Published: Jan 26, 2011

Review: Gorilla Gripper Panel Carrier

Well, at least the commercial's funny

$39 from Amazon

Wrestling around sheet goods is a real pain. With my bad back, that's a literal statement. A sheet of 1/4" plywood is no big deal. Even 1/2" is fine. But if I need to move around a sheet of 3/4" plywood or, even worse, a sheet of 3/4" MDF, it becomes a real trial.

So I was intrigued by the Gorilla Gripper. The idea is to add a handle to the top of a sheet of plywood and make it easier to carry. And it has one of the funniest commercials I've ever seen ...

The actual mechanism of the Gorilla Gripper is quite clever. The "front" plate, which is covered with a non-marring padding, lays flat on the side of the plywood. When you lift on the padded handle, the handle levers pivot and bring the rear plate into contact with the back side of the plywood. The plate pivots independently on the end of the levers, allowing it to lay flat against the plywood. The leverage of the handle levers pinches the plywood between the two plates, allowing you to lift the plywood.

While the Gorilla Gripper is clever, I found it only works well with lighter panels. The problem is that the handle ends up in an awkward position. If the panel is heavy, the pressure makes my wrist and forearm hurt. Notice in the video, even there the woman is carrying a very thin sheet with it.

So, while the Gorilla Gripper does make light panels like 1/4" plywood or Masonite less cumbersome to carry, it's lack of ability to make carrying heavy sheets easier disappointed me.