Exum Guide Glove Men's vs Better Sweater Gloves Patagonia Women's: which is safer?
Better Sweater Gloves Patagonia Women's is the clear pick. Marmot Exum Guide Glove Men's carries a failing PFAS grade, and we never recommend buying a failing product.
Marmot
Exum Guide Glove Men's
PFAS grade
Overall grade
Verdict
Hazard flags
Material
Confidence
Likelywater-repellent coating (water-repellent coating) coating, fluorine-based or unknown chemistry
PossibleSynthetic leather degradation and leaching
PossibleMicrofiber shedding from synthetic textile
Our pick
Patagonia
Better Sweater Gloves Patagonia Women's
PFAS grade
Overall grade
Verdict
Hazard flags
Material
Confidence
PossibleAzo dyes and heavy metal pigments
PossibleMicroplastic shedding during wash
Where these two actually differ
- We flag DWR (durable water-repellent) coating, fluorine-based or unknown chemistry, Synthetic leather degradation and leaching and Microfiber shedding from synthetic textile on the Marmot 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 Marmot.
- The Marmot is synthetic leather/textile blend with DWR treatment 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 Marmot grade, at 45% confidence against 72%, because it discloses less.
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 waterproof winter gloves, see the full ranking