Men's Gamma Pants vs Women's Torrentshell 3L Pants: which is safer?
Patagonia Women's Torrentshell 3L Pants is our pick: better on PFAS and on the overall hazard picture.
Arc'teryx
Men's Gamma Pants
PFAS grade
Bad 20/100
Overall grade
Bad 12/100
Verdict
Skip
Hazard flags
⚑ 2
Material
Nylon with water-repellent coating finish
Confidence
45%
Possiblewater-repellent coating degradation and potential chemical leaching
PossibleMicrofiber shedding from nylon weave
Our pick
Patagonia
Women's Torrentshell 3L Pants
PFAS grade
Poor 45/100
Overall grade
analysis pending
Verdict
pending
Hazard flags
none flagged
Material
Nylon with water-repellent coating water-repellent coating finish
Confidence
72%
Where these two actually differ
- We flag DWR coating degradation and potential chemical leaching and Microfiber shedding from nylon weave on the Arc'teryx and not on the Patagonia.
- The Arc'teryx is Nylon with DWR finish where the Patagonia is Nylon with DWR durable water repellent finish, which is most of the difference in these two grades.
- The gap is 25 points, wide enough that this is not a close call, and the Patagonia is the one to buy.
- We are less certain about the Arc'teryx 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 rain pants: see the full ranking