Women's Audrey Showerproof Jacket vs Men's Aequilibrium Lite GTX Jacket: which is safer?
Barbour Women's Audrey Showerproof Jacket is our pick: better on PFAS and on the overall hazard picture.
Our pick
Barbour
Women's Audrey Showerproof Jacket
PFAS grade
Overall grade
Verdict
Hazard flags
Material
Confidence
Possiblewater-repellent coating durability and particulate shedding
PossibleVolatile organic compounds (VOCs) from coating application
PossibleAntimony in synthetic blend components
La Sportiva
Men's Aequilibrium Lite GTX Jacket
PFAS grade
Overall grade
Verdict
Hazard flags
Material
Confidence
PossibleAntimony in polyester
ReportedMicrofiber shedding and textile degradation
Where these two actually differ
- We flag DWR coating durability and particulate shedding, Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from coating application and Antimony in synthetic blend components on the Barbour and not on the La Sportiva.
- We flag Antimony in polyester and Microfiber shedding and textile degradation on the La Sportiva and not on the Barbour.
- The Barbour is Cotton blend with DWR water-resistant coating where the La Sportiva is GORE-TEX (fluoropolymer membrane), which is most of the difference in these two grades.
- These two are level, close enough that price and fit should decide it rather than our grade.
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 jackets: see the full ranking