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I have a Gorilla pod (SLR-zoom) which is now a few years old and the legs are now loose enough that it can't support the weight of my camera+lens any more. The legs will often have an 'unexpected adjustment'. The lens & camera combo is well within the spec, but it's just a bit old.

I'm planning to retire it for, but before I do, does anyone have any suggestions of DIY ways I can stiffen it up first?

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The following method worked for me to stiffen up a generic fakey-pod (i.e., meaningless name / brand gorillapod clone). This may or may not work for your version.

I only had problems with a few joints. These lacked stiffness when being bent and would not hold position. The joints push together – ball-end into socket. They dismantle by being physically pulled apart along the axis running down the length of the leg. This requires bravery, stupidity, a degree of strength, and a certainty that yours works the same way.

Once separated, a sheet of something suitably thin and suitably durable can be placed across the socket and the ball end pushed back into the socket. I used thin polyethylene shopping bag material.

Success depends on the "correct" thickness and properties of the sheet and a modicum of luck.

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The real thing:

This was done 'quite a few years ago'.
It appears that I used two or maybe 3 layers of bag - whatever is required, which will depend on plastic thickness, width of gap (and maybe phase of moon as well).
I assume I cut it to approximately circular once assembled and that it has frayed in use.
The joint stiffness feels much the same as the others. Prior to "repair" it was unusably floppy.

Click on picture for larger view.

enter image description here

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    \$\begingroup\$ Having managed to 'pop' a few joints before, this looks like a really sensible approach \$\endgroup\$
    – Harry Harrison
    Commented Jul 31, 2016 at 14:47
  • \$\begingroup\$ @inkista re edits -> Not to mention ie -> i.e. hoity toiting. I'm with Fowler, often enough, but consciously favour (that's 'favor' debowlderised) ie. I go out of my way to edit out 'Ie's when they are "corrected to", but can tolerate i.e. What fun English, she is. \$\endgroup\$
    – Russell McMahon
    Commented Aug 1, 2016 at 0:39
  • \$\begingroup\$ Hey, at least I didn't go whole hog and spell out and italicize id est, as I am perfectly capable of doing... :) Too much Wheelock's Latin in the formative years warps you badly. \$\endgroup\$
    – inkista
    Commented Aug 1, 2016 at 2:19
  • \$\begingroup\$ @inkista I'm badly warped by other things - I'm an engineer - an incurable condition. I demoted myself from the top stream to one level down at 3rd year grammar school to avoid taking Latin :-) (someone was keen to swap up and they approved) - two years of Latin was enough. Looking bad it still doesn't seem a terrible decision all considered, but I'm surprised they let me do it. \$\endgroup\$
    – Russell McMahon
    Commented Aug 1, 2016 at 14:39
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    \$\begingroup\$ @glenneroo Picture added \$\endgroup\$
    – Russell McMahon
    Commented Aug 11, 2016 at 16:16
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I found something that seems to work quite well. The BONDIC product is a thin liquid that hardens into plastic when exposed to UV light. I took the pod apart where it was loose, cleaned it out thoroughly, put a thin coating of BONDIC inside the loose joint, and then solidified it using the UV light. Snapped it back together, and it works like new! This plastic will probably wear off again over time, but it will be just as easy to renew it again next time!

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In the spirit of the excellent solution by russell-mcmahon, I found that duct tape worked best, possibly because the GorillaPod joint had a crack which loosened the fit further (picture attached). The plastic bags and thicker 8-gauge vinyl didn't keep the joint from popping back out, but the duct tape was sufficiently thick and less slippery. GorillaPod with duct tape joint repair

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Just spray a little bit of hairspray on loose joints, it will stiffen the joints for sure. This method worked for me, probably it might work for you as well. Comparing to other alternative methods this one works great.

In my opinion, it is good to avoid the following methods:

  1. Don't pop joints, sometimes it will crack the joints by doing that.
  2. A thin layer of paper or duct tape might work fine but it might crack the joint.
  3. Never ever use superglue. I actually broke one of my gorillpod by doing that.
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  • \$\begingroup\$ The hairspray method worked for me. It's very simple, quick and doesn't require dismantling the tripod. It's an excellent solution and makes the Gorilla Pod as good as new! \$\endgroup\$
    – Peter Steigler
    Commented Sep 8, 2021 at 1:59

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