Men's Midweight Waterproof Rainstorm Jacket vs Men's Aequilibrium Lite GTX Jacket: which is safer?
La Sportiva Men's Aequilibrium Lite GTX Jacket is our pick, better on PFAS and on the overall hazard picture.
Carhartt
Men's Midweight Waterproof Rainstorm Jacket
PFAS grade
Bad 20/100
Overall grade
Bad 0/100
Verdict
Skip
Hazard flags
⚑ 2
Material
cotton/polyester blend with waterproof coating
Confidence
45%
LikelyPFAS in water-repellent coating (water-repellent coating) coating
PossibleCoating degradation and microplastic shedding
Our pick
La Sportiva
Men's Aequilibrium Lite GTX Jacket
PFAS grade
Bad 20/100
Overall grade
Bad 6/100
Verdict
Skip
Hazard flags
⚑ 2
Material
GORE-TEX (Teflon-family coating membrane)
Confidence
50%
PossibleAntimony in polyester
ReportedMicrofiber shedding and textile degradation
Where these two actually differ
- We flag PFAS in durable water repellent (DWR) coating and Coating degradation and microplastic shedding on the Carhartt 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 Carhartt.
- The Carhartt is cotton/polyester blend with waterproof 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, which covers 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