Men's Made in USA Cycling Jacket vs Women's Dirt Roamer Storm Jacket: which is safer?

Patagonia Women's Dirt Roamer Storm Jacket is our pick, better on PFAS and on the overall hazard picture.

New Balance Men's Made in USA Cycling Jacket

New Balance

Men's Made in USA Cycling Jacket

PFAS grade

Bad 20/100

Overall grade

Bad 0/100

Verdict

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Hazard flags

⚑ 5

Material

polyester with water-repellent finish (water-repellent coating treatment unspecified)

Confidence

45%

LikelyPFAS in water-repellent coating (fluorinated water repellent)

PossibleFormaldehyde in polyester finish or dyes

PossibleAzo dyes in color fastness

Our pick

Patagonia Women's Dirt Roamer Storm Jacket

Patagonia

Women's Dirt Roamer Storm Jacket

PFAS grade

Poor 45/100

Overall grade

Bad 17/100

Verdict

Skip

Hazard flags

⚑ 4

Material

polyester shell with water-repellent coating finish

Confidence

72%

PossibleAzo dyes and color fastness

PossibleAntimony in polyester fiber

Reportedwater-repellent coating degradation and re-treatment chemicals

Where these two actually differ

  • We flag PFAS in DWR coating (fluorinated water repellent), Formaldehyde in polyester finish or dyes, Azo dyes in color fastness and Microfiber shedding during washing on the New Balance and not on the Patagonia.
  • We flag Azo dyes and color fastness, Antimony in polyester fiber, DWR coating degradation and re-treatment chemicals and Unverified DWR chemistry on the Patagonia and not on the New Balance.
  • The New Balance is polyester with water-repellent finish (DWR treatment unspecified) where the Patagonia is polyester shell with DWR finish, which is most of the difference in these two grades.
  • The gap is 25 points, wide enough that this is not a close call, and the Patagonia is the one to buy.
  • We are less certain about the New Balance 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 cycling rain jackets, see the full ranking