Towns end happy medium / luxury ul

[Joe uk]

Hi i am new to the forum and hope this is the correct way of doing things. I am looking at getting my first bridge hammock and like the look of the town's end hammocks. Has any body had an experience with the town's end happy medium or the luxury if so what did you think of it good and bad please?

[Twistytee]

I own one of Bill’s Happy Medium hammocks for backpacking and really enjoy it. If I was a larger framed person or if I was more of a “back yard hanger/car camper”, I would probably have purchased his luxury model for the added width and bed area. The Happy Medium works fine once you get it dialed in but it is designed to be lighter and take up less pack space. The center of the hammock is rather narrow at 25”. I purchased it due to a long-term running injury which causes me discomfort in my GE hammock if on a multi overnight trip. The ability to lay flat and remove some of the pressure points from a typical GE hammock allow me to sleep better and hike longer on trips. It’s also shorter than the luxury model so it allows for shorter tarps and a lighter all-in kit. I had no issues getting used to the mid bridge design but YMMV with the placement of the bars.

I will say my GE hammock with integrated bugnet is lighter and easier to set-up. And it’s better in winter conditions if you need to get a tight seal between your UQ and top quilt. Bill was super helpful during the purchase process and patiently answered all of my questions with very detailed responses. He’s responsive to emails so I’d recommend sending him a list of any items you want to research.

[Karla "with a k"]

Hi i am new to the forum and hope this is the correct way of doing things. I am looking at getting my first bridge hammock and like the look of the town's end hammocks. Has any body had an experience with the town's end happy medium or the luxury if so what did you think of it good and bad please?

Glad to see you made it to the forums! I've got a couple friends who own Just Bill's bridge hammocks, but I don't know which version they have. All are happy with theirs. I've even slept a night in one. Very comfortable.

[cougarmeat]

Joe uk, welcome to the forum. Bill's hammocks are excellent quality but for a beginner, there's a lot to learn. Be sure to watch all the available setup videos.

I'm not at all suggesting that a WarBonnet RidgeRunner or DutchWare Banyon, or bridges from other vendors (Jacks R Better), are better than Bill's. They are just simpler because they have built-in bug nets and under quilts specifically designed for them. I have RidgeRunners and the RSBTR bridge kit, along with Bill's Happy Medium. To be fair, I haven't put enough time in Bill's to judge. We are just getting through winter and I've spent the last months in a gathered end. Once I spend more time setting up Bill's bridge, I'm sure it will become just as easy as hanging my others - but there is a little more of a learning curve and consideration for quilts and netting. That said, Bill's videos do show that a quilt used with a gathered end (GE) hammock will work just as well with his bridges.

[joe411k]

Hi Joe uk,

I picked up a Luxury bridge from Bill at Townsend hammocks within the last couple of months and have been using it indoors every night for over a month. Prior to that I was sleeping nightly in a Warbonnet Ridgerunner. What I would say is that the Luxury is appropriately named. It is super spacious and there are tons of different ways to sleep in it. The head end bar is over 40 inches wide and really spreads out the hammock so there is no squeeze or feeling of confinement that you sometimes get in other hammocks.

The main cons with the Luxury are the weight (if using for backpacking) and figuring out the Underquilt / bottom insulation. Also the price, as Bill would admit they are not cheap.

There are threads on hammock forums discussing how to insulate these hammocks and Bill is also super helpful with any questions you have. He also has some videos on YouTube that show how to make a gathered end Underquilt work.

The price and weight are what they are but for me using it as a daily sleeper it made sense. Would also be great for car camping.

So all that said I would highly recommend Townsend hammocks and the Luxury in particular depending on your needs. I would also echo cougermeat’s comments above that the other bridge options from Warbonnet / Dutchware / etc. are probably easier to start with.

Good luck in your bridge hammock journey!


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[stevebo]

I own 2 of Bills big guy bridges ( double layer version of the lux). Excellent hammocks- very comfortable! Not exactly plug and play but extremely versatile ( can be set up and configured several different ways- as Bill shows in his videos). Bills service and quality are top notch. ( if u need help with insulation PM me- Ive got a couple of tricks that work well! Also it is possible to use your trekking poles as spreader bars- if you do it correctly. Ive got a spreader bar trick that is pretty clever and works very well, )

P.s. Bills book "lying on the trail" is definitely worth getting! I really enjoyed it!

[Redoleary]

I also have one of Bill's Big Guy hammocks that I just spent my first two nights in yesterday and the day before, and I loved it. I had hung it a few times in my backyard and napped in it but hadn't spent any full nights until this weekend. I don't think I made any adjustments to it, just took it out of the bag and hung it. I'm not a very large guy 5'9 195# I don't backpack much anymore and I prefer a firmer hammock hence the Big Guy. Both nights this weekend it got down to about -4C and I was toasty warm using my existing quilts so nothing special was required to go from gathered end to bridge for me. I don't think I'd want to go any narrower.

[Saltfly]

I use an UL big guy from bill with his new full containment bug nets. It is without a doubt the most comfortable hammock I have. And I have a bunch. You can use the arrowhead ridge runner underquilt on his bridges without any issues. The trail winder underquilt from Simply light designs also works. But not as good as the arrowhead. If you decide to go with one of bills hammocks, and you should, make sure to watch his instructional YouTube series of videos for break in procedure. Follow it exactly. Ask me how I know. Do that and you’ll be smiling.


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