Men's Aequilibrium Lite GTX Jacket vs Men's Antora 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

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

The North Face Men's Antora Jacket

The North Face

Men's Antora Jacket

PFAS grade

Bad 20/100

Overall grade

Bad 0/100

Verdict

Skip

Hazard flags

⚑ 2

Material

Polyester shell with water-repellent coating (water-repellent coating) treatment

Confidence

45%

Likelywater-repellent coating (water-repellent coating) coating chemistry

PossibleCoating degradation and microplastic shedding

Where these two actually differ

  • We flag Antimony in polyester and Microfiber shedding and textile degradation on the La Sportiva and not on the The North Face.
  • We flag DWR (durable water-repellent) coating chemistry and Coating degradation and microplastic shedding on the The North Face and not on the La Sportiva.
  • The La Sportiva is GORE-TEX (fluoropolymer membrane) where the The North Face is Polyester shell with DWR (durable water-repellent) treatment, 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 →

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