Men's Powder Town Pants vs Men's Dawnstrike GTX Pants: which is safer?
Patagonia Men's Powder Town Pants is our pick, better on PFAS and on the overall hazard picture.
Our pick
Patagonia
Men's Powder Town Pants
PFAS grade
Overall grade
Verdict
Hazard flags
Material
Confidence
Possiblewater-repellent coating chemistry (unspecified)
PossibleFormaldehyde-resin finishing agents
PossibleMicrofiber shedding from coating degradation
The North Face
Men's Dawnstrike GTX Pants
PFAS grade
Overall grade
Verdict
Hazard flags
Material
Confidence
PossibleFormaldehyde-based finish resins
ReportedGORE-TEX Teflon-family coating membrane durability and coating degradation
PossibleNylon fiber microplastic shedding
Where these two actually differ
- We flag DWR coating chemistry (unspecified), Formaldehyde-resin finishing agents and Microfiber shedding from coating degradation on the Patagonia and not on the The North Face.
- We flag Formaldehyde-based finish resins, GORE-TEX fluoropolymer membrane durability and coating degradation and Nylon fiber microplastic shedding on the The North Face and not on the Patagonia.
- The Patagonia is nylon blend with DWR water-repellent treatment where the The North Face is Nylon with GORE-TEX membrane (ePTFE laminate), 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.
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 snow pants, see the full ranking