Lafuma?

A few years ago, lots of bag manufacturers were "fibbers" about the temperature ratings.

Then European Standard EN 13537 became mandatory for bags sold in Europe, and Lafuma adopted this standard. About 2008 is when this happened.

On the stuff sacks it gives the temperature ratings and notice that they are in compliance with EN 13537. Such bags will have less "fibbing" in the temperature ratings.

So, can you tell what year your bag in manufactured? It could be on the bag label sewn to the foot of the bag, or the EN rating could be on the stuff sack.

You could also try to find the model number for the bag. It would help a lot more than the temperature rating without even knowing if it is down filled or synthetic filled.

More information gives you the shot at better advice.

I have the lafuma 600x and i use it for summer. Rated down to 45 but I dont like to take it out when it will be below 55. synthetic bag and extreme line, so that might have something to do with it. you would have to be pretty extreme to sleep in this thing at 45 degrees. That said, my favorite bag for the price. great features and it was less than 50 at rei outlet. glow zipper pulls and zip pocket are a plus on my bag…and it only weighs 20oz!

The bag is a 2009 – the 950 Pro (15F).
Thanks!

have you looked at the stuff sac…this is right on with my assesments:

The literature says it is rated to 45 degrees, but the stuffsack has a printed temp chart: down to 54' is rated 'Comfortable'; from 54' to 45' is 'Transition' (I'm guessing "no longer comfortable, but not in danger) and from 45' to 23' is 'Risk' (interpret that as you choose).

I have a Lafuma Warm n Light 600, a lightweight down summer bag that weighs 22 oz and packs to the size of a 1 L water bottle. Cost me all of $60. I've no complaints, especially at that price point! I've only had this one Lafuma, but it's held up to its EN rating. It's a bit small, but it's worked well as a summer quilt.

Lafuma uses EN ratings as well as their own single-number temp rating. Look at the EN ratings instead of their own value. Lafuma (and a lot of other companies) get a bad rap for their temp ratings, largely due to ignorance of the EN ratings and what they mean. Get a bag with an EN comfort rating of 40 degrees and you're likely going to be cold at 40 degrees wearing nothing but boxer shorts…

I just don't see Lafuma as a high performance manufacturer. Their best attribute is price, and you get what you pay for. I tried one of the 600 series poly fill bags and didn't care for it at all.

Good quality UL insulation, be it clothing or sleeping bags, is the priciest item on my gear list and my wish list too— I feel your pain!

No kidding … I just checked and the comfort rating is 30F for that bag – not what I need. If you guys have a 15F $~200-250 that you can recommend/have for sale, let me know!
Best,
Sven

I don't think anyone could disagree with that! But there's a place for lower quality gear, at least for those of us who don't want to lay out more than we should. So far, I've not had any complaints on my one bag- light ripstop nylon, small, light, and functional. Used it 20 nights so far and there isn't any down poking out yet. *shrug*

I've a nicer Marmot bag for colder weather, but at this point in my life I'd glad I didn't have to lay out $200+ for a lightweight down quilt or bag.

Good luck finding the right bag! At that price point, it shouldn't be too hard to find what you're looking for. I have one of these:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Marmot-Aspen-15-Degree-Down-Adventurer-Sleeping-Bag-NEW-/130418638002?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0

There is a nice Rab bag on Mountain Project right now.

http://mountainproject.com/v/for_sale__wanted/fs_mounds_of_gear_jackets_packs_clothing_sleeping_bag_shoes_etc_/106834775

Barring crazy sales or private sale, I suggest the Mountain Hardwear Ultralamina 15 for a bargain bag. For $200 you can't get a lighter bag, so go synthetic and get the advantages that come with instead of buying a cheap down bag with the same weight.

I have the North Face Orion, which is a 20 degree bag and only 2lb 6oz on my scale. But, it's not quite as warm as I hoped, probably more like a 30 degree bag unless I play games with extra clothing (which has been working well).

This is the nearly best time of the year to begin to find bargains on summer weight bags.

Last year, I bought a Western Mountaineering Badger 15F bag for $295.

I decided I wasn't going to go sleep in the snow, but was going to hike in the summer so I sold it and got a good summer bag instead. I bought that in October, but the real reason for the sale was the poor economy, and the dealer simply wanted to get his money out of the sale so he could put it into sellable gear. We aren't a "premium backpacking" part of the Great American Corn Fields.

I would pick a couple of good bags that you would want to buy if there were bargains of 20% off. Then I would make a good Google search for each of those. I would use the Google Shopping option as well as a regular search. Then, every couple of days, I would run the searches.

In the mean time, just looking carefully for the options of a bag in my price range at regular price. With luck, you'll hit a bargain before you get tired of bargain shopping. At which time, you'll pick out your regular priced bag.

If you want a good deal do lots of research. Earlier this year I was tracking bags on Ebay , BPL, all over. Sierra Designs bags stood out as having been very solid a short time ago but sketchy lately, and as you noted pretty short. A tip off was their appearance at Sierra Trading Post and other sites pretty much dumping the current stock at just OK prices.Later ones are much more skimpy. But I went a few years back and looked for a long in a woman's size that didn't fit somebody who was 6 foot and it was unused. I'm 5' 8" and I scored a 0-15 degree bag with 800 fill for $200 on eBay, sole bidder. The loft is impressive and the fit is fine. So exploit those fit issues or other pieces of information and shop the lesser known.

I was also looking at the Sierra Design Bags. The Nitro did get a very good review here on BPL about six months ago, so I am not sure why they would all of a sudden be "bad" (!?)

Check out that MountainProject link. It's a very nice bag, brand new, for $210. 2lb (maybe an oz or two more), nice Pertex shell, 850+ down fill – very nearly the same as a Western Mountaineering Ultralite. I think that's exactly the kind of screaming deal you were looking for, right?

It says 23 degrees, but Rab is quite conservative, it should be handily better than most <$200 15 degree bags.

No association, but I nearly bought it even though I don't really need it because it's such a good deal. I love Rab down goods – my Neutrino Endurance belay jacket has been incredible, on par with the best-made gear I've ever used/borrowed, like Cilogear packs and WM bags.

I have Lafuma X600 and my wife has the Warm n' Light (WnL). Based on our experience, both bags live up to the rating. We noticed that the down fill inside the WnL can be packed on one side ater we took the bag out of its stuff sack. So what we did before we sleep is check the down by holding the bag against the light and make sure it spread out evenly. One time I used the WnL when the temperature dropped to the mid 30's and I feel fine. But I'm a warm sleeper, inside a tent and wore thin baselayer to sleep.

As for the X600, I just treat it as summer bag. I bought it because of the price point and weight. Just like the previous posters, we are happy with our Lafuma bags.

I was also looking for a good 15F bag and ended up buying the Nitro 15. I am a pretty small guy so I was searching for a bag with a length of 6' or shorter, shoulder girth around 59", got a good review from BPL, and has a good price. I haven't test it yet so I cannot comment on its quality and performance.

Since the Nitro 15 comes with half length zip and strecthy (flex) thread, it may be hard to get in and out of the bag. Thus it can be considered as a 'bad' bag for some.

If you think this bag is for you, Moontrail and Campsaver have this bag for around $250 right now:

http://www.moontrail.com/sierra-designs-nitro15-reg.php

http://www.campsaver.com/itemmatrix.asp?GroupCode=sid0147&MatrixType=1

I've got a 40deg bag from them, it's a bit optomistic but I sleep warm and was using wool longjohns that night and survived without a hitch.

If I could do it over again I'd go another way for the weight, but for the dollar the price was right. I'd still go another way in the end.