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  1. #91
    Senior Member
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    Oct 2014
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    Valpo, IN
    Hammock
    Towns-End Luxury Bridge
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    1,746
    Thanks Tikker!

    Just to keep folks following along posted without wading through the whole thread.

    This little piggy is definitely going to market.

    At worst the following will be produced:
    "The Big Guy Bridge" (250-350+ pound rating)
    "The Luxury Bridge" (250lbs and under)
    "Just A Bugnet"- BG/LUX size in basic Fronkey style bottom entry.

    As of now... over 100 of my various bridges have gotten out in the wild in the last 18 months or so. Enough to clearly indicate it is a product worth continuing with; but I had to take a step back for a bit to take steps to do that. From start to finish these take roughly 12 hours to produce and are not easy to sew.

    I actually did go to market a few years back with Primaloft Gold Synthetic Top Quilts. I designed, tested, etc.
    I attempted to hire a very large domestic sewn goods contractor who bumped me for a bigger customer (Patagonia)
    I was also under contract with a cottage vendor to produce a run of roughly 50 top quilts.

    So I got all excited, told folks I was "in business" and sold them quilts with a pre-sale. The cottage vendor went from weeks to months, trashed the material, never produced a usable quilt and liberated one of my designs from me.

    Between those two professionals I spent 10k to not sell a single quilt. More importantly I told people I could deliver a product to them and I could not. Most folks got refunds and were okay, some were not and you know how that goes. I eventually self produced about 25-40 that went to various customers who really wanted the product 'no matter what' and I still sell that product quietly to a few people. With the down market crashed I set that product aside for a while.


    I have talked with well over a dozen vendors of various sizes and tried out a few of them.
    Looks like I might finally have a partial solution on that front too... but everyone is busy. I don't think of myself as an amazing seamster, but this is not a product you just hand to someone to make either.

    I've now moved twice and I'm moving again, at some point maybe I can quit my dayjob... but my kiddos are young yet and healthcare is a huge barrier to self-employment.

    So hopefully between 20-30 hours a week from me and a few subcontractors I can get to producing 5-10 a month with some regularity.
    Once I can do that and have a small buffer of inventory in hand I will re-open sales.

    I find it extremely frustrating to turn people down, but I don't do it lightly.

    I find it unacceptable to break a promise to a fellow hiker or outdoorsperson.

    So for sure... something will get going this summer.

    I am still debating doing a waiting list of some sort, some suggested a mailing list.
    I appreciate that folks are willing to wait for cottage gear... and with many vendors hitting 5-8 week lead times I won't be alone.
    However unlike the other vendors... there are no employees tinkering away full time to gobble through the list and give you a date of arrival to anticipate so it seems unfair in my opinion to even start one yet.

    Even once I 'fire up' I have a backlog of folks to reach back out to as well who have inquired already. So realistically I probably won't have an actual website 'open' until fall.
    I want to make sure that the folks at hammock forums who are supporting this get the first opportunity and don't get 'bumped' by someone off the street so to speak, lol.

  2. #92
    Senior Member goobie's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2011
    Location
    SouthEastern WI
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    Raven, SLD Streamliner
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    Hanger11WB,WntrHvn
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    Quote Originally Posted by Just Bill View Post

    I hope you don't mind Coyote in the Hybrid 1.2. I'm putting in an order for a roll of that.
    Besides really liking the color... it doesn't overlap with the other 1.7 colors I'm using so I will use that for the 'Happy Medium' testing and testing on this model.

    Your request... I'll have to make one up and see how it goes. Been thinking on how to build it structurally without blowouts in the 1.2 Hybrid... but I agree that fabric suits both our tastes better.
    I'm concerned about sleeping in it 'backwards' causing seam elongation over time... I did have a few blowouts during early prototyping on that model in Hyper D 1.6. A few better techniques and the Hybrid 1.7 solved those.

    Figure I'll make one up for me and one for you and give it 30 nights. If'n it works okay, maybe by this fall I will expand the testing to a batch of 5 or 10.

    Maybe even see if I can put a net on one for you if the base design is holding up.

    Gotta play with the other two gathered endish models too, but mainly need to get back to sewing bridges asap.

    My day job just won't quit though, so my house is dragging... and my shop is sitting. I broke down and hired local guy to do the bathroom and some drywall...
    Too many things piling up on the sewing table to wait on my dayjob... but mildly annoying to be stuck at work, paying people to fix my house. Hopefully my accountant agrees that it's a biz expense.
    I'm fine with whatever color you allow me to reimburse you for

    Expect a long overdue, and backwards, report after this weekend. It's getting closer to bug season, so a net will be mandatory soon. I have a couple diy bottom entries of my own I can try (please excuse me while I toss one in the pack.......ok, I'm back now!)

    Bummer, and yet a good thing, about the day job. Got to pay for all the experimenting somehow. Yeah, it sucks having to pay someone for projects you can do yourself and likely more to your satisfaction than others will do. Of course it's a business expense, one of those grey areas isn't it??

  3. #93
    Senior Member BananaHammock's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2014
    Location
    Mount Prospect, IL
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    DIY Bananahammock
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    1,175
    Well we all are rooting for you. Keep chugging along!
    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.

  4. #94
    Senior Member punkisdead's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2014
    Location
    Hudsonville, MI
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    DIY / Half-wit / WBRR
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    827
    If you need more testers for your "luxury bridge" just let me know.

  5. #95
    Slugger's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2016
    Location
    Lancaster, SC
    Hammock
    Towns End BGBH
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    UGQ WD12
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mark8408 View Post
    Did you use a standard length or a long on the incubator?
    Standard length.
    Retired US Navy, 10-year Stage IIIb colon cancer survivor. I believe my last words will be "Hold my beer..."



  6. #96
    Senior Member Postal's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2012
    Location
    Fort Payne, AL
    Hammock
    WBBB XLC 1.7 Dl
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    WB Superfly
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    So I have received and begun testing the one I had purchased from you and I might be in love. Just saying. No real learning curve for me and it is very comfortable. Scares my wife to no end to watch me climb around in it. Now to begin the underquilt fitting thing and tarp testing with it. Will have to order a bug net as well. Just thought I would make this my cold weather kit. Have a feeling it will be oh so much more.
    Where ever you go,
    There you are.

  7. #97
    Slugger's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2016
    Location
    Lancaster, SC
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    Towns End BGBH
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    Quote Originally Posted by Postal View Post
    So I have received and begun testing the one I had purchased from you and I might be in love. Just saying. No real learning curve for me and it is very comfortable. Scares my wife to no end to watch me climb around in it. Now to begin the underquilt fitting thing and tarp testing with it. Will have to order a bug net as well. Just thought I would make this my cold weather kit. Have a feeling it will be oh so much more.
    Yep! It doesn't take much to love this set up. Although I do know someone who just doesn't like this bridge...by & far most love it! Here is a picture of my HG Incubator 20, standard length on my Town's End BGBH:

    20180401_084329.jpg
    Retired US Navy, 10-year Stage IIIb colon cancer survivor. I believe my last words will be "Hold my beer..."



  8. #98
    Senior Member Peppy's Avatar
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    Nov 2016
    Location
    Calamine, Arkansas
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    My bridges are all holding up well. I have a 1.7 Robic Luxury Bridge, a 1.6 Hyper d medium bridge, and a 1.2 Robic happy medium. I like the 1.7 of the Lux best, but find myself in the mediums more often than not as it fits me well, and saves some weight. These are my go to sleepers, and I love that there is no squeeze, no ridges to fuss over, and they don’t seem as finicky as a GE on set up (consistent set up seems a bit more simplistic once you figure it out). I’ve also found that after some initial trouble, that I can pretty much make any UQ fit quite easily. I’ve used anything from about 52”-83” and have been pleasantly surprised how adaptable they are to these bridges. I have a couple of favorites, but glad everything seems to work. I’ve tried a couple of bets with varying results, but usually switch the one I got with my Lux to whichever one I’m using, when Bill is up and running again I plan to get another one (or two). Love my bridges!
    Hammock Tourist / Hammock Fiend / Hammock Therapist

  9. #99
    Slugger's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2016
    Location
    Lancaster, SC
    Hammock
    Towns End BGBH
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    Quote Originally Posted by Peppy View Post
    My bridges are all holding up well. I have a 1.7 Robic Luxury Bridge, a 1.6 Hyper d medium bridge, and a 1.2 Robic happy medium. I like the 1.7 of the Lux best, but find myself in the mediums more often than not as it fits me well, and saves some weight. These are my go to sleepers, and I love that there is no squeeze, no ridges to fuss over, and they don’t seem as finicky as a GE on set up (consistent set up seems a bit more simplistic once you figure it out). I’ve also found that after some initial trouble, that I can pretty much make any UQ fit quite easily. I’ve used anything from about 52”-83” and have been pleasantly surprised how adaptable they are to these bridges. I have a couple of favorites, but glad everything seems to work. I’ve tried a couple of bets with varying results, but usually switch the one I got with my Lux to whichever one I’m using, when Bill is up and running again I plan to get another one (or two). Love my bridges!
    Peppy! My incubator is a 20 degree with overfill, but I'll probably be looking at buying a 0 degree with overfill for hanging next winter. It does get below 20 even here in SC and I want to be able to hang year-round whenever the whim hits me. And now that I'm comfortable with the Incubator set up I presently have I'll have no reservations putting out the cash for the zero degree version. Unless of course Bill starts making UQ's specifically for the BGBH once his shop is set up and he has time to do it.......!
    Retired US Navy, 10-year Stage IIIb colon cancer survivor. I believe my last words will be "Hold my beer..."



  10. #100
    Slugger's Avatar
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    ...no pressure Bill. I know you're very busy!!!!! We are a patient bunch of groupies.
    Retired US Navy, 10-year Stage IIIb colon cancer survivor. I believe my last words will be "Hold my beer..."



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