MonkeyfingeR Gelada
Reviewed by Chris Rhoads
July 19, 2012

Introduction

MonkeyfingeR first hit the scene a little over a year ago with their Evil Yo. The Evil Yo was just about as crazy looking as a yo-yo could get while still actually resembling a yo-yo. The shape was completely alien and the colorways were so loud I am pretty sure the International Space Station could spot it from orbit. In short, I loved it. Whenever someone would ask me about it I would tell them it was like a British bulldog, so darn ugly that you just could not help but fall for it. It helped that the Evil Yo played amazingly well. Stepping forward a year and now we have the latest from MonkeyfingeR, the Gelada. The Gelada, named for a large and robust monkey, eschews some of the more out there design practices in exchange for a more traditional look. Whether this will change the perception of the company in the eyes of the community remains to be seen. Lets take a look at the Gelada and see what it has to offer.

Specs

• Diameter: 57 mm
• Width: 44.35 mm
• Gap: 4.25 mm
• Weight: 63.7 grams
• Bearing: Center Trac C-Sized Bearing
• Response: Monkey Snot Silicon

Construction

The profile of the Gelada is a throwback to the sweeping curves of the classic butterfly shape. There are no crazy steps or cuts, just a smooth, continuous curve from the outer rim to the response gap. Even though it is a classic butterfly shape, MonkeyfingeR engineered the curve so that there is no wall in the gap and the catch zone mimics the traits of a V-Shaped yo-yo, leaving it wide open and easy to hit. The cup of the Gelada retains the crazy styling that MonkeyfingeR implemented on their first release. The walls and floor are made up of a set of scalloped cuts leading towards the central hub. The cuts serve two purposes; the first cut gives a deep IGR while the second places a stabilizing weight ring half way between the rim and the hub. The hub itself is not your normal spike or dome, instead it starts as a spike but the tip then turns in on itself. One area where they fully embraced the full MonkeyfingeR crazy is in the finish. The outside of the yo-yo has been blasted with a fine media, giving a smooth finish that grinds in even the stickiest of humid weather. While that is not crazy, the way they etched the MonkeyfingeR logo is. Instead of using traditional laser etching they went for a ghosted logo that left it shiny and smooth on the outer wall. The Gelada logo is tattooed on the outer wall as well and looks strikingly similar to the “Barrel Full Of Monkeys” monkey. The colorway of this particular yo-yo is called Curious George and is a brown acid wash base with copious amounts of yellow splash laid over top. While spinning, the yo-yo gives off a mustardy yellowish gold hue. Over all the design, while quite different from the Evil Yo, still retains enough “out of the box” cues to make it eminently qualified to reside in the MonkeyfingeR stable of products. Personally I love the feel of it in the hand, there is just nothing quite as comfortable as the classic butterfly shape when it comes to holding it as well as catching it during play.

Weight

Even though the Gelada is just shy of hitting the 64 gram mark it makes itself at home playing at both a slower more relaxed clip or while moving as fast as the player is capable of pushing it. No matter which way you lean, the Gelada is quite stable thanks to that stabilizing weight ring in the cup.

Response and Bearing

The response in the Gelada is MonkeyfingeR’s own SNOT brand silicone. If you have read my ILOVEYOYO reviews you know that I have complained about not being able to get their silicone by itself. Well I think I have finally found a worthy substitute. This gives the same feel of ILYY SILYYcone and comes in a wide array of colors to boot.

The bearing in the Gelada is a Center Trac bearing. As I have stated before, these trick bearings are not needed. Give me a good, inexpensive 10-Ball over whatever flavor of the week, super fantastic string centering bearing is hot at the moment. I will say that of all the specialty bearings out there the Center Trac is probably the least bothersome. It mimics a flat bearing but after a few wraps the string will still bunch in the center. Again I will say that this is my own opinion on bearings please feel free to disagree with it. Also, this is by no means a deal breaker when it comes to picking up a Gelada.

Playability

As I said above, this yo-yo does not have a preferred speed. Instead, it lets the user set the pace. This is a welcome change considering that lighter yo-yos tend to play best when flying around on the string, which does not always work with my slower style of play. I found the Gelada to be well-rounded player that can handle pretty much any trick you can think of. Where it really shines is grind tricks. The finish is perfect for long spinning grinds allowing plenty of time to get the yo-yo in place for whatever trick you would like to pull off, my personal favorite is the palm grind to ninja vanish. One thing I did want to touch on is the bead blast itself. The first release of the Evil Yo had a little bit of a reputation for eating strings. I am happy to say that the Gelada has completely overcome this issue. I have had the Gelada for quite some time and have yet to have to change the string due to string chewing.

Final Thoughts

The Gelada is a great all around player that I would highly recommend to anyone looking for a new throw. While the Evil Yo may have gotten the community to notice MonkeyfingeR with it’s crazy design and colorways, I have a feeling that the Gelada is going to be the yo-yo that MonkeyfingeR is known for. The smooth, stable play and crazy looking colorways are sure to please many players out there.