Reactor 3/2mm Back Zip Full Wetsuit vs Men's Yulex Regulator Lite Front-Zip Full Wetsuit: which is safer?
Patagonia Men's Yulex Regulator Lite Front-Zip Full Wetsuit is our pick: better on PFAS and on the overall hazard picture.
O'Neill
Reactor 3/2mm Back Zip Full Wetsuit
PFAS grade
Bad 20/100
Overall grade
Bad 4/100
Verdict
Skip
Hazard flags
⚑ 4
Material
Neoprene wetsuit with water-repellent coating (water-repellent coating) treatment
Confidence
35%
PossibleFluorinated water-repellent coating (likely PFAS)
PossibleNeoprene manufacturing byproducts and off-gassing
PossibleSkin irritation from finish treatments or latex sensitivity
Our pick
Patagonia
Men's Yulex Regulator Lite Front-Zip Full Wetsuit
PFAS grade
Good 65/100
Overall grade
analysis pending
Verdict
pending
Hazard flags
none flagged
Material
Yulex (synthetic rubber, PTMEG-based), neoprene-free
Confidence
72%
Where these two actually differ
- We flag Fluorinated DWR coating (likely PFAS), Neoprene manufacturing byproducts and off-gassing, Skin irritation from finish treatments or latex sensitivity and Microplastic shedding during wear and laundering on the O'Neill and not on the Patagonia.
- The O'Neill is Neoprene wetsuit with durable water-repellent (DWR) treatment where the Patagonia is Yulex (synthetic rubber, PTMEG-based), neoprene-free, which is most of the difference in these two grades.
- The gap is 45 points, wide enough that this is not a close call, and the Patagonia is the one to buy.
- We are less certain about the O'Neill grade, at 35% confidence against 72%, because it discloses less.
Both products run through the same public rubric: 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 wetsuits: see the full ranking