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
PossiblePFAS in water-repellent coating
ReportedNylon degradation and microfiber shedding
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 PFAS in DWR coating and Nylon degradation and microfiber shedding 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.
- 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: 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