Allen Sports ASL5XR Review

Though the Allen Sports ASL5XR is one of the more affordable lights we tested, and weighs in at only 5.1 ounces, it was less than stellar in our tests. It comes equipped with a zooming feature that changes the beam pattern from a flood light to a spot allowing you to set it anywhere in-between.

Performance Comparison

This light requires the use of two hands during installation, one to hold the light and the mount while the other tightens the screw, which is difficult to navigate while wearing gloves.

Photo: Greg Davis

Brightness

Whether your goal is to illuminate the road ahead, or simply to be seen by oncoming traffic, a bright, wide, evenly lit beam is ideal. One unique feature specific to this light is the zooming ability between flood and spot light settings. At its widest flood setting, we only measure the beam distance at 35-meters, or about 115-feet, while the most narrow setting measured an astronomical 215-meters, or just over 706-feet. Yet, we still scored this light with a 2 out of 10 in brightness because on either end of the spectrum, the light performed poorly in the field. Here is a comparison with our Editors' Choice winning Niterider Lumina 750, which shines a measured 180 meters, about 35 meters less than the Allen. However, you can see that the Niterider allows for better sight of the path in front.

Beam Distance Photos

Allen Sports ASL5XR

NiteRider Lumina 750

Below, you can see the difference between the Allen Sports light, on the left, and the budget CatEye HL-EL 135, on the right. Here, the Allen Sports light projects much farther into the distance than the Cateye.

Beam Distance Photos

Allen Sports ASL5XR

Cateye HL-EL135

Beam Quality

The best beam patterns are ones that project a wide and even beam. With the above beam distance results taken into consideration, we found the spotlight setting to be uselessly narrow, and the flood to be uselessly shallow; therefore, the most useful setting was smack dab in the middle, which our field testers rarely changed once finding an appropriate beam. Again, this light scores poorly in this category, because it is difficult to navigate between the zoom settings to find an appropriate beam while pedaling and this continually frustrated our field testers.

Battery Life

This light uses a rechargeable Lithium Ion battery provided by Allen, and comes in just below average in our lifespan testing. With about two and a quarter hours of battery life, this light only earns a 4 out of 10.

In this beam distance over time versus battery life comparison chart, we can examine the Allen Sports battery lifespan with our highest scoring contender for battery life, the NiteRider Pro 1800, which uses an external battery pack. The Pro 1800's battery lasts almost nearly a half an hour longer than the Allen Sports, while maintaining a more consistent beam projection.

Portability

Although the Allen Sports ASL5XR is a middle of the road light when it comes to weight and the ability to throw it in a bag or jacket pocket, we also rated this light just below average in this category.

This light is difficult to install due to the short screw used on the mount, and requires the use of two hands. Removing it from the mount was also a difficult task requiring two hands, because you are essentially making the same motion to both release the lever and remove the light.

Our field testers were also not big fans of the zoom feature on this light. In order to toggle between a wide, flood light beam to a more narrow setting, you pull on the front of the light, which is stiff and difficult to do during a ride. We found that we had to stop in order to make the adjustment, and then never touched the light again. Also, the light clicks off between modes, which we found unnerving while riding through dark city streets.

Best Applications

This light performs fine on light commutes that are moderately lit.

This light performs best where ambient light is also available.

Photo: Gentrye Houghton

Value

Unfortunately, the quality of this light for the price is not competitive, and it broke easily from the mount while attempting to make small adjustments while riding. For less than $10 more, we feel you'll find better options with our Best Buy winner, the Light and Motion Urban 350.

Unfortunately, the Allen Sports broke, easily, from the mount while making a small adjustment during riding.

Photo: Ryan Kenney

Conclusion

This was the lowest scoring light we tested, coming in with a score of only 26 out of 100.

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