View Full Version : I think my Lafuma Warm N' Light 30 Degree Bag sucked...
Slept on tent platforms for 3 nights over the weekend in Massachusetts.
Temperatures dropped to 43, 37 and 33.
30 Degrees is NOT it's comfort rating, if anybody was wondering. Had to wear two pairs of wool socks, my hiking pants atop a base layer of poly, base layer of poly for upper body with long sleeved day shirt and fleece vest. Still shivered, and I like the cold.
Going to return it to REI. I guess a comfortable sub-2lbs 30* bag for less than $200 doesn't really exist.
skinewmexico
10-13-2009, 10:51
The bags I've gotten from LaFuma were always optimistically rated, but the price was so good, and weight so low, I usually didn't care. I just de-rate them by 10-15 degrees. Did you have a pad? Maybe the cold was coming from below? And I bet you could add a UL bivy to it, and get it to 30.
Yes, I had a pad. Big Agnes Insulated pad on one night, 1" CCF another night. On night 3, the coldest, I fashioned two garbage bags together with leukotape as a bivy. Most of the cold felt as though it came from the top, though I was not compressing the down.
Cabin Fever
10-13-2009, 12:08
I scored a Lafuma down 10 degree bag for $45 on eBay last year and it is perfect for Spring and Fall - light, packs small and. I am very happy with my bag.
mister krabs
10-13-2009, 12:17
Comfort rating for the warmnlite 800 is 5 degrees c. That's 40F. 0 is the "limit" rating. You can find the EU EN13537 ratings for Lafuma bags on most european retailer web sites by searching for the model followed by "sac de couchage"
IMO, the ratings they market them in the US are misleading at best. My lafuma 950 pro says 15 on it, but it's really good to 30. But it is a 30 degree @ 2lb2oz, well made, and was 70% off, so I am happy.
brooklynkayak
10-13-2009, 12:34
Going to return it to REI. I guess a comfortable sub-2lbs 30* bag for less than $200 doesn't really exist.
You could also keep it as a summer bag or layer it with another light down bag for colder nights.
I've got a summer bag, I need the money to get a decent Fall/Spring bag.
Jester2000
10-13-2009, 13:50
IMO, the ratings they market them in the US are misleading at best. My lafuma 950 pro says 15 on it, but it's really good to 30. But it is a 30 degree @ 2lb2oz, well made, and was 70% off, so I am happy.
I used a LaFuma Pro 950 rated at 15 degrees on my PCT hike last year, and I found it to be accurate. Worked in cold desert nights at the beginning and wet, chilly Washington nights at the end.
But I do sleep pretty warm, so there's that.
I had a LaFuma 40 degree synthetic as my summer bag on this years thru. It always felt kinda weird- like sleeping in a lace blanket if that makes any sense.
After 6 weeks the zipper baffle stitching shredded apart. Still wondering if it was a fluke. LaFuma customer service was excellent and sent me a new bag hassle free.
Jim Adams
10-14-2009, 02:31
I have a North Face Kilo, 2lbs, 2 oz, 32* and I love it. I've had it for 12 years and it is accurately rated and if I remember correctly $149.
geek
send it back, good call. Scrimp and save, buy really nice bag, nearly a lifetime purchase if you buy WM, MB, FF, Marmot, and couple other brands. High quality bag also = less insulating clothes needed, greater margin of temp "error" if it gets colder than expected. Just one of the few places in your kit that big money = well spent, and it sucks to be cold.
A campmor 20dF bag weighs 2#4 and cost $130
Prolite has the montbell SS UL #3 (30dF) on sale for $225, weighs 1#7oz.
I would go for the MB #2 or #3. I know they have solid ratings.
That said the #2 has a neck collar and would be a better choice, mostly just because fo that. More expensive and heavier though.
Pacific Tortuga
10-14-2009, 09:52
I let a friend of mine use my La Fuma summer bag 45 degree this year on his Vermont Green Trail hike. The average temp on the trail in July was 55 degrees. Said he had a good time, sent my bag back with a Green Trail Brewery shirt as a thank you.
I then heard conditions were not of the norm this year, kind of cool and wet. I think he froze. Have not heard from him much, .................pissed ?
Long story to say maybe the rating was off, sorry.
XCskiNYC
10-14-2009, 23:50
How was the bag besides being cold?
Did any feathers stick through (on their newer "II" models they claim this doesn't happen but the new models use a mix of "down-to-feathers 90/10" as do the older models)?
Was it comfortable for your sleeping style?
REI has the Warm n Light 1000G II on sale now for $155.
http://www.rei.com/outlet/product/796787
Another bag in this general price range is the Marmot Sawtooth (heavier at 2#14 versus the Warm n Light 1000G II which is 2#7; also the shoulder measurement on the Warm n Light 1000G II is 162 cm versus 158 for the Sawtooth) now on sale at REI for $156:
http://www.rei.com/product/760257
That is a good price for the Marmot bag. Not the lightest, but quality, no doubt. While the Lafuma is lighter, I would question their specs. They go out of their way to say 90% down, 10% feathers, but not how much weight of insulation, Why? Nearly all down bag makers tell you exactly the fill weight. Not Lafuma. I think you know why.
Jester2000
10-15-2009, 10:05
That is a good price for the Marmot bag. Not the lightest, but quality, no doubt. While the Lafuma is lighter, I would question their specs. They go out of their way to say 90% down, 10% feathers, but not how much weight of insulation, Why? Nearly all down bag makers tell you exactly the fill weight. Not Lafuma. I think you know why.
Hmmm. Well, the fill weight is right there in the name -- 1000g. You're probably thinking instead about fill power. I think it's just as interesting that other companies rarely tell you the fill ratio, as there's a pretty significant difference between a 90/10 bag and an 80/20 bag. It seems to me this is an extra piece of information that LaFuma provides that American companies don't.
The answer to the big conspiracy theory: european bag companies all list fill ratio as an important indicator of quality, while American companies tend not to. I think you know why.
mister krabs
10-24-2009, 12:19
Hmmm. Well, the fill weight is right there in the name -- 1000g. You're probably thinking instead about fill power. I think it's just as interesting that other companies rarely tell you the fill ratio, as there's a pretty significant difference between a 90/10 bag and an 80/20 bag. It seems to me this is an extra piece of information that LaFuma provides that American companies don't.
The answer to the big conspiracy theory: european bag companies all list fill ratio as an important indicator of quality, while American companies tend not to. I think you know why.
I think the 1000g is the total weight. fill weight of the 800+ down in my 950 pro is 19.4 oz total weight is 950g. It's on the tag along with the 95/5 feather ratio. The marmot pinnacle has 22 oz of down, probably making it closer to a 15 degree bag.