Ansell TouchNTuff 93-800 Chemical-Resistant Nitrile Gloves Review (2025): EN 374 Protection for Hazardous Chemical Handling

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Reviewed by Steven Eaton, WC Safety Editorial — 2025

The Ansell TouchNTuff 93-800 is a purpose-rated EN 374 chemical-resistant nitrile glove designed for lab chemists, hazmat technicians, and industrial workers who handle organic solvents, acids, and chemical mixtures—where standard industrial nitrile offers insufficient permeation resistance.

Why This Glove Stands Out

Published June 20, 2026 · Last updated July 27, 2026

EN 374 chemical permeation testing is the key differentiator. Unlike standard nitrile gloves, the 93-800 has been tested for breakthrough time against a panel of chemical agents and carries a Type designation validating its permeation resistance. The 12-inch extended cuff adds wrist protection against splash from above—a critical gap in standard 9.5-inch disposable gloves.

It helps to understand what that EN 374 mark actually buys you. A glove with no chemical rating is built to one job: keep your bare skin from touching liquid. The moment a solvent contacts the surface, molecules begin diffusing through the polymer film whether or not the glove looks intact. EN 374 quantifies how long that takes. The standard assigns a permeation performance level from 1 to 6 based on the breakthrough time measured for a given challenge chemical—Level 1 is at least 10 minutes, Level 6 is more than 480 minutes. A Type designation (A, B, or C) then summarizes how many of the standard's listed chemicals the glove held to at least the 30-minute threshold. The 93-800 was engineered specifically to clear that bar against the solvents and acids labs see most, which is precisely why it earns a place in chemical work that a generic blue exam glove cannot.

Performance and Fit

At 8.3 mil, this glove provides substantial physical durability alongside its chemical barrier. The thickness protects against puncture and abrasion during chemical handling tasks, while the nitrile formulation resists permeation from organic solvents, acids, bases, and many other laboratory and industrial chemicals. For tasks where you cannot switch gloves frequently, this barrier performance matters.

The aqua color is standard for Ansell TouchNTuff chemical-resistant products—providing visual identification that the correct chemical-rated glove is in use. In laboratory and chemical plant environments where multiple glove types are stored together, aqua immediately signals chemical protection class versus blue exam or black industrial gloves.

Fit is where a chemical glove either helps or hurts you. An 8.3 mil film is meaningfully thicker than the 3 to 5 mil exam gloves most technicians are used to, so the first impression is a stiffer, more substantial glove. Ansell's hand former and textured fingertips keep tactile feedback respectable for the gauge—you can still operate pipette plungers, turn valve handles, and manipulate small fittings—but you will notice the trade against a thin exam glove on truly fine work. Because permeation resistance depends on an intact, well-fitted barrier, size selection is not cosmetic: a glove that is too large bunches at the fingertips and snags, while one that is too small stretches the film thin and shortens breakthrough time. Order a sample box and confirm sizing on the people who will wear them before committing to a bulk order.

Durability and Chemical Protection

The 12-inch extended cuff addresses a real hazard gap. When working with open containers or overhead pour situations, standard 9.5-inch cuffs leave the wrist exposed. The 93-800's extended cuff protects the forearm against chemical contact and can be tucked under a lab coat or sleeve. Note: for heavy prolonged chemical immersion, reusable chemical-resistant gloves (neoprene, butyl) may be more appropriate—the 93-800 is a high-performance disposable, not a reusable chemical gauntlet.

Treat the published breakthrough time as a ceiling for a fresh, undamaged glove against a single chemical at room temperature—not a guarantee in the field. Three things shorten it in practice. Temperature: warmer chemicals permeate faster, so a solvent that gives you 30 minutes on the bench may give far less from a heated bath. Mixtures: real processes rarely involve one pure chemical, and a blend can attack the polymer differently than any single component. Mechanical stress: stretching the film over knuckles or abrading it on a rough surface thins the barrier exactly where you need it most. The disciplined approach is to set a maximum wear time below the rated breakthrough for your worst-case chemical, change gloves on that schedule regardless of how they look, and treat any visible swelling, softening, or color change as immediate grounds for replacement.

Pros and Cons

Who Should Buy This Glove

Order for laboratory chemists, quality control technicians, hazmat response teams, and chemical manufacturing workers who need validated EN 374 chemical permeation resistance in a disposable format. The extended cuff is specifically valuable for overhead pour and decanting tasks.

This glove is also a strong fit for facilities that run a mixed chemical workflow—a technician who decants solvents in the morning, handles dilute acids midday, and cleans equipment in the afternoon does not want to keep swapping between three single-purpose gloves. A broadly rated EN 374 disposable like the 93-800 lets one glove cover the whole task list, and the disposable format means contamination is thrown away rather than carried between steps. For spill-response kits, where you cannot know in advance which chemical you will meet, a Type-rated multi-chemical disposable is exactly the right thing to stock.

Who Should Skip It

Skip if your tasks are primarily mechanical (grip, puncture, abrasion) rather than chemical—the Ansell 93-256 MEGA Texture better serves automotive and heavy assembly. Skip for general exam use—the 93-800 at 8.3 mil is overspec for routine healthcare.

You should also skip it for sustained immersion. If the job involves dunking your hands into a chemical bath for long stretches—parts washing in a solvent tank, extended decontamination work—a thin disposable is the wrong tool no matter how good its rating, and a reusable neoprene or butyl gauntlet is the correct upgrade. And if your only real need is a specific regulatory citation, such as USP 800 hazardous-drug handling, choose the glove that carries that exact rating rather than relying on general EN 374 chemical resistance.

How It Compares

The Ansell 93-256 MEGA Texture is the mechanical equivalent—built for grip and abrasion rather than chemical permeation. The Kimtech Purple addresses a specific chemical subset (USP 800 hazardous drugs) at lower gauge. For sustained heavy chemical exposure beyond disposable glove capability, upgrade to reusable neoprene or butyl chemical gauntlets.

It is worth placing the 93-800 against the other EN 374 disposables in the catalog so the decision is clear. The Kimtech Polaris also carries EN 374 marking and works well for lab and food-production splash protection, but at a lighter gauge and standard cuff length—it is the choice when dexterity outranks barrier depth. The Microflex Supreno SE targets a different problem entirely: accelerator-free chemistry for workers with Type IV nitrile dermatitis, not maximum chemical breakthrough time. Against all of these, the 93-800's edge is its combination of thicker 8.3 mil film and the 12-inch cuff, which is the right pairing when splash from above and longer breakthrough time both matter. Buy on the dominant requirement of your task: chemical depth and forearm coverage point to the 93-800; tactile precision points to the lighter Polaris.

Total Cost of Ownership

At 50 gloves per box, the 93-800 has a higher per-pair cost than a 100-count general industrial nitrile, and that gap is real—but it is the wrong number to optimize in isolation. The relevant cost is cost per safely completed task. A cheap glove that breaks through halfway through the job is not cheap; it is a contamination event, a re-glove, and potentially a skin exposure. Budgeting the 93-800 specifically for the chemical-contact portion of the workflow—rather than handing it out for every task—keeps spend proportionate to risk. Many sites pair this glove with a standard inexpensive nitrile for dry, non-chemical handling and reserve the 93-800 for the moments where permeation resistance actually earns its premium. That two-tier approach controls cost without compromising protection where it counts.

Related Nitrile Gloves

• Ansell Microflex 93-256 MEGA Texture Orange (industrial grip)
• Ansell Microflex SU-690 Violet Nitrile
• Kimtech Purple Nitrile USP 800 Chemo Gloves
• Kimtech Polaris EN 374 Nitrile Exam Gloves
• Microflex Supreno SE Accelerator-Free Nitrile
• GLOVEWORKS HD Black Nitrile (8 mil mechanical)
• Venom Steel 8 Mil Orange Nitrile (heavy industrial)
• SHOWA 6110PF EBT Biodegradable Nitrile Gloves

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The Bottom Line

The TouchNTuff 93-800 is the correct choice when you need documented EN 374 chemical resistance in a disposable format with extended wrist coverage. The combination of 8.3 mil gauge, permeation testing, and 12-inch cuff addresses chemical exposure scenarios that standard disposable nitrile cannot safely cover.