Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 19
  1. #1
    New Member NekroVirus's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2015
    Location
    Cincinnati, OH
    Posts
    14

    DIY Bridge Hammock Questions

    Hey guys,

    I'm planning on making a DIY bridge hammock and had a few questions (I've read Grizzly's guide and am basing a lot of what I do off that). I already made a "test" one from some extra ripstop I wasn't using. It was around 58" in width and I made it 90" long before sewing. The one I plan to make uses a fabric with a base width of 60" and with a length of 90" (is 90" too long for a 6'4 person?).

    - I tried using a 36" spreader bar for my head area and I feel like I'm getting a lot of shoulder squeeze (I'm 6'4 180lbs, built like a stick), my shoulders aren't wider than normal, so I was thinking about getting a 43" spreader bar (from dutchware, one 25" and one 18") for my head area. Would that make the hammock too unstable, or should I just shorten the fabric width before sewing it? I don't want to be too short on the width because I like to sleep on my side and spread my legs a little.

    - I'm going to be purchasing a lot of my stuff from dutchware.com, they have 1/2 nylon webbing, but in the guide it says to use polyester webbing. Do I need to go find another site to purchase polyester or will the nylon be ok?

    Any other suggestions would help out immensely!

    Thanks!!
    Last edited by NekroVirus; 03-31-2016 at 07:47. Reason: spelling

  2. #2
    Member
    Join Date
    Aug 2015
    Location
    Norway
    Hammock
    DH/DIY
    Insulation
    WB wooki
    Suspension
    Webbing/ Whoopie
    Posts
    91
    http://ripstopbytheroll.com does have alot of what you need. Warbonnet using 39 inch in head end, and 28 inch in foot end. I would not make it deep in the head end like jacks r better and grizzly. Causes shoulder squeeze.

  3. #3
    New Member NekroVirus's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2015
    Location
    Cincinnati, OH
    Posts
    14
    Quote Originally Posted by Kevinslotten View Post
    http://ripstopbytheroll.com does have alot of what you need. Warbonnet using 39 inch in head end, and 28 inch in foot end. I would not make it deep in the head end like jacks r better and grizzly. Causes shoulder squeeze.
    Yup I plan on buying the fabric, bug netting, zippers, and Amsteel from ripstopbytheroll. Getting the spreader bars and titaniumn bridge hammock end peices from dutch.

    What do you mean by not make it deep at the head end?

    Thanks!

  4. #4
    Overland's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2014
    Location
    Suwanee GA
    Hammock
    DIY bridge or BB Clone
    Tarp
    DIY Polysil gen 2
    Insulation
    CS UQ/ 20* bag TQ
    Suspension
    Webbing
    Posts
    85
    I"m 6'2" 240#. I have made several bridge hammocks 80 inches by 53 inches with 6 inch cat cuts for the unfinished body. I used 40 inch spreader bars at the head and 36 at the foot end. The dog bones are 40 and 36 respectively. These dimensions have resulted in a very comfortable hammock for me. The 80 inch length gives me 2 to 3 inches of room at both ends. I couldn't resist. Here are some pics. This is a double layer 1.4 oz ripstop polyester from Dutch. The zipper runs 1/2 way across the head end and down the left side. The pockets are 60 inches long. A little overkill but they help reduce strain on the bug net.
    Attached Images Attached Images

  5. #5
    Senior Member TFC Rick's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2010
    Location
    Jacksonville, Florida
    Hammock
    DW netless/JS Full net
    Tarp
    Hex
    Insulation
    HG Incubator 40
    Suspension
    Dutch buckle/strap
    Posts
    1,511
    Overland that looks great!!!
    Look up before you hook up!!
    Originally Posted by body942
    Me big. Me like hammockgear burrow. Long. Problems no. People good.

  6. #6
    Senior Member WV's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    southeast WV
    Hammock
    DIY
    Posts
    4,816
    Images
    208
    I'm using 43" head spreaders in my prototypes for the PeoplesBridgeHammock (coming soon to youtube and HF). I chose to get the 43" blanks Dutch uses and cut them roughly into thirds so I could put shock cord into them and they would fold up to a roughly 15" bundle (with end tips and ferrules). That takes care of the shoulder squeeze I had with shorter spreaders. You would probably be okay with a 40 or 42 inch head spreader. I think Warbonnet uses something in that range. I use a 30" spreader for the foot end, and that feels good, too. All this is for prototypes that I send to friends. I will use my trekking poles as spreaders when hiking, and I expect many of my friends will choose to do likewise. Eventually I'll add some sort of extension to my spreaders to connect to the edges of Gargoyle's Ogee Tarp - sort of a combination bridge spreader bar and tarp pole mod. The Ogee design looks like it will fit that design really well.

  7. #7
    New Member NekroVirus's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2015
    Location
    Cincinnati, OH
    Posts
    14
    Quote Originally Posted by Overland View Post
    I"m 6'2" 240#. I have made several bridge hammocks 80 inches by 53 inches with 6 inch cat cuts for the unfinished body. I used 40 inch spreader bars at the head and 36 at the foot end. The dog bones are 40 and 36 respectively. These dimensions have resulted in a very comfortable hammock for me. The 80 inch length gives me 2 to 3 inches of room at both ends. I couldn't resist. Here are some pics. This is a double layer 1.4 oz ripstop polyester from Dutch. The zipper runs 1/2 way across the head end and down the left side. The pockets are 60 inches long. A little overkill but they help reduce strain on the bug net.
    That looks really nice! Did you get your spreader bars from Dutch and cut to size or did you get them else where? Also how did you rig up a ridge line through the bugnet w/o leaving holes for buggies to get through?

  8. #8
    New Member NekroVirus's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2015
    Location
    Cincinnati, OH
    Posts
    14
    Quote Originally Posted by WV View Post
    I'm using 43" head spreaders in my prototypes for the PeoplesBridgeHammock (coming soon to youtube and HF). I chose to get the 43" blanks Dutch uses and cut them roughly into thirds so I could put shock cord into them and they would fold up to a roughly 15" bundle (with end tips and ferrules). That takes care of the shoulder squeeze I had with shorter spreaders. You would probably be okay with a 40 or 42 inch head spreader. I think Warbonnet uses something in that range. I use a 30" spreader for the foot end, and that feels good, too. All this is for prototypes that I send to friends. I will use my trekking poles as spreaders when hiking, and I expect many of my friends will choose to do likewise. Eventually I'll add some sort of extension to my spreaders to connect to the edges of Gargoyle's Ogee Tarp - sort of a combination bridge spreader bar and tarp pole mod. The Ogee design looks like it will fit that design really well.
    Ah cool, thanks for the info. When do you think your video will come out would love to watch it?

  9. #9
    Overland's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2014
    Location
    Suwanee GA
    Hammock
    DIY bridge or BB Clone
    Tarp
    DIY Polysil gen 2
    Insulation
    CS UQ/ 20* bag TQ
    Suspension
    Webbing
    Posts
    85
    Quote Originally Posted by NekroVirus View Post
    That looks really nice! Did you get your spreader bars from Dutch and cut to size or did you get them else where? Also how did you rig up a ridge line through the bugnet w/o leaving holes for buggies to get through?
    I bought the spreader bars and tips from Quest outfitters. I used a pair of male and female 18 inch poles for the foot end and their longer 26 inch poles which I cut down to 20 inches for the head end. As far as the mosquito netting, I sewed 2 inch squares of 200d Oxford nylon to both sides of the bugnet and then poked a hole using an awl. I then threaded shock cord through the holes with a mitten hock on the outside and a cord lock on the inside. The nylon seals itself around the shock cord.

  10. #10
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Oct 2014
    Location
    Valpo, IN
    Hammock
    Towns-End Luxury Bridge
    Posts
    1,746
    Quote Originally Posted by NekroVirus View Post
    Hey guys,

    I'm planning on making a DIY bridge hammock and had a few questions (I've read Grizzly's guide and am basing a lot of what I do off that). I already made a "test" one from some extra ripstop I wasn't using. It was around 58" in width and I made it 90" long before sewing. The one I plan to make uses a fabric with a base width of 60" and with a length of 90" (is 90" too long for a 6'4 person?).

    - I tried using a 36" spreader bar for my head area and I feel like I'm getting a lot of shoulder squeeze (I'm 6'4 180lbs, built like a stick), my shoulders aren't wider than normal, so I was thinking about getting a 43" spreader bar (from dutchware, one 25" and one 18") for my head area. Would that make the hammock too unstable, or should I just shorten the fabric width before sewing it? I don't want to be too short on the width because I like to sleep on my side and spread my legs a little.

    - I'm going to be purchasing a lot of my stuff from dutchware.com, they have 1/2 nylon webbing, but in the guide it says to use polyester webbing. Do I need to go find another site to purchase polyester or will the nylon be ok?

    Any other suggestions would help out immensely!

    Thanks!!
    Did I read that wrong? You are going 58" wide as the head and foot base width?

    If so, that is your problem, not your spreader bar. 90" long? Those are gathered end dims, not bridge dims.

    I hope I'm not giving any big secret away here- but in doing bridges myself I started looking for some common math and came up with a formula that roughly works/fits most bridges.

    As far as the body/spreader bar- a good ratio to start with is 4/3.
    So a 36" bar multiplied by 4/3= 48"
    If you look at the picture- you'll see that this results in a curve a bit over 10" deep. You'll also see if I put a 20" wide (1'8") person in there you are relatively close to the top. The shape will deform a bit in real life though so you are looking for a balance of shallow enough but still supportive. In a bit of an extreme example- I took the same fabric size and made a V (in yellow)
    If you look at the first curve (4/3 ratio) you'll see the two lines cross the 20" wide line about the same. In your 36 bar-58" fabric shape- you can see it's much too deep and the crossover point is much higher (more squeeze).

    In reality the shape is more of an ellipse but that gets a bit messy to express and is for Professors in hammocking to do. But your bar size to fabric is way too far out to be flat enough.

    As far as the cat cut- roughly speaking two things happen:

    If you stick with the roughly standard 80-84" length (plenty for 6' tall folks) then a good starter is to make the center of the bridge the same width as your spreader bar. (48" head/foot- 36" bar= 12"/2= 6" cat cuts)

    As you go longer with the bridge- the cat cuts need to get deeper and deeper to "pop" the center of the bridge up. So longer doesn't help you much- it actually hurts you in a bridge. You want to stick with the bare minimum length or you're cat cuts will need to be so deep that you lose too much width to be comfy in the middle. Or, if not made deeper, you'll fold up and feel like a banana.

    If you are heavier (say above 180ish) you may need an extra inch of cut vs somebody Grizz's size as well to help counteract your fat *** (I'm 220+). If you are lighter you may find the center has too much pop, so you might want to go with an 1" or so less cut.

    My personal opinion- if you go much past 36"- you have to go with the heavier (.75" vs .625" poles) if you are above 180 or so. Which adds a good bit of weight all around if you care.

    If your shoulders are extra wide- or you just want more hammock...
    Then go with the bigger bars- but keep the ratio about right and fine tune from there.
    42" bar= 56" of fabric and would probably give you a good 25" of fairly flatish sleep space (at the bottom of the ellipse.)

    That's a big bridge- I can pretty easily use my wife's monster car camping pad into a 36" bar/48" 7 ish foot long bridge-
    https://www.rei.com/product/870757/r...00873461&lsft=

    That said- next bridge I will work on is a 1.5 person for me and my kid using this pad- Pretty sure I can work it out with a 36" bar, but may have to bump to a 40"
    https://www.rei.com/product/896427/e...o-sleeping-pad


    Attachment 128051
    Attached Images Attached Images

  • + New Posts
  • Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast

    Similar Threads

    1. diy bridge hammock questions
      By johne in forum Do-It-Yourself (DIY)
      Replies: 14
      Last Post: 01-05-2016, 20:28
    2. Bridge hammock questions
      By Mouseskowitz in forum Do-It-Yourself (DIY)
      Replies: 11
      Last Post: 06-05-2015, 11:43
    3. First bridge hammock, some questions
      By mtinaz in forum Do-It-Yourself (DIY)
      Replies: 24
      Last Post: 06-17-2014, 17:40
    4. UL Bridge Hammock Questions
      By SunshineHiker in forum Do-It-Yourself (DIY)
      Replies: 5
      Last Post: 05-17-2012, 18:46
    5. Bridge Hammock Questions
      By Desiel in forum General Hammock Talk
      Replies: 13
      Last Post: 12-30-2011, 09:01

    Tags for this Thread

    Bookmarks

    Posting Permissions

    • You may not post new threads
    • You may not post replies
    • You may not post attachments
    • You may not edit your posts
    •