Women's Rainy Pass Water-Repellent Hooded 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.
Eddie Bauer
Women's Rainy Pass Water-Repellent Hooded Jacket
PFAS grade
Overall grade
Verdict
Hazard flags
Material
Confidence
Possiblewater-repellent coating (water-repellent coating) finish - likely PFAS-based
ReportedMicrofiber shedding during wash
PossibleCoating degradation and unknown leachables from water-repellent coating reapplication
Our pick
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 Durable water-repellent (DWR) finish - likely PFAS-based, Microfiber shedding during wash and Coating degradation and unknown leachables from DWR reapplication on the Eddie Bauer 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 Eddie Bauer.
- The Eddie Bauer is polyester with DWR water-repellent finish 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