Bridge Hammock

**funbun** · 06-12-2007, 21:01

Is this the JRB cat cut concept?
http://australianheritagefleet.com.a...v/Hammock.html

TeeDee posted this link my other thread.

**Coffee** · 06-12-2007, 22:07

Looks like it to me. If they can market it, then more power to them. After laying in one, making one similar is definitly on my extended DIY list.

**rptinker** · 06-12-2007, 23:48

Has anyone tried the australian or JRB Bear Mountain bridge hammock? Im interested in any report or preview before doing a DIY. Will a webbing suspension be more workable instead of a rope like the australian's?

**Frolicking Dino** · 06-13-2007, 12:27

Originally Posted by rptinker

Has anyone tried the australian or JRB Bear Mountain bridge hammock? Im interested in any report or preview before doing a DIY. Will a webbing suspension be more workable instead of a rope like the australian's?

I tried the JRB hammock twice at TD. It was extremely comfortable - almost like laying on a cot. I'm female and have small shoulders so the shoulder squeeze some of the fellows mention didn't bother me much. I was able to change position easily and the hammock remained flat no matter what I did. I was even comfortable on my stomach.

**TeeDee** · 06-13-2007, 15:16

Originally Posted by Frolicking Dino

I tried the JRB hammock twice at TD. It was extremely comfortable - almost like laying on a cot. I'm female and have small shoulders so the shoulder squeeze some of the fellows mention didn't bother me much. I was able to change position easily and the hammock remained flat no matter what I did. I was even comfortable on my stomach.

When you write flat - do you mean flat from head to toe or flat from shoulder to shoulder?

**funbun** · 06-13-2007, 15:20

Originally Posted by TeeDee

When you write flat - do you mean flat from head to toe or flat from shoulder to shoulder?

I think that's the best definition of what shoulder squeeze is. It's not that your shoulders are being squeezed as much as they can't lie flat.

**Frolicking Dino** · 06-14-2007, 21:19

Originally Posted by TeeDee

When you write flat - do you mean flat from head to toe or flat from shoulder to shoulder?

In this case, it felt flat both ways.

**schrochem** · 07-31-2007, 19:58

I forgot to take a picture of the bridge in lounge mode.
I just have two grip clips (so I could move them around) on the end with line fed through them. They then go through the corner rings and connect to a biner on a prusik (ala Tee Dee).

Here are two pics of me actually in it (and you can see how hot it is tonight!)

As you can see I am at a nice gentle angle similar to lounging in a Hennessy folded over. I tried different widths and about 18" seems fine. Any wider and you lose the ability to 'lift' the end up to a necessary height.
I can sit up, grab the prusik and push it back toward the suspension and I am back into sleeping mode.
Now I'd like to make Grizz' Lazyboy and see how they compare.

**funbun** · 06-13-2007, 05:17

I think I may try to make one by refashioning my current hammock and using my hiking poles as spreader bars. Do you think hiking poles can handle the load?

**Coffee** · 06-13-2007, 07:13

Here are my thoughts from laying in it for a few minutes.

-It is really comfortable.

-I did not feel any torque on my waist when I laid on my side or stomach.

-You need a pillow. Not a big deal just something to figure in. I use one anyways.

-I would need somthing underneath my knees or between them on my back or side. Again, I use one anyways in a hammock and in a bed.

-I need a long model. When you are figuring the length, remember when sleeping on your stomach that your feet will add a few mintues of length. Probibly on the order of 6" to 1'.

-I would made the head end high enough to be able to sit up in it and use it as a back rest without having my head in the netting.

-I would use hiking poles as spreader bars. I slept in the backyard in my hammock last night and was thinking about it. I would rig something up where one side would attach to the handle side and the other to the end of the first section in the hiking pole. This would put all of the force on a continous metal section and not on 2 or more sections.

-I would use spectra to go into the rings then straps to the trees just like my normal hammock. This would also save some weight.

-I think 1.9 untreated would work just fine and save weight over the material they use.

-I would make mine a little wider. When I laid on my side my knees would hit the sides. This width is kind of determined by the length of the spreader bar.

In the end I like the design. I am planning on making one when I get back this winter. I want to make it also since I think it would work on the ground really easily. I would use an inflatable pad, probibly a DAM as bottom insulation in the air and padding on the ground. I think it would be the perfect hammock for the times when you do not know if you can hang or not, but still need bug protection.