Firelight 550

The Firelight 550 is a high quality, lightweight down sleeping bag that is ideal for use in temperatures down to -10°C. Please refer to the detailed information on temperature ratings below and click here for help on choosing a bag.

Manufactured wholly in Poland, the Firelight 550 is filled with the famed Polish white Goose down that is 100% ethically recovered (read more here). 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 550 has a full length zip that lies on the top of the bag. The zip is protected by a double baffle. There is a full neck collar that can be adjusted to close completely around the neck to provide a complete seal.

The Firelight 550 comes in three sizes and is supplied with a compact stuff sack.

Price: 
£749 / €839
Weight: 
880g
Fill Weight: 
550g
Pack Size: 
11 litres (32 x 20 cm Ø)
Colour: 
Fire red / Sunset red

EN13537 Temperature Ratings

Comfort limit: 
-3°C
Lower limit: 
-8°C

Click image above for more views

Fill

Fill weight: 550 g (size M)
Fill power: 900 EU (970 US) white Polish Goose down

The most important part of a sleeping bag specification as the combination of fill weight and fill power (FP) is what provides the sleeping bag's ability to insulate.

550 g of 900 FP down will fill the same volume as 615 g of 800 FP down or 700 g of 700 FP down.

Construction

Baffles: Slant box wall on top, box wall on bottom
Hood:  Adjustable cowl
Neck:  Full adjustable baffle
Zip:  Full length #5 YKK
Zip baffle: Double

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. The Firelight 550 has sufficient down fill to warrant more sophisticated features such as a full-length side baffle, double zip baffles and an insulated neck baffle.

Fabrics

Shell:  29 g/m² 15 denier nylon (Pertex Quantum)
Lining:  29 g/m² 15 denier nylon (Pertex Quantum)

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.

Bags:

Stuff sack: 25 g
Storage bag: 75 g
 

Comfort rating: -3°C
Lower limit:  -9°C

The Firelight 550 is an excellent all-round bag for those who are adventurous, travelling to colder places or trekking at higher altitudes. It is warm enough for summer alpine climbing up to 5000 metres. Its versatility is similar to that of the lighter Firelight 450 model, but more for those who want to err on the side of always being warm rather than risk the chance of the occasional cold night. Please click here for our end-use chart.

In 2005 the European Standard EN 13537 became the official standard for the labelling of sleeping bags in the European Community. The standard is not mandatory.

Although there are four different measurements, the two most useful (and in our experience reasonably accurate) ones are:

EN13537 Comfort rating  Temperature at which a standard adult female can have a comfortable night’s sleep.
EN13537 Lower limit   The lowest temperature at which a standard adult male is deemed able to have a comfortable night’s sleep.

More about the temperature ratings can be read here.

The Firelight 550 is available in three sizes. All come with a left zip only.

  Height Fill weight Total weight Zip length Internal width Internal length
Short

< 170 cm

< 5'7"

520 g

18.2 oz

790 g

27.9 oz

135 cm

53 in

80 cm

32 in

175 cm

69 in

Medium

170  - 183 cm

5'7" - 6'

550 g

19.3 oz

830 g

29.3 oz

150 cm

59 in

80 cm

32 in

190 cm

75 in

Long

180 - 200 cm

6' - 6'6"

605 g

21.2 oz

900 g

31.7 oz

175 cm

69 in

80 cm

32 in

215 cm

84 in

The total weight does not include the stuff sack or storage bag.