Reviews > Sleep Gear > Sleeping Bags > Valandre La Fayette > Steve Nelson > Initial Report

Initial Report: Valandré La Fayette Sleeping Bag
December 1, 2005

Reviewer's Information

Name: Steve Nelson
Age: 45
Gender: Male
Height: 5' 9" (1.75 m)
Weight: 158 lb (72 kg)
Torso size: 20" (51 cm)
Hip circumference: 32" (81 cm)
Chest circumference: 39" (99 cm)
Shoe size: 11 US (44-45 EUR)
Email address: nazdarovye at y..oo dot com
City, State, Country: San Francisco, CA, U.S.A.

Backpacking Background:

As an interface design and usability consultant by trade, I'm always excited by analyzing and improving designs and processes; backpacking provides a fertile and fun arena for that. I have been backpacking since I was a kid growing up in upstate New York: we backpacked and canoe-camped in all seasons, throughout the Adirondacks and nearby areas, ranging as far as La Verendrye Wildlife Reserve, Quebec. As an adult, I've backpacked and hiked extensively in California, but also have taken trips throughout the West, from New Mexico to British Columbia, and return often to the Adirondacks.

In the past year I made the transition to lightweight and ultralight backpacking. I like moving fast, and lightening the load facilitates that. I also enjoy urban strolls, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, kayaking, and aviation in addition to hiking and backpacking, so my gear gets exposed to a wide variety of uses and conditions.

Product information

Overview

The Valandré La Fayette is a down sleeping bag rated at 5 F (-15 C). It utilizes complex construction (85 parts including pre-cut circular baffles), and innovative features (such as the "Marie Antoinette" draft collar—more on that below), that the manufacturer claims increase the comfort range of the bag beyond others of similar weight and fill. The bag is filled with 550 gm (19.4 oz) of 95% 800-fill goose down, and uses high-tech DWR fabrics (until recently Pertex; now a new fabric from Japan).

Valandré provides a warrantee against manufacturing defects "for the life of the item", and also provides a reasonably-priced cleaning service, plus repairs to damaged items for a fee. Further details are provided on their web site, which also has reviews, historical information on the company, and details on their full line of products; it's a nicely-designed and usable site.

My background for this test: I own several down sleeping bags, including one rated similarly to, and weighing about the same as, the La Fayette. I camp in all seasons, but particularly love snow camping, and often experience weather into the teens F (approx. -10 C) and occasionally well below that during our winter trips. I generally use my sleeping bags with a liner (mainly to keep them clean, but also to provide a bit of extra warmth) and will be testing the La Fayette with silk and Thermalite liners. I also use ground pads of various sorts, and will document each trip's choice along with the temperature and other factors when I take the La Fayette out into the field. I am a warm sleeper and generally can push bags past their stated ratings.

Initial Impressions

The bag was shipped from France in its mesh storage sack, with a compression sack stored inside. Attached to the sack was a minimal tag indicating the fabric and fill of the bag (note—we received early production models that did not include the tags normally used at retail; we also received a 2005 model for comparison, and it had manufacturer tags providing more information on the manufacturer and the down fill).

Upon receipt, I laid the bag out for approximately a week to let it fully loft and recover from shipping before I made my measurements.

Fabric

For 2006, Valandré is using new fabrics for its bags, replacing the Pertex used most recently. The bag I was shipped had minimal information with it, but from Valandré's site I was able to learn that it is covered in a new fabric from Asahi-Kasei in Japan. The shell fabric is a very smooth- and light-feeling ripstop synthetic, colored persimmon orange and slightly translucent. The interior fabric is a smooth black synthetic with a very fine, barely discernable weave or ripstop pattern.

I splashed water on the external shell of the new bag, and it beaded up and rolled off with no visible absorption. I then rubbed some of it into the fabric, and while I couldn't create a visible wet spot, the area where I rubbed the water in still felt a bit damp after I toweled off the bag. I would say that the shell is definitely water resistant, but would expect that it would not stand up to a downpour or extended time in a pool of water. I will test this in the field.

We were provided the 2005 bags for comparison—these featured a red Pertex shell with yellow trim, which felt heavier and stiffer to me than the new fabric, and which also generated static electricity, which the new fabric didn't in my brief tests. My overall impression of the new shell fabric was positive: I like the look, feel and water-resistance of it. I also noted that I saw absolutely no feathers poking through it anywhere on the bag. The interior fabric feels fine to the touch, and did have a loose feather in it. I'll say more about both fabrics after I've had the bag out in the field.

Fill and Loft

The La Fayette is filled with 550 gm (19.4 oz) of 95%, 800+ fill power goose down, sourced in the Pyrenees near Valandré's headquarters. Valandré appears to take great pride in the quality of their down, and their site includes additional information on how it's sourced and processed. The down feels very smooth to my touch—I only felt a few small quills when kneading various sections of the bag.

The down appears to be asymmetrically distributed from top to bottom of the bag, with more down and loft at the head and feet. The lower torso area appears to have the least fill and loft. After letting the bag rest flat in the open for a week, I measured the thickness of the bag at the head, torso, and feet, finding approximately 8" (20 cm), 4.5" (11 cm), and 10.5" (27 cm), respectively.

It appears to me that down can be shifted side-to-side in the baffles (allowing distribution of down to the front or back of the bag). Also, Valandré says online that the bag has a "high-density knee protection system" that "keeps the down in place no matter how you twist and turn during the night." Examining the bag, I'd say this appears to be in the form of narrower baffles over the knee area.

Zippered Opening

The La Fayette features a zippered entry that runs down the first third of the center of the top of the bag. I measured the zipper at approximately 25" (64 cm) long. Inside, the zippered opening is lined with hook and loop fastener strips, which mate to seal up the opening and help sustain a certain amount of loft—definitely a different approach than the draft tubes I'm used to. The zipper also has a hook and loop fastener pull tab on it—this can be separated and removed if desired. Here's a picture showing the lower opening, the lining, and the pull tab:

I found the opening a bit tighter than I'd expected when entering the bag, but still perfectly usable. I had to fiddle a bit with the hook and loop fastener to get it to line up properly and seal off the opening inside the zipper, and I do wonder how much harder this will be when I'm in winter clothing (especially fluffy hand and torso layers that might snag on the hooks). Obviously, this bag can't be unzipped and used as a quilt, nor fully vented in warm weather; I'm also curious to see how the short opening affects the ability to lay out the bag to dry when in the field.

Hood

While the hood was cinched down for the above photo, it actually is quite capacious when the cords are fully released—plenty of room for my fat head and a winter hat. The cinch cords (one on each side) feature dual barrel locks by one's chin at the top of the zipper; these can be snapped together to facilitate pulling the cords at the same time, or left apart and the cords pulled separately. It's necessary to unsnap the locks to get into and out of the bag.

The hood has a clever, differential construction that appears to promote a great deal of loft, even when the hood was cinched around my head.

Collar

The "Marie Antoinette styled" collar is certainly unique. One review I read online described it as resembling a "pilgrim's stock" and that's perhaps the best description I've seen so far. It is styled to completely encircle the neck with a barrier of down 1-2" (3-5 cm) thick, sealing at the front of the neck with a strip of hook and loop fastener, just like the inside of the main zipper. The collar has a dual, splitting barrel lock system just like the hood; snapping the two parts together allows adjustment of both cinch cords (one on each side) at once.

I tried this out at home and was immediately struck by just how good a seal it created. As I moved, I felt essentially none of the bellows effect I usually feel in down bags with more traditional collars. I'm betting it will provide superior warmth in the field, and look forward to testing it out. The only downside I've found so far is that the hook and loop fastener is a bit stiff and its edges chafe my chin, and that having my arms trapped below my neck will take some getting used to (I'm a side sleeper and like to pull one arm up under the side of my face).

I tried getting a picture that portrays the full collar but just couldn't do it justice, due both to geometry and the black fabric of the interior of the bag. I'll endeavor to get a good picture of it in the field, ideally with me in it. That said, here's a shot showing the collar seal and two cinch cords (one from the hood and one from the collar; each actually has two cords with female barrel lock components to match the male ones shown here):

Waist Cinch Cord

The La Fayette also features dual cinch cords inside the bag at the waist, meant to allow adjustments to the snugness of the bag, as well as to hold the lower portion of the bag secure when "wearing it" while sitting up. These cords and a barrel lock are located just below the bottom of the zipper opening, as shown here:

General Fit

I tried out the La Fayette at home wearing street clothing. As noted, I found the entry a bit tighter to get into than expected, but once in the bag, found it fairly roomy and comfortable. I had plenty of room for my feet, and really the only area that felt constricted was my middle torso, since cinching up the collar meant that my hands had to stay further down in the bag than I'm accustomed to. The waist cord and other controls were easy to adjust from within the bag, and overall it felt like a decent fit. I do want, however, to try it out with a full complement of winter clothing in my Field Tests.

Storage and Packing

The La Fayette comes with a mesh storage bag and a black nylon compression sack. It also has two webbing hang loops sewn into the foot of the bag.

Here's the La Fayette in the storage sack, which is a little smaller than I'm used to seeing for long-term storage:

And here it is in its compression sack, cinched down tight; the whole bundle is about 8 x 12" (20 x 30 cm):

Field Test Plan

I plan to use the La Fayette in a full range of California winter conditions, in various shelters, and in various locations from seashore to mountainside. I'll use it on its own, as well as with a silk liner, Thermolite liner, and vapor barrier liner. I'll also test it with varying layers of clothing, from just a base layer to a full set of insulating layers, hat, gloves and booties. I'm very curious to see how well the bag's rating stands up (even as a "warm" sleeper), and whether the bag's unique construction, cut and collar provide warmth or comfort benefits.

In addition to the above-noted points, I intend to examine:

• How comfortable is the La Fayette in terms of roominess and usability? Can I wear additional layers in it?
• Is its temperature rating reasonable for me?
• Is the down distribution good? Does the complex construction (85 parts!) facilitate retention of loft, or allow redistribution of filling to adjust comfort and coverage?
• How effective is the new shell against precipitation, condensation, frost and other sources of moisture? How breathable is it? How well does it hold up against abrasion and wear? How about the interior fabric?
• How easily does the La Fayette dry out in the field?
• Is the one-third-zipper an effective way to increase warmth, a limitation to venting in warmer weather, or both?
• How effective is the "Marie Antoinette styled," "three-dimensional" collar in keeping out drafts and increasing warmth?
• How effective and comfortable are the waist and hood cinch straps?
• Does it come with a stuff sack and/or storage sack? How useful are these? How well does it stuff down for packing, and how well does it regain loft when unstuffed?
• How comfortable is the bag for "wearing" in camp while cooking and doing other chores?
• How durable are all of the bag's components, including zipper and cords?
• How well does it retain its loft and other features over time and use?

I'll record weather, terrain, clothing and shelter information for each trip, and will get pictures of the bag in use.

Summary

The La Fayette is a high-quality sleeping bag with unusual features, and I look forward to testing its effectiveness against California's winter cold and wet.

Things I like:

• Gorgeous construction and details
• Good loft, with baffling and complex construction to maximize its retention
• Draft collar seems (at least at first glance at home) to be particularly effective at sealing off the interior of the bag
• Intriguing fabric and color

Things I don't like:

• Hook and loop fastener strips inside collar and hood are a bit stiff and rub against my skin
• Draft collar makes it difficult to reach my arms up into the hood (to sleep on an arm, for example)

Thanks to BackpackGearTest and Valandré for giving me the opportunity to participate in this test.

Reviews > Sleep Gear > Sleeping Bags > Valandre La Fayette > Steve Nelson > Initial Report