Member Article

Globus gloves help Nick Hancock achieve Rockall Solo endurance record

Globus gloves helped Nick Hancock to complete his 45 day occupation of Rockall Solo in July 2014. The Rockall Solo Expedition, which raised funds for the Help for Heroes charity, was a marine challenge in which Nick landed on the isolated Rockall granite islet and survived alone. The rock is situated approximately 270 miles north west of Ireland in the North Atlantic.

The endurance challenge resulted in two new records, the longest occupation of Rockall in history and the longest ever solo occupation of Rockall. Nick’s occupation of Rockall lasted for 45 days. When you consider that only four people have ever spent more than a few hours on the rock this puts his achievement into perspective.

The conditions are particularly harsh so using gloves that grip ropes really well in wet and slimy conditions were required. Two types of glove were chosen; one pair (the Showa 330) featuring a crinkle latex palm and a reinforced thumb crotch was ideal for gripping and pulling on ropes and a second fully coated nitrile option (the Showa 377) provided grip and enhanced waterproof protection.

Nick Hancock explained: “I used two types of glove from Globus; the Showa 330 Re-Grip was very comfortable and great for protecting my hands whilst handling ropes under tension, with the rubber coating offering excellent grip. I was very disappointed to lose them in the barrels during stormy conditions. I also wore the Showa 377 for working on Rockall in the dirty, wet, guano covered environment. They were particularly helpful to protect my cut hands from infection. I used the gloves to undertake tasks which required much dexterity, including handling small nuts and bolts, which I could not afford to drop otherwise they would disappear into the sea.”

Steve Shale, Marketing Manager, at Globus said: “We congratulate Nick on his tremendous achievement. There are not many who can claim membership of The Rockall Club, for those intrepid explorers who have landed there. Nick has not only joined the club but also broken two records. It is great that our gloves are not only fit for purpose but that they coped really well in this endurance challenge, that is until one pair was lost to an Atlantic storm!”

Together, Globus and Showa Best have shown decades of continuous innovation and are dedicated to researching new fibres and fabrics, designing new compounds and coating science to make their gloves even more safe, helpful to the environment and comfortable for the wearer. This is of particular importance as studies have shown that those who use their hands extensively as part of their job often suffer from significant pain, fatigue and associated muscular skeletal problems as a result of how they apply grip.

www.globus.co.uk

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by VPR .