7 adventurers tell us why they swear by Sugru

Blood. Sweat. Tears.

We all know the ingredients behind success in athletics and extreme sports. Right?

Wrong! These days, that list is missing something... Sugru Mouldable Glue :)

Adventurers and sporting champions from many different fields have been in touch with us to share stories of how Sugru is helping them push their limits and get the best out of their high performance kit.


1. Dennis van Hoek the ice climber: "with Sugru it's more comfortable and possible to hold on longer"

Dennis is in his 8th season competing with the best ice climbers across the world. He used Sugru to improve his ice axes in the run up to the 2013 Ice Climbing World Cup, where he won Gold in 10 seconds flat (!) He's now ranked no. 6 in the world...

He says "with Sugru it's more comfortable and possible to hold on longer. It’s a great improvement."


2. Kristin Hostetter, gear editor of Backpacker magazine: "I love this stuff!"


Kristin and her colleagues at Backpacker magazine rigorously field-tested Sugru all year, using it to patch kit and remodel the missing handle of this camping kettle. After many trips out into the wilds of Colorado, the team decided to give Sugru the highest accolade possible: the Backpacker Editor's Choice Award. Needless to say, we're thrilled!


3. Jim the Arctic explorer: "Sugru helped me grasp my ski poles"

Jim trekked to the North Pole and used Sugru to bulk up the handles of poles he spent all day gripping. The sub-zero temperatures were no match for Sugru!

"The Sugru helped because the ski pole handles were fairly thin and shapeless and so it helped me grasp them, especially as I was wearing big mittens."


4. James Davis the Olympic fencer: "I'm able to control the blade a lot more"


In 2012 Team GB fencer James Davis debuted a unique high performance foil grip, the Leon Paul Evolution handle, at the London 2012 Olympics.

His world-stage tournament was a huge moment for everyone involved - here at Sugru, we'd spent 2 years working with one of the world's leading fencing equipment brands, Leon Paul, to develop a handle that could be personalised. The result is a grip that can be evolved to fit the specific needs of each individual fencer; James says of his new handle: "I'm able to control the blade a lot more. It's given me the grip that I really need."


5. Jeff Watson the freediver: "Sugru should allow me to dive at least another 10-15m deeper than before!"

Jeff is a freediver, which means he holds his breath and dives deep into lakes and oceans. He dives lakes and oceans all over the world, both competitively and recreationally. He modified his diving mask with Sugru to allow him to dive even deeper:

"If I can minimize the air from my lungs that is needed to equalize the mask as I dive deeper, I will have more air to equalize my ears and allow me to reach greater depths. I took an already great freediving mask with as little air space as possible and customized it by filling in all of the extra void space that I did not need to reduce its volume, while still allowing me sufficient vision to maintain safety.

The properties of Sugru that made it ideal: I could mould it to my face shape; it bonded with the existing silicone skirt of the mask; it has a tremendous temperature range (I can be diving anywhere from in Quebec under ice to the Caribbean). With Sugru, I don't have to worry about the performance characteristics across a broad temperature range!"


6. Lauren Richardson the aerobatic pilot: "This is the first time I've achieved vibration free footage"

Lauren is an engineer by profession, but in her spare time, she's a Go-Pro sponsored aerobatic pilot who won the 2012 season 'best female pilot' award. Badass or what?! She explains how she solved the tricky problem of high altitude camera-shake...

"Anything on the aeroplane has to be very securely attached and designed to fit. But one of the cameras I fitted to the plane is on the strut between the two wings (on the outside of the aircraft) and continues to cause problems for me. I tried 5 mounting options before Sugru, and was still suffering with vibration issues at particular airflow altitudes"

She adapted her GoPro by building a Sugru fin onto the back of it, making it more aerodynamic and reducing vibration. After a successful trial she says

"This is the first time I've achieved vibration free footage - and believe me this is a big deal - the Sugru mod works a treat!!"

Watch her (non-shaky!) daredevil antics here:



7. Joanne the long-distance kayaker: "Sugru allowed me to compete in the race"


"I have no fingers on my left hand. But I signed up for an insane race anyway. The Race to the Midnight Sun. An Ultra Marathon canoe race that is 715km long. The Yukon River Quest.

Having no fingers can be a challenge at the best of times, but I haven't let it stop me before, I wasn't about to now. I was trying to find a way to modify my paddle, so I could hold it, and paddle on the left side. I couldn't go in the race only able to paddle on one side, THAT would be madness. Then a friend told me about Sugru. With only a couple weeks before the race, I ordered some.

I used several colors, and though it may not be the prettiest adaptation I could have made, it certainly allowed me to compete in the race, and place 2nd in my class! My team and I completed the race in 54 hours and 3 minutes. No sleep, just paddling. I wouldn't have been able to finish without my modified paddle. Sugru made that possible. The race was one of the best, greatest and certainly hardest things I have done.

Thanks again for Sugru. I've told everyone I know about it."