Women's Dirt Roamer Storm Jacket vs Men's Apex Bionic 3 Jacket: which is safer?
Patagonia Women's Dirt Roamer Storm Jacket is our pick: better on PFAS and on the overall hazard picture.
Our pick
Patagonia
Women's Dirt Roamer Storm Jacket
PFAS grade
Overall grade
Verdict
Hazard flags
Material
Confidence
PossibleAzo dyes and color fastness
PossibleAntimony in polyester fiber
Reportedwater-repellent coating degradation and re-treatment chemicals
The North Face
Men's Apex Bionic 3 Jacket
PFAS grade
Overall grade
Verdict
Hazard flags
Material
Confidence
LikelyPFAS in water-repellent coating
PossibleAzo dyes
ReportedCoating degradation and microparticle shedding
Where these two actually differ
- 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 The North Face.
- We flag PFAS in DWR coating, Azo dyes and Coating degradation and microparticle shedding on the The North Face and not on the Patagonia.
- The Patagonia is polyester shell with DWR finish 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 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: 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