Men's Incendo 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 Incendo Pants

Arc'teryx

Men's Incendo Pants

PFAS grade

Bad 20/100

Overall grade

Bad 16/100

Verdict

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Hazard flags

⚑ 1

Material

Nylon blend with water-repellent coating treatment (water-repellent finish)

Confidence

50%

Possiblewater-repellent coating treatment chemistry (undisclosed, presumed PFAS or fluorine-based alternative)

Our pick

Patagonia Women's Torrentshell 3L Pants

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 treatment chemistry (undisclosed, presumed PFAS or fluorine-based alternative) on the Arc'teryx and not on the Patagonia.
  • The Arc'teryx is Nylon blend with DWR treatment (water-repellent 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.

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