Men's Aequilibrium Lite GTX Jacket vs Men's Apex Bionic 3 Softshell 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
The North Face
Men's Apex Bionic 3 Softshell Jacket
PFAS grade
Bad 20/100
Overall grade
Bad 0/100
Verdict
Skip
Hazard flags
⚑ 3
Material
Polyester softshell with water-repellent coating (water-repellent coating) coating
Confidence
45%
LikelyPFAS in water-repellent coating
PossibleMicrofiber shedding from polyester
PossibleCoating degradation and leaching
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 PFAS in DWR coating, Microfiber shedding from polyester and Coating degradation and leaching 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 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, 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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