. Again, we’re big fans of the OLED screen especially at night as it shows a estimate of time remaining so you can plan your ride accordingly. We also used the “smart mode” which disables the main LED entirely regardless of what mode your in during the day. It’s not as effective has having a flash mode for daytime visibility like the Bontrager Flare RT, but for urban riding it works well and has a very long runtime as the DRL doesn’t require much power.
MAGICSHINE APP
One of the other new features of the Magicshine Allty 1500S is the ability to use the Magicshine app to re-order and customize the output modes. Unfortunately, the Magicshine app has very poor ratings on both the Google and iOS app stores despite having been around for a few years. A combination of strange english translations and user interface makes using the Magicshine app cumbersome and confusing. There are four side menu options: my devices, scene, version upgrade and contact us. Within devices you can connect the Allty 1500S and some other Magicshine lights. The scenes option lets you set up different named profiles (i.e. “scenes”) with user customizable output modes (i.e. “levels”).
You can adjust the brightness from 0-100% and select between constant, SOS, slow flash and day flash to fully customize the appearance of each mode. Although it’s a cool feature we’re not sure it’s worth using with the Allty 1500S as you can only adjust the main LED. For a multi-LED light like the Monteer 8000S the customization modes would be more useful. Instead, we’d recommend just sticking with the default factory modes and avoiding the confusing app until Magicshine refines it. Note, modifying the modes does appear to break the “double press” for flash mode mode option with the current implementation. Also, to revert back to the factory defaults you need to delete all the user created “levels” which should restore the default five modes.
THE VERDICT
Overall, we found the Magicshine Allty 1500S to be an excellent upgrade from the previous Allty 1500. The addition of the OLED screen and removable battery make the Allty 1500S easier to use and more future-proof. With the combination of the DRL and focused LED, the Allty 1500S offers an nice balance between power and portability. The user interface on the light is also significantly improved with the OLED screen that displays the remaining battery and lumen output for the selected mode. Magicshine also allows the modes to be customized using the Magicshine app, but we found the app to be confusing to use. Instead the factory default modes offer enough options to cover most types of riding. Also we know many people would have preferred a standard battery cell instead of the Magicshine specific cartridge style battery, but we’re just happy to see a light with a replaceable battery design. That said, if you’re looking for a powerful yet compact bike headlight with some slick features the Allty 1500S is an excellent option.
Disclaimer: The product for this review was provided by Magicshine. The views expressed on this website are solely those of the authors and are here to help people make an informed choice before a purchase. The authors or the blog itself does not get any monetary compensation from the product manufacturer or third-party websites/vendor links that are posted here.