From:
Derek Miller <000023c7cefb8774-dmarc-request**At_Symbol_Here**LISTS.PRINCETON.EDU>
Subject:
Re: [DCHAS-L] Recommendations for Gen Chem Lab Coats
Date:
Jan 21, 2026 18:45 UTC
Reply-To:
ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**PRINCETON.EDU>
Message-ID:
<CABcTS37vwQxuLppeXd-Ac-YMyW1ivPz9+1a6c1tKCF8P2WmX9g**At_Symbol_Here**mail.gmail.com>
In-Reply-To:
<CAFCR6uaREiZ6tLs_H0YgSCxDm5zRbwDDw6=KqtVBrzwHDAP1Og**At_Symbol_Here**mail.gmail.com>
Hi David,
I've got a lot of input on this but don't count me as impartial.
The acids + fire combination is really tough to deal with if you're not getting the $300 Nomex lab coats.
- Chemical and fire resistance: You can either have good acid/base resistance with high polyester content OR safer around fires with high cotton content
- Polyester resists most acids/bases, but has poor resistance to many solvents. The most important thing, in my opinion, is that polyester will melt to your skin in the event of a fire and can trap you inside.
- Cotton will absorb and then form holes with strong acids/bases, but does not disintegrate in most solvents. It will catch fire, but it disintegrates into ash so you can easily escape.
- Flame Resistant (FR) lab coats are generally $100+, and do not have added resistance to acids. They often have open cuffed sleeves and necks which expose your skin to drips and splashes.
- After taking all of this into consideration, along with survey data from 1000+ scientists suggesting the same, we designed our lab coats in 100% cotton but made them very quick to escape with metal snaps (not plastic buttons). Texas A&M is using them for their entire undergrad chem department, and CalTech started offering them in their stock room this year, along with many other small colleges, because they are well-tailored toward gen chem.
- Cost considerations:
- There are many 80% polyester coats on Amazon for $20. They have open cuffs, wide necks, plastic buttons which are slow to undo and can melt in a fire along with the material. I would consider these death traps that give a false sense of security.
- There are poly-cotton lab coats with a little better coverage in the $30-$50 range, for students with strong cost sensitivity. These aren't ideal, but help more than they hurt.
- Ours are $65, which is at the high end for this class, but have every little detail designed for gen chem, including total wrist and neck coverage, men's/women's separate fits, and much better mobility. We have bulk discounts for groups and stockrooms.
Our philosophy for gen chem is to go with 100% cotton, but layer acid-resistant aprons and gloves on top when dealing with them in concentrated form. Remove the acid-resistant apron before going near a Bunsen Burner. And teach students how to quickly remove (<3 seconds) the lab coat whenever a drip, splash, or fire happens. It's fun to do, like Clark Kent in a phone booth.
I made a 15 minute YouTube video explaining these tradeoffs here. Amanda sent this out to the list a few months back.
There are so many students whose first time wearing a lab coat is a negative one - due to odd fit, sizing, lack of coverage...We've heard it so many times in surveys. My goal is that students love their first lab coat and it stays out of their way in learning science and eventually doing great research.
I hope that helps!
Derek Miller, Ph.D. (He/Him)
Founder, Owner
Genius Lab Gear LLC
M: +1 (919) 307-6602
Hello,
Does anyone have recommendations for lab coats for Gen Chem students? We use conc. acids and bases and use bunsen burners, so flame resistance is important.
Looking for a link I can send my students to to order.
Thanks so much for your help!
Warm regards,
David EldrEdge
Co-Owner
NALTIC Industrials, LLC
888.891.0077 Main
435.503.4972 Cell
435.767.7714 Google Voice & Text
435.654.2727 Fax
ᐧ
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