Joby GorillaPod Original Review

The GorillaPod is a neat little tripod for your point and shoot digital cameras. It is very small and light, and will amaze everyone that sees it. It sure amazed everyone that saw me using it on my recent trip.

I just found some competition for the Joby GorillaPod - which are almost identical in how it functions. Check them out:

I was able to borrow my friend's GorillaPods on a recent trip. He'd shown me them before, but I never really got to play with them outside and really put them to good use. That changed on my recent vacation.

Everyone would stare when they saw me bending the legs of the GorillaPod and mounting my little Canon PowerShot SD450 onto a rail, or chair. Setting the timer, running to my spot, and taking self portraits. Everyone was amazed at the little tripod. Many people said that it was the "Greatest invention ever!". Honestly, it is a great invention, and I'm definately going to get one for myself.

The Joby GorillaPod Original retails for about $25, but for some reason Black's in Canada was recently selling them for $10! (Edit: it was for a different tripod, which I will review later). The GorillaPod comes with the bendable tripod, plus a quick release mount with 1/4 inch screw, so you can quickly slide your camera on and off of the tripod. The quick-release mount is also very thin, so you don't ever have to remove it off the camera. The mount can be easily removed and tightened with a coin. The GorillaPod also has a lock so you don't accidently press the button and release your camera. The GorillaPod Original now comes in six colors - the original grey, yellow, red, green, pink and blue.

This tripod weighs a mere 45.3g or 1.6 oz and is 6" long. It's really light. It's made out of plastic and rubber. The rubber around each "ball" and the feet allows for better grip when wrapping it around rails or even trees.

I used the tripod for a week, and my friend has had it for a few years. The balls haven't loosened a bit. They are still very stiff, so they can hold its position and stay wrapped around rails and branches. Remember though, this is for compact digital cameras. It's max weight load is 275g or 9.7 oz. Anymore weight, and the swivelling head will start to bend.

What's also great about the GorillaPod Original is that there is an extended bit on the top of the tripod so you can take both portrait and landscape shots (vertical and horizontal). You also don't have to wrap this around anything, and you can use it like a regular old tripod. You can bend the legs to make the camera sit lower also.

The only problem I had with this GorillaPod is that it does take a while to completely straighten out the legs, because adjusting one section or ball may bend another portion of the leg. Luckily you can adjust the angle of the head portion so that your pictures will always be straight.

Pros

Allows you to easily take self portraits, and not have to bug other people to take pictures for you.
Light weight
Comes with quick-release mount so you can quickly remove it from the tripod.
You can wrap this around most railings, chairs, trees, tables.
Comes in different colors
Very good product quality. The joints are still stiff and flexible after a few years.
Grippy rings and feet
Bendable head to fine-tune the straightness of your picture.