Men's R2 TechFace Hoody vs Men's Alta Vista Jacket: which is safer?
Patagonia Men's R2 TechFace Hoody is our pick: better on PFAS and on the overall hazard picture.
Our pick
Patagonia
Men's R2 TechFace Hoody
PFAS grade
Good 65/100
Overall grade
analysis pending
Verdict
pending
Hazard flags
none flagged
Material
Polyester shell with water-repellent coating treatment
Confidence
78%
The North Face
Men's Alta Vista Jacket
PFAS grade
Bad 20/100
Overall grade
Bad 6/100
Verdict
Skip
Hazard flags
⚑ 2
Material
Nylon with water-repellent coating water-repellent finish
Confidence
45%
ReportedPFAS in water-repellent coating finish (covered separately in PFAS grade)
Possiblewater-repellent coating degradation and microplastic shedding
Where these two actually differ
- We flag PFAS in DWR finish (covered separately in PFAS grade) and DWR coating degradation and microplastic shedding on the The North Face and not on the Patagonia.
- The Patagonia is Polyester shell with DWR treatment where the The North Face is Nylon with DWR water-repellent finish, 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 The North Face grade, at 45% confidence against 78%, 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 softshell jackets: see the full ranking