Monkeyfinger Lesula
Reviewed by Chris Rhoads
March 30, 2013

Introduction

Monkeyfinger is back again with a new design. They seem to be following a cycle where they release a bonkers design followed by a more traditional. Their first release was the Evil-Yo, a completely insane design that played quite well. Up next there was the Gelada a classically shaped butterfly yo-yo that received high praise from this site. The pendulum has once again swung back to insanity and now we have the Lesula. I won’t even wait until the Construction section to say it, this yo-yo… sorry, return top, is jaw-dropping nuts in looks. On their website, Monkeyfinger’s mission states “We pride ourselves on design, craftsmanship, ingenuity, evolution and making customer minded products.” Time to see if this new design is too far out there, or another great push in newer directions from this “out of the box minded” company.

Specs

• Diameter: 53mm
• Width: 43mm
• Gap: 4.25mm
• Weight: 64.5 grams
• Bearing: 10-Ball Bearing
• Response: Monkey Snot

Construction

I have already said it the Lesula is bonkers. The profile is the most extreme of H-Shapes. It is basically all catch zone. This was by no means a happy little accident. The guys at Monkeyfinger wanted to make a yo-yo that was super easy to hit during play and in turn make learning new tricks a breeze; more on that in the play section. The catch zone is basically a continuous crescent from rim tip to rim tip. The gap wall is nonexistent and so are the rims. Most yo-yos have wide, rounded or flat rims that give it heft and strong spin times. The Lesula’s rims come to a thin, sharp point. Turning to the cup we can see just how the Lesula solves the rim weight issue. Instead of putting it on the outer rims, the rim weight was shifted to the inside of the cup. The floor and cup walls are completely flat, basically a cylinder cut into the face. While this design choice maximizes weight placement it also completely omits an IGR. The yo-yo’s finish is soft to the touch thanks to the blast finish. I do have to address one negative with the Lesula; it is a bit uncomfortable during play. The rims hit quite hard on a bind. Since they are so sharp, they focus all the force into a relatively small area of contact on the hand. On meaty palms like mine it wasn’t horrible and holding it in the hand doesn’t feel bad. I did hit myself in the knuckles with it once and it did bring out a few of the more foul of my four letter friends. My overall impression of the design is positive, even with the above-mentioned discomfort. I love how the Lesula looks menacing in shape while staying light hearted and fun thanks to the colorway.

Weight

This is a light and zippy yo-yo. At 64.5 grams it flies from string to string. Do not let the outward appearance of the rims fool you, there is a lot of heft there, giving the Lesula extended spin times. Shifting the rim weight to the inside of the cup also gives the Lesula extra stability during play.

Response and Bearing

Monkey Snot silicone is some of the best yo-yo specific silicone I have used. I have installed it in other yo-yos and have been impressed with the performance and longevity that it gives. You will want to recess it slightly if you install it yourself because it does start of quite grippy, but once it has broken in it is completely unresponsive.

The bearing is a 10-Ball bearing. I am not sure if it is the same 10-Ball that One Drop uses but it is smooth and quite during play. That is pretty much all I ask for from a bearing. Even if it isn’t sourced from the same company that sells One Drop their bearings it is a ribbon cage bearing with a quality feel during use.

Playability

Yeah, I took a knuckle-duster from this on the first throw that had me swearing like a sailor that stubbed his toe. After walking away from it to regain my composure I gave the Lesula another shot. During play I was rewarded with a smooth feel on the string and a yo-yo that is almost impossible to miss while learning new tricks. That expansive catch zone is just so easy to hit. Basically any intermediate or above player is going to have to try to miss it. A good test to this was to do some Brent Stoles, a trick that vexes me due to my inability to hit it repeatedly. With the Lesula I can honestly say I hit it more time than not, with my best being 5 in a row on a single throw. Eli Hops were also a breeze to hit, almost as if the Lesula was made for the trick. Grinds are a mixed bag but not in a way that you would expect. Thumb grinds, an area you would expect this Lesula to be week in thanks to the lack of an IGR, were actually pretty easy to pull off. The cups are deep, allowing it to easily latch on. Finger grinds are also easy to perform, with the Lesula spinning buttery smooth on your index finger. It is palm grinds where the Lesula underperforms… at least on my fat hands. The rims would hit my hand and catch on a palm ridge. The ridge would act like a train track and end up shooting the yo-yo off. Using a glove negated this issue allowing the yoyo to spin freely on my palm.

Final Thoughts

At the end of the day, is this yo-yo too insane to be an everyday player? Heck no. It can cause discomfort but at the same time it is a fun yo-yo that had me smiling the entire week I spent with it during my play test. It also does exactly what the guys at Monkeyfinger designed it to do; make it easy to learn tricks and refine the tricks you already know. I don’t know if it is necessarily the yo-yo you would want to use during a competition but it is definitely the yo-yo you would want to start off with when learning new moves while training for said competition. Maybe Monkeyfinger needs to rethink their pattern of insane design followed by a saner option, I am enjoying sheer lunacy of this latest release.