Jackets & Coats Allbirds Full Zip Wool Blend Puffer Jacket Women Size Small vs Backland Midlayer M: which is safer?

Allbirds Jackets & Coats Allbirds Full Zip Wool Blend Puffer Jacket Women Size Small is our pick: better on PFAS and on the overall hazard picture.

Our pick

Allbirds Jackets & Coats Allbirds Full Zip Wool Blend Puffer Jacket Women Size Small

Allbirds

Jackets & Coats Allbirds Full Zip Wool Blend Puffer Jacket Women Size Small

PFAS grade

Good 65/100

Overall grade

Good 53/100

Verdict

Skip

Hazard flags

⚑ 3

Material

Wool blend with synthetic fill (likely polyester)

Confidence

72%

Possiblewater-repellent coating (water-repellent coating) coating composition

PossibleSynthetic fill microplastic shedding

PossibleCoating degradation and leachables from synthetic lining

Atomic Backland Midlayer M

Atomic

Backland Midlayer M

PFAS grade

Bad 20/100

Overall grade

Bad 0/100

Verdict

Skip

Hazard flags

⚑ 2

Material

Merino wool blend with water-repellent coating treatment

Confidence

45%

LikelyFluorinated water-repellent coating (PFAS environment)

PossibleSynthetic blend fiber degradation and microfiber shedding

Where these two actually differ

  • We flag Durable Water Repellent (DWR) coating composition, Synthetic fill microplastic shedding and Coating degradation and leachables from synthetic lining on the Allbirds and not on the Atomic.
  • We flag Fluorinated DWR (PFAS environment) and Synthetic blend fiber degradation and microfiber shedding on the Atomic and not on the Allbirds.
  • The Allbirds is Wool blend with synthetic fill (likely polyester) where the Atomic is Merino wool blend with DWR treatment, which is most of the difference in these two grades.
  • The gap is 45 points, wide enough that this is not a close call, and the Allbirds is the one to buy.
  • We are less certain about the Atomic grade, at 45% confidence against 72%, because it discloses less.

Both products run through the same public rubric: materials, coatings, brand disclosure, lab findings, and recalls, plus a beyond-PFAS hazard analysis. Grades are model-based estimates, not lab tests. How grades work →

More ski & snowboard jackets: see the full ranking