Heater Gauntlet vs Better Sweater Gloves Patagonia Women's: which is safer?
Better Sweater Gloves Patagonia Women's is the clear pick. Hestra Heater Gauntlet carries a failing PFAS grade, and we never recommend buying a failing product.
Hestra
Heater Gauntlet
PFAS grade
Bad 20/100
Overall grade
Bad 16/100
Verdict
Skip
Hazard flags
⚑ 1
Material
Polyamide shell with water-repellent coating-treated exterior; insulated lining
Confidence
42%
PossiblePFAS in water-repellent coating (disclosed separately)
Our pick
Patagonia
Better Sweater Gloves Patagonia Women's
PFAS grade
Excellent 90/100
Overall grade
Excellent 82/100
Verdict
Buy
Hazard flags
⚑ 2
Material
Polyester fleece (recycled)
Confidence
72%
PossibleAzo dyes and heavy metal pigments
PossibleMicroplastic shedding during wash
Where these two actually differ
- We flag PFAS in DWR coating (disclosed separately) on the Hestra and not on the Patagonia.
- We flag Azo dyes and heavy metal pigments and Microplastic shedding during wash on the Patagonia and not on the Hestra.
- The Hestra is Polyamide shell with DWR-treated exterior; insulated lining where the Patagonia is Polyester fleece (recycled), which is most of the difference in these two grades.
- The gap is 70 points, wide enough that this is not a close call, and the Patagonia is the one to buy.
- We are less certain about the Hestra grade, at 42% 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 →
More waterproof winter gloves: see the full ranking