It has recently been discovered that what gadget is being held affects monkey behavior. These effects are fairly small, but have substantial impacts in some notable places, including 3 of the most inconsistent monkeys in the game becoming much more reliable.

1. Dexter's Island, RC Car monkey. Much larger alert with the RC Car equipped. Can catch with water net.
2. Thick Jungle, UFOless. Equip with net and neutral double from very far back. 60-70+% consistent.
3. Dark Ruins fan monkey. Club or Radar are much more reliable than Net, as Net results in a very aggressive pattern.
4. City Park 1st/Specter's Factory RC Car monkeys. Equip the hoop and they run out much more often.
5. Other City Park RC Car monkey. Stand at a distance with the car.
6. Cryptic Relics river monkey. Keep the club equipped as much as possible to increase the odds of close side.
7. Primordial Ooze 100% first visit ending. Jump from the 2nd monkey with the stun club instead of the net.

Additionally, srgtsilent did some testing on Specter with different gadgets as well. Statistical significance is still low, but having the hoop or sling selected appears to give better luck on average than other gadgets.

just realized this was never made public. Here was the specter data so you can experiment for yourself.
https:/​/​docs.​google.​com/​spreadsheets/​d/​1JIiK4_jfcUmNNBKSkHwenVRT2ONl86WG3a4NagTjn28/​edit?usp=sharing