if ya need a test dummy im about as dumb as ya can get, when ya start testing the mid sized one
if ya need a test dummy im about as dumb as ya can get, when ya start testing the mid sized one
I'm just a lil' feller at 220lb and 5'10 but this hammock sounds very appealing. I grew up sleeping on my dad's homemade net hammock with spreader bars. I still sleep on my dad's hammock every night due to two herniated discs requiring 4 surgeries, and I'm still undergoing physical therapy 13 years after the injury. I cannot sleep in a regular flat bed without being in intense pain within 20 minutes. I own 3 of these hammocks. and love them. They are extremely rugged and strong. Once when I was a teenager me and all my 5 siblings, and my mom & dad we all got into one of his double hammock, and started swinging. After a few seconds the 3/8" steel eye-bolt actually snapped, and we all dropped to the floor but the hammock suffered no damage. One thing dad's hammock is not is lightweight nor packable. A packable lightweight hammock with a bridge would be perfect even for a lil' feller like me. Where can I buy one?
I bought one of the Big Guy Bridges from Bill right inside his shop. Everything is well thought of even down to the carrying sack. Super huge! You can always find a comfy spot even if that means sliding way up on the head end or way down by the foot end. I say way down because the length is as enormous as the width. It's amazing you can have such a great lounger for such a lightweight. I only have used mine in the backyard but he sent me a bug net to match so I will have to take it with me next time I'm out.
Get lost in the woods and find yourself again. A vacation,to me, is working with your hands and surviving because of the fruits of your labor. In the business world I teach;in the natural world I learn.
Email below is the only option for now.... hoping to get the website moving soon but just doing prototyping has kept me pretty busy.
The first testers are hitting the 90-100 nights of use benchmark I was hoping to hit... the only failures thus far have been user error and even a few of those were able to be repaired successfully so feeling pretty good overall about this being a regular product.
I did recently complete round 4 or so of prototypes and I burned up all my material for these... but there are a handful in hand of the double 1.7 and the single hex 70- I think 3 or so of each left as of today. Single 1.7 is gone for now.
I just ordered a few rolls of material today so hopefully in a month or so I will have another 20 or more in stock.
Otherwise thankee BH and Mr. Gunz and everyone who has helped test and kept this thing farting along.
Yup, that's me - user error!! The dang hammock is bulletproof! I cannot stress it, wear it out or bust it! The javelin trick, however, did work. As did the repair! :O
LOL, putting a bridge pole through sucks... but it happens... this run has actually been pretty good I think only 2 so far out of 50+.
I've only had one truly scary tester thus far thankfully...
You're definitely not in the user error hall of fame by any stretch...
But like any gentleman not looking to embarrass anyone on a public forum those are best told around a campfire.
Have you guys tried cutting 4 small pieces of silicone tubing (hydration tubing or surgical tubing) and putting them over the spreader bar tips after the hammock is set up? I have done that in the past with my WBRR. I did it to serve as bumpers in case I hit the tarp as I was getting in/out of the hammock, but I would think that they would also serve to prevent the spreader bars from sliding out when the hammock is unoccupied.
BTW, my daughter's boyfriend (Intimidator) has a couple of your bridges and they are awesome. I'm still a gathered end guy, but I definitely prefer the comfort of Just Bill's over the WBRR if I were using a bridge.
Man... lotta questionable judgement there. First you let a guy named Intimidator date your daughter... then you claim a GE is better than a bridge.
Seriously though... that might be a handy tip I will look into for sure.
It seems there are three things-
Being brand new-
The bridge suspension (amsteel) being brand new; after a dozen hangs or so it starts to mold to the pole tip. But the first few times it's easy to miss the eye part of the eye splice, especially if you are new to bridges. Mainly though the "newbie issue" seems to be not being comfortable with the tippy sensation results in a person to "reach back" to the other side. Usually they are already "in" so they don't slide the pole out because it has too much weight in it... but every once in a while when I demo them I'll get somebody (usually a GE user) who wants to open the bridge up out of habit and/or grab the opposite side as they sit down... inadvertently they are pushing the side away and popping the bar out. GE users are used to grabbing both sides to open it up before they sit and that habit sometimes goes unnoticed so they spread the bridge right before they sit, pop a pole out without noticing, and sit down. Sometimes it's also a case of taking my warning not to grab the poles themselves too much to heart... so instead of the pole they grab the fabric immediately adjoining the pole and pop the tip out that way.
And if some of you GE users don't believe me regarding those well ingrained habits... it is still just as funny watching a die hard GE user start automatically moving into a diagonal lay when they try the bridge!
Getting (too) used to it-
I think Beemermcr had been using his for quite some time as a home sleeper. The only time it happened to me was the same deal. I had one set up on the back porch, came home tired, and plopped in. It was out in the breeze all day and the pole tip had worked loose with the bridge being blown around. You get comfortable or have the bridge set up for days at a time and you trust it. Or you hang it at home, detach one side like you might a GE hammock to make room... and when you clip your biner to plop in for the night you take it for granted that everything stayed where it should have.
Accessory error-
I was finally able to replicate (I think) what happened to Johnny Gunz bridge. He had his UQ attachments and suspensions wrapped and tangled around the bridge and likely was all set up but popped out for a final adjustment, then slipped back in and somehow that quilt adjustment popped the bar. This type of issue is pretty rare but I think I can see how it happened. I think the shock cord suspension got in between the pole tip and the amsteel... so when he sat down that little bit of stretch and bounce in the hammock on the non entry side tensioned the UQ suspension and slipped the amsteel eye off the tip. I'm messing around with adding a few more tabs... the pole tips are a good spot to hang things off of in an end bar bridge.... but in a recessed bar bridge I think providing an alternate point is an upgrade I can make on my end to improve the product.
That's a long roundabout way of saying:
I think the silicone/rubber tube will likely be as good or better as my wine cork tip cover for tarp protection if you're looking for that. Though I don't think that's a serious issue unless you really have your tarp drum tight and close pitched.
I suspect though that it won't have enough grip to prevent the above errors 100%... but it's possible. If nothing else... having somebody walk around and attach something to each tip is a good way to reinforce and/or force the user to stop by each pole tip to make sure it's in right before they lay down. So the simple act of walking around and slipping the tube on may be enough preventive measure if it reminds you to check each tip as you go.
On the super plus side...
Beemermcr's hammock was the first one I figured we'd just try tenacious tape on. Kyle's Hybrid 1.7 is expanding my faith and confidence in the fabric itself. When you can put a hole in a big boy bridge body, right at the highest stress point and not blow out the fabric... that's impressive. To lay on it 30 more days is impressive. And to simply patch with tenacious tape and keep on using it for 30 days and counting is pretty amazing. Two years ago I would have said put it in the garbage.
So while user error or failure is never good- we're all human and poop occurs.
I'm very encouraged that if it does happen you can likely finish your trip with no repair. Field repairs can be fine, but nothing like getting fabric clean and dry before you apply a patch in a climate controlled setting. The big problem with sewing a bridge tear is that it alters the geometry slightly and puts more stress on the repair area. Johnny Gunz repair and a few other's I've done have held up... but a nice patch is much more effective than sewing... so very happy to hear this is working and holding overall.... so Beemermcr... thanks for screwing that up buddy!
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