PFAS-Free Since '23

In 2023, we eliminated per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) from everything we make. This was the final step in a rolling change, requiring years of material research, testing, and sourcing work. But we're the rain experts. We ask you to trust our gear on your commute, your training rides, and your mountain weekends. 

So we work hard to ensure we use the best materials, from the membranes inside our jackets to the coatings on top. Weather shouldn't be a limiting factor in getting outside, and manufacturing good gear shouldn't harm our planet.

How Waterproof Gear Actually Works

Most people treat a waterproof jacket as a single thing. It isn't. There are two separate systems inside every piece of waterproof-breathable outerwear, and both have historically relied on PFAS chemistry. Knowing a bit about both is the key to understanding what we changed and why.

The Waterproof Membrane: Your Main Line of Defense

The membrane is the inner layer of a waterproof-breathable jacket. Billions of tiny pores make it work, each small enough to block a liquid water droplet, each large enough to let sweat vapor escape. That balance is what separates a great rain jacket from a plastic bag. If you have a 2 or 2.5-layer material, the waterproof layer is probably exposed on the inner face of the jacket or pants. In premium 3-layer materials, it’s sandwiched between inner and outer layers for improved durability.

Waterproof membrane technology traces back to 1969, when Bob Gore discovered that rapidly stretching a fluoropolymer called PTFE created a microporous membrane. Gore-Tex went to market in 1976. For four decades after that, most waterproof membranes were built on similar fluoropolymers, all of which fall under the PFAS umbrella.

The DWR Coating: Keeping the Surface Alive

The second system is the DWR (Durable Water Repellent) coating, a chemical treatment applied to the outer face fabric. When your DWR is working, rain beads up and rolls off before it can saturate the shell. You've probably seen this in action on brand-new raingear, and it can be restored when it wears down.

DWR isn't what keeps you dry inside. The membrane handles that. But a saturated face fabric loses breathability and adds weight, undermining the performance of the membrane beneath. A functioning DWR coating keeps the whole system working as it should.

From the 1970s through the early 2020s, most outdoor DWR coatings relied on PFAS chemistry. First came long-chain fluorocarbons known as C8. Then came the slightly safer shorter-chain C6. The carbon-fluorine bond at the core of PFAS is one of the strongest in nature, making it exceptionally effective at repelling water. It's also what makes PFAS nearly indestructible in the environment. PFAS don't break down. They accumulate in soil, in waterways, and in living tissue, turning up in remote wilderness, in wildlife, and in humans worldwide. The outdoor industry was contributing to that contamination with the very gear it built for those places.

When it became clear that PFAS accumulation harmed the environment, we chose better membranes and coatings. It took years to find better solutions, but by 2023 we’d eliminated PFAS from our entire line.