Lightwave Firelight 450 Down Sleeping Bag

Lightwave's Firelight sleeping bags offer amazing warmth for weight, there's no mystery though, they use the very best quality ethically sourced down in a box wall constructed bag.

Lightwave says:

The Firelight 450 is a high quality, lightweight down sleeping bag that is ideal for use in temperatures down to just below 0°C. Manufactured wholly in Poland, the Firelight 450 is filled with the famed Polish white Goose down that is 100% ethically recovered. The down has a fill-power of 900 cubic inches as measured by the EU norm (and is equivalent to 970 cubic inches using the US standard).

The Firelight 450 has a full length zip that lies on the top of the bag. The zip is protected by a single baffle. There is a neck collar that can be adjusted to close completely around the neck to provide a complete seal.

The Firelight 450 comes in three sizes and is supplied with a compact stuff sack and a large storage bag.

Typical use: The Firelight 450 is an excellent all-round bag. It has enough down fill to be useful for lightweight summer alpine climbing or mountain trekking at altitudes of up to 4000 metres. It is also sufficiently warm for use in spring/autumn, and possibly winter, camping at lower altitudes. We believe this bag to be the most versatile of the range.

Both the quality of construction and the quality of down in Lightwave's Firelight range of sleeping bags ensure that these bags achieve superior ratings when tested to the European EN 13537 standard.

Aside from this obvious quality we like some of the design features, for example the full length zip is on the top of the bag rather than the side - this seems easier to use somehow - when testing a Firelight 450 I could find the zipper much more quickly, and because it starts at the top of the bag I was less likely to turn over leaving it underneath me.

Another curious point was the lack of zip snag, every bag I have ever used snagged at some point, but the Firelight never did. I could quite work this out - but I note the zip is a smaller gauge than usual - which could be it.

Buy these bags and you are buying quality.

- Reviewed by Ultralight Outdoor Gear

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Help and advice:

Construction

The construction describes how the down is held in place (otherwise all the down would fall to the bottom) and what features are incorporated to maximise heat retention or, conversely, regulate your temperature. A bag as light as the Firelight 450 does not need to have sophisticated features as there simply isn't enough down for it to be expected to perform in very cold temperatures (although it is certainly better than having nothing).

• Baffles: Slant box wall on top, box wall on bottom
• Hood: Adjustable cowl
• Neck: Fully adjustable baffle
• Zip: Full length #3 YKK
• Zip baffle: Single

Fabrics

Lightweight fabrics allow the down to loft and reduce the weight of the bag. Although there are lighter-weight versions of the Pertex Quantum fabric we are using, they offer a negligible saving in overall weight and, having a lower tear strength, are easier to damage.

• Shell: 30 g/m² 15 denier nylon RS
• Lining: 30 g/m² 15 denier nylon RS
• Foot area: Pertex Endurance 29 g/m² 10 denier nylon RS

• Short bag weighs: 688g
• Regular bag weighs: 720g
• Long bag weighs: 808g
• Left hand zip only
• Packed size: 36cm x 19cm diameter
• EN13537 Comfort rating: 0°C; Comfort Limit rating: -5°C
• Fill weight: 450g (Regular)
• Fill power: 900 EU (970 US) white Polish Goose down

EN13537:2012 - Look for the 2012 label for the most accurate rating; In 2012 the EN system of testing sleeping bags was re-vamped - the new testing procedures are more rigorous, producing more consistent results than previous tests. 2012 results tend to rate sleeping bags as poorer performing by a few degrees when compared to previous test results, even though the sleeping bag may be identical, or even better.

This means that comparison between an EN13537:2012 rated bag and an EN13537:2002 rated bag are particularly difficult - our advice is to use the new EN13537:2012 rating to compare with other bags who have also been rated in this way.