Men's Alpine Action II Jacket vs Women's Untracked Jacket: which is safer?
Patagonia Women's Untracked Jacket is our pick: better on PFAS and on the overall hazard picture.
Columbia
Men's Alpine Action II Jacket
PFAS grade
Bad 20/100
Overall grade
Bad 0/100
Verdict
Skip
Hazard flags
⚑ 4
Material
nylon/polyester with water-repellent coating (water-repellent coating) finish
Confidence
45%
PossibleFormaldehyde resins in fabric finishes
PossibleAntimony in polyester
ReportedMicroplastic shedding
Our pick
Patagonia
Women's Untracked Jacket
PFAS grade
Poor 35/100
Overall grade
Bad 17/100
Verdict
Skip
Hazard flags
⚑ 3
Material
recycled polyester with water-repellent coating treatment
Confidence
42%
PossiblePFAS in water-repellent coating finish
ReportedMicroplastics shedding from polyester
PossibleCoating degradation and leaching
Where these two actually differ
- We flag Formaldehyde resins in fabric finishes, Antimony in polyester, Microplastic shedding and DWR coating degradation and chemical leaching on the Columbia and not on the Patagonia.
- We flag PFAS in DWR finish, Microplastics shedding from polyester and Coating degradation and leaching on the Patagonia and not on the Columbia.
- The Columbia is nylon/polyester with durable water repellent (DWR) finish where the Patagonia is recycled polyester with DWR treatment, which is most of the difference in these two grades.
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