Chuck Taylor All Star Cx Exp2 4.5 Men A07199C vs Men's Speed Strike 2: which is safer?
Converse Chuck Taylor All Star Cx Exp2 4.5 Men A07199C is our pick: better on PFAS and on the overall hazard picture.
Our pick
Converse
Chuck Taylor All Star Cx Exp2 4.5 Men A07199C
PFAS grade
Overall grade
Verdict
Hazard flags
Material
Confidence
PossibleAzo dyes in canvas
PossibleFormaldehyde resin finishing on canvas
Merrell
Men's Speed Strike 2
PFAS grade
Overall grade
Verdict
Hazard flags
Material
Confidence
PossibleFormaldehyde-based textile resins
PossibleAzo dyes and heavy-metal dye mordants
ReportedWaterproof coating degradation and reapplication toxicity
Where these two actually differ
- We flag Azo dyes in canvas and Formaldehyde resin finishing on canvas on the Converse and not on the Merrell.
- We flag Formaldehyde-based textile resins, Azo dyes and heavy-metal dye mordants, Waterproof coating degradation and reapplication toxicity and Microplastic shedding from synthetic upper and coating on the Merrell and not on the Converse.
- The Converse is Canvas upper, rubber sole where the Merrell is Textile upper with waterproof coating, unspecified, which is most of the difference in these two grades.
- The gap is 45 points, wide enough that this is not a close call, and the Converse is the one to buy.
- We are less certain about the Merrell grade, at 35% 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 →
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