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Lafuma Pro 650 Down Sleeping Bag REVIEW


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Home Forums Campfire Editor’s Roundtable Lafuma Pro 650 Down Sleeping Bag REVIEW

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  • #1224164
    Benjamin Smith
    BPL Member

    @bugbomb

    Locale: South Texas

    Companion forum thread to:

    Lafuma Pro 650 Down Sleeping Bag REVIEW

    #1395731
    Mike Fuetterer
    Member

    @nokky7

    Locale: Germany

    Hi,
    Thanks for the review.
    In Europe the bag is rated Comfort C 7° Extrem C 2° in F 44,6 and 35,5°.
    Which fit the picture better.
    I had the bag in hand and the impresson is not to good.

    In Europe Lafuma is the outfitter for the mass-market and for the real sporty there is Millet, belonging to the same group.

    Mike

    #1395732
    Woubeir (from Europe)
    BPL Member

    @woubeir

    Addint to that,
    the 700 FP is measured to European standards and usually is a bit less than measured to North American standards. According to American standards, the FP of this bag is 750.

    #1395733
    Dan Healy
    Member

    @electricpanda

    Locale: Queensland

    Doesn't sound like a winner… the question though is why even bother testing a bag with less than 2in loft that claims that temp rating? Surely that claim alone smacks of yet another mass market manufacturer telling fibs… isn't this site about quality gear?!

    …On another note. I measured the Marmot Hydrogen's loft at 5in using the height at the chest + height at the knees divided by 2… I believe it is a claimed 4in so well within the claim… it is my favourite bag at the moment – so light and warm… I have taken it above the artic circle with -5Cel nights while staying toasty…

    #1395735
    Brett .
    Member

    @brett1234

    Locale: CA

    I could not find the EN13537 rating on their product page, and an internet search provides many different answers. I emailed them regarding this.

    They could have spent some money having a native English speaker check their website before publishing it; like MB did..

    "Does your Lafuma article present an anomaly or underwent some traumatisms?"

    #1395737
    Benjamin Smith
    BPL Member

    @bugbomb

    Locale: South Texas

    All,

    Great comments – I think that what you're seeing here is exactly what Will points out and criticizes in his review. You'll notice that he rated the bag "Below Average."

    We can't review everything, so why would we choose to review a bag that looks more like hype than substance? It's simple – not everyone knows to evaluate a bag based on things like loft rather than marketing claims, and reviews like this fit perfectly with Backpacking Light's commitment to education. We all like reading the reviews of the *best* (and believe me, the staff would prefer to review that stuff – we have to use this equipment, after all!). It's important that we also evaluate the gear that sounds good, but doesn't deliver.

    #1395738
    Benjamin Smith
    BPL Member

    @bugbomb

    Locale: South Texas

    BTW, Brett – here's Lafuma's product page for this bag:

    Pro 650 Down

    #1395741
    Brad Rogers
    BPL Member

    @mocs123

    Locale: Southeast Tennessee

    Doesn't look like it would be a bad value bag, just not at tempretures below 35-40* I don't know why any company would rate any bag with 8.8oz of 700 fill power down at 25*.

    #1395810
    Johnathan White
    Member

    @johnatha1

    Locale: PNW

    Bottom line: You get what you pay for.

    #1395855
    Dondo .
    BPL Member

    @dondo

    Locale: Colorado Rockies

    Will, nice balanced review, as usual. I especially like the fact that you gave it a thumbs down based on Lafuma's 25F rating but a thumbs up based on a 35F rating.

    I found this statement a little misleading, though:

    "Lafuma’s temperature rating for this bag is 25 °F/-4 °C, tested by an independent lab in compliance with European Standard EN13537. The 25 °F rating is the “Comfort” rating within that standard, which is roughly equivalent to the US sleeping bag rating system."

    It appears that Lafuma has done a good job in burying the actual results of the En 13537 test, preferring to substitute it's own suggested rating. I really doubt that this bag earned a T-Comfort rating of 25F. The temperature ratings derived from the En 13537 tests tend to be on the conservative side, if anything.

    For example, the Marmot Hydrogen mentioned above has received a T-Comfort rating of 40F and a T-Limit rating of 31F, according to the En 13537 standards.

    Also, note the response of Mike Fuetterer in this thread:

    "In Europe the bag is rated Comfort C 7° Extrem C 2° in F 44,6 and 35,5°.
    Which fit the picture better."

    #1395893
    Woubeir (from Europe)
    BPL Member

    @woubeir

    I have to agree with the previous comment.
    The 25°C is not the result of the European test. The already mentioned figures of 7°C for comfort and 2°C as a limit or much more likely in that respect. How they got the 25°F quote I don't know but perhaps it's the result of a North American test procedure.

    That the comfort rating in the EN-procedure is more or less equivalent to the ratings of NA tests, is a matter of debate. If you look to the US en European website of e.g. TNF and you compare temperature rating, you can see how much difference there can be between a EN-rating and a US-rating. E.g. a classic TNF bag like the Cat's Meow gets a comfort rating up to -4°C in the EU but -9 °C in the US.

    #1395915
    Richard Nisley
    BPL Member

    @richard295

    Locale: San Francisco Bay Area

    Most US manufacturers post their US ratings based on the ISO TR 11079 – Extreme standard. Like the EN 13537 Extreme rating, this rating defines the hypothermia survival point, not the comfort rating. The ISO TR 11079 Extreme rating averages about 12 F more conservative than the EN 13537 Extreme rating.

    #1397198
    Brett .
    Member

    @brett1234

    Locale: CA

    Lafuma says this is a 7'C (44'F) bag. So I guess the review can be considered a RECOMMEND.

    Copy of email from Lafuma attached;

    "Subject: RE: EN13537 rating of 650 Pro bag please
    Date: Thu, 2 Aug 2007 12:12:11 +0200
    From: "SAMATO" Add to Address BookAdd to Address Book Add Mobile Alert
    To:

    Hello,
    Please find below the requested information :
    WARM AND LIGHT 650 PRO ref LFC1320: CONFORT: + 7°C – TRANSITION: + 2°C – RISK: -13°C
    Best regards
    Your Customer Service

    De : Brett
    Envoyé : mercredi 18 juillet 2007 12:04
    À : CONTACT
    Objet : EN13537 rating of 650 Pro bag please
    Lafuma,
    What is the EN13537 tested tenperature rating of the 650 Pro down sleeping bag please? 'C is fine.
    Thanks.
    Brett.

    #1397530
    Carlos Bruno Yonzon
    Member

    @zrialkilla

    Good reasoning for testing it. I for one have fallen ill to such marketing claims. For a lot of consumers, the information these gear makers proclaim are "truth". Even though it may sometimes seem "too good to be true", you can't help but think that it really could be a "breakthrough product". Thanks BPL for carrying on with your commitment to educate. Too bad it came after i almost froze my bum off using an inappropriate sleeping bag.:D

    #1403656
    Lisa Koker
    Member

    @lisa2677

    Hi Everyone,

    My name is Herve Beaujean, i'am the sleeping bag product manager for the LAFUMA Group.

    Before, all thks BPL for testing our gear and thks everyone for your comments. It helps us a lot for working on new products.

    Two things :
    Warm n light 650 PRO will be rated in the USA at 30°F in summer 09 sales season. It was a mistake from us to rate it at 25°F. For your information, European standart result test is (comfort/limit comfort/extreme) 7/2/-13°C.

    Fill power is 700cuin in European standart test method. So it will be around 750+ FP in US standart.

    Hope it will clarify your point of view on this product.

    Best regards
    hervé

    PS : sorry, as everyone knows french people are not pretty good in foreign langage, like american and english people also ;-)

    #1644749
    Matthew Marasco
    Member

    @babymatty

    Locale: Western/Central PA, Adirondacks

    Just an update – I have the 2008 model, I believe. I got it off Steep and Cheap in January. This is the model:

    http://www.spadout.com/p/lafuma-pro-650-down-30/

    I have slept comfortably in this bag at around 27 degrees. I was in a double-walled tent, on a Thermarest Trail Lite, wearing synthetic long johns, and a merino long sleeve top and a wool cap. There are some thin spots, but overall I was never too chilly to sleep. My eggs were frozen to slush when I got up in the morning. If a similar deal can be found (got mine for $85), I believe that this bag is a great value. The 2010 model is out and they both look to have the exact same specs – 500g 750 fill down, weighs 1 lb 7 oz

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