Women's Packable Rainfoil Jacket vs Men's Apex Bionic 3 Softshell Jacket: which is safer?
Eddie Bauer Women's Packable Rainfoil Jacket is our pick: better on PFAS and on the overall hazard picture.
Our pick
Eddie Bauer
Women's Packable Rainfoil Jacket
PFAS grade
Overall grade
Verdict
Hazard flags
Material
Confidence
PossiblePFAS in water-repellent coating (fluorinated compounds)
Reportedwater-repellent coating degradation and shedding
PossibleNylon microfiber shedding from abrasion
The North Face
Men's Apex Bionic 3 Softshell Jacket
PFAS grade
Overall grade
Verdict
Hazard flags
Material
Confidence
LikelyPFAS in water-repellent coating
PossibleMicrofiber shedding from polyester
PossibleCoating degradation and leaching
Where these two actually differ
- We flag PFAS in DWR coating (fluorinated compounds), DWR coating degradation and shedding and Nylon microfiber shedding from abrasion on the Eddie Bauer and not on the The North Face.
- We flag PFAS in DWR coating, Microfiber shedding from polyester and Coating degradation and leaching on the The North Face and not on the Eddie Bauer.
- The Eddie Bauer is Nylon with DWR water-resistant coating where the The North Face is Polyester softshell with DWR (durable water-repellent) coating, 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