Men's Aequilibrium Lite GTX Jacket vs Men's Hooded Rain Jacket: which is safer?
La Sportiva Men's Aequilibrium Lite GTX Jacket is our pick, better on PFAS and on the overall hazard picture.
Our pick
La Sportiva
Men's Aequilibrium Lite GTX Jacket
PFAS grade
Bad 20/100
Overall grade
Bad 6/100
Verdict
Skip
Hazard flags
⚑ 2
Material
GORE-TEX (Teflon-family coating membrane)
Confidence
50%
PossibleAntimony in polyester
ReportedMicrofiber shedding and textile degradation
Nautica
Men's Hooded Rain Jacket
PFAS grade
Bad 20/100
Overall grade
Bad 0/100
Verdict
Skip
Hazard flags
⚑ 4
Material
polyester with waterproof coating
Confidence
35%
PossibleFormaldehyde resins (finish treatment)
PossibleAzo dyes and reactive dyes
ReportedTeflon-family coating degradation
Where these two actually differ
- We flag Antimony in polyester and Microfiber shedding and textile degradation on the La Sportiva and not on the Nautica.
- We flag Formaldehyde resins (finish treatment), Azo dyes and reactive dyes, Fluoropolymer coating degradation and Formaldehyde volatilization (heat exposure) on the Nautica and not on the La Sportiva.
- The La Sportiva is GORE-TEX (fluoropolymer membrane) where the Nautica is polyester with waterproof 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, 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