Revolution vs. Gorilla Boy - The Best Bag for the Buck?

The Gorilla Boy Spider Monkey

The Spider Monkey is GB’s entry level bag, selling for $35 + $10 shipping. Like all GB products, it is made of 1000 D Cordura and ballistic nylon. I’m no fabrics expert, but I believe the ballistic nylon is what the bottom of the bag is made of, being as its the one piece of fabric that’s differently colored. Unlike the Revo Mini, the Spider Monkey’s frame is a real frame, having two rigid sides to form a sturdy box of a bag. The advantage of this is that it sits more solidly on the ground and is more difficult to tip over. The downside is that if you want to squeeze that one extra disc, the bag isn’t going to have that extra leeway.

The Spider Monkey has a zippered pocket on one side, as well as a secondary heavy duty mesh pocket. The zippered pocket is smaller than the Mini’s (~66 cu. in.), but still manages to hold all your essentials. Whereas Revo has their key clip as their standard handy accessory, GB has the mesh pockets. While a mesh pocket may not seem like that big of a deal, I’ve found the pocket to be very convenient as an easy access utility, great for tossing loose items in that you might want to have access to. For instance, I’m not a smoker these days, but if I were, it’d be a perfect place to keep my smokes within easy reach for that urgent “I can’t believe I just took a 5 on that hole” cigarette.

On the other side of the bag is an insulated bottle holder, one of the traditional variety. It’s solid, holds your Nalgene sized bottle snugly, and actually adds a bit of stability to the bag. Next to the bottle holder is the pencil pocket, with two slots–one standard pen/pencil/Sharpie sized, and one golf pencil sized.

On the front of the bag is a putter pocket plus an embroidered mini marker pocket. While most pictures of bags on websites show one putter being carried in the putter pockets, I’ve always carried two in mine. On most bags, this hasn’t been a problem, but on the Spider Monkey, it seems designed for one putter, and one putter only. Again, this is an instance where the frame works against you in terms of squeezing an extra disc in. When I first got the bag, I could cram two putters into the pocket, but they fit so tightly that I could pick up the whole bag by just hooking my finger under the rim of one of the putters. After some use though, and cramming say, three drivers in the pocket while the bag isn’t being used, the pocket has stretched out some, and can accommodate my two putter more easily now (it’s still a tight fit though).

One feature that the Spider Monkey has that’s a bonus over the Mini is the fact that it has a rain flap as well as a pouch to store it in. Granted, the flap is made of the same material as the bag, so it isn’t really waterproof, but it’s better than nothing if a sprinkle rolls in. And GB thought ahead to make the rain flap long enough to cover the putter pocket–it just doesn’t seem fair to putters to cover all your other discs but leave them sitting out in the rain.

Also, the pouch for the flap works as a great auxiliary pocket. I wouldn’t want to put too much in there being as that’s the part that rides against my body, but it’s perfect for keeping scorecards, maps, or if you’re really hard up, you can fit an extra driver in there as well.

Like the Mini, the Spider Monkey has attachments for quads, but as I stated before, I don’t have a need for that. The strap that is included with the bag is handmade and well padded. While it doesn’t have the polish that the Revo straps have, it does have the advantage of being color coordinated with the bag to give it a more personalized feel. Also, I like the fact that the pad is able slide around on the strap, rather than being stationary, it allows you to adjust the strap just how you like it. And, while I’ve experienced some squeaking of the strap, it isn’t nearly as predictable as I found the Revo to be.