Nice work. Keep us posted. This big guy would like one as soon as i can order one!!!!
When the wife asks, I simply say "Shug made me do it".
wtg bil let me know when they are ready
Most comments on UQ's list a lot of GE designed Quilts. Will an AHE Ridgecreek, a WB Lynx, and a UGQ Ambush work on these bridges?
That's a good question. As the recessed bars don't create a square end, I would think not. Bill's bridges end up with a bit of a canoe shape (when you think about it, it's sort of a canoe design), which allows some users to snuggle into a GE UQ. I have no experience with standard bridges and their UQs, so this is just a SWAG on my part.
But for the grace of God, there, I go...
I've only ever owned quilts I made- I did pick up an EE revolt and a HG econ burrow to try out as most folks were coming from GE's as far as those asking.
The revolt (should work same as RR quilts)- It takes a hybrid method to hang and works decently with some fiddling.
The HG Econ- I literally just clip it on like a gathered end hammock with no modification and it works.
So the short answer is- I don't know. And while I have a few folks who are coming from RR to these I can't think off hand who owned a RR designed quilt too.
One thing to keep in mind- if you're coming from a RR... you're likely not a BIG GUY. I'm 5'10" and 230 or so. I wear a mens large or XL shirt. Some of the big guys literally fill this bridge up side to side.
The bigger you are, the broader your shoulders... and I think that's why somebody like John or me can just use a regular UQ with no issues.
Mark is a medium big guy- 6'3" and about 300lbs. He had a slightly harder time fitting an UQ but once he got it it seems to be going well.
A few of the really big guys- I had one guy who finally gave up on the UQ, the other ones were mainly using a combo of heavier than needed (temp rating), pads, or never said a word of complaint so I assume they worked it out.
The point being- I feel more confident telling a typical RR sized customer that there is probably a good way to do it than a truly big guy.
WHAT DOES NOT WORK- you can't just clip the quilt to the bars and expect it to work. This I think was the biggest early frustration as lots of folks have seen that system and assumed it worked on this one. It doesn't.
The simple reason-
A- this is a recessed bar, not an end bar bridge. So the pole to pole distance is 3-4' shorter than a RR. A yeti might work on the poles, but not a RR length or full length quilt.
B- It's a different hammock- completely. They are both bridges... but that's about all they have in common.
Some things I mentioned to a recent customer-
Generally speaking- the heavier/warmer your quilt the easier time you'll have fitting it... and to be blunt- a slightly sloppy 20* will still do good job at 30*, while a less than perfect fitting 30* won't get you 30*. Same as a GE really. So since I won't have a custom UQ for this ready anytime soon then it's safe to say that everyone is jury rigging a bit and I've been telling folks to be safe and figure you'll lose 10* or so as a result.
Arrowhead- Climbashield (any synthetic) is a bit trickier in general as down does such a good job of conforming to any issues. So of the quilts that might work I feel less confident saying these could be used. That said- that is only based upon my personal work with Apex and it's properties- not anything against Arrowhead or Paul.
As far as the rest-
This bridge is much wider, and a different shape than the RR. It's much flatter. If you were to put an endcap on it it- a RR looks more like a half circle this would look more like a half ellipse.
That said- I don't see why a RR designed quilt wouldn't work acceptably well on this via the dog bone method Mark (original tester came up with)
Basically you put a prussic shock cord on the end dogbones and clip the quilt onto those. This would allow the RR designed quilts to clip to a similar location in terms of distance and even shape.
Here is the short video Mark made- https://1drv.ms/v/s!Apygyt54yYPwg4p0lG5Xw4UWb6iekw
I need to do a better one- but I did come up with a hybrid connection using the RL. After the fact I realized it's basically like other quilt clips that hang off the RL.
Here's a short video I shot for Second Mouse to show him what I came up with- https://1drv.ms/v/s!Apygyt54yYPwg40b7icvVqpP9SAxiA
This seems to work a bit better for a simple quilt like the EE revolt that is shown... so may work well for the Arrowhead quilts too. By going to the RL it helps get the quilt wide enough for even the broadest of shoulders... and doing it via a shock cord prussic (rather than a Dutch bling type clip) allows you to reach up and slide it for a bit of end to end tension and adjustment.
So the foot end is via Mark's method, the head end is hung off the RL.
I'm fairly certain you could adapt just about any UQ to these... understanding of course that there might be some compromise in the temp rating.
As more of a general disclaimer- Sleeping in a bridge- especially one of mine... is much closer to sleeping on the ground in terms of insulation needs.
Your UQ isn't wrapping all the way around you like a GE would, and your Top quilt has to do more work than it would in a GE.
You don't have six layers of nylon built up either- it's like a floating cot so if it's breezy out- you get breeze at your sides.
Even a RR user might be surprised in terms of how much more 'exposed' you might be if that makes sense.
The BMBH is very deep, my bridges are wide open, the RR is in between.
I'm not even saying one is better than the other- just trying to express the differences as these various bridges are as different from each other as an eno is to an 11' XL hammock. They are all hammock, and these are all bridges... but the differences are dramatic.
Pads work exceptionally well, by far the best if you are stuck buying something is the Exped Hyperlight Duo Pad.
The UQ vs pad debate is less dramatic in a bridge, which was why I got into them. An UQ is still more comfy, but a good pad is nowhere near the level of compromise in a big bridge as it is in a GE.
Sigh... guess I know somebody who is about to order an Ambush in the name of customer service, lol.
I try hard not to pick at other peoples designs/products- so forgive me if this is insensitive to any of the RR specific designs but:
Is there something special about the RR designed quilts? To be blunt when eyeballing the websites/specs they just look like rectangles cut to the appropriate dimensions to fit the end bar bridge.
The prototypes I do are actually shaped like my bridges... they look like an hourglass and have a differential cut in multiple directions. I have darts at the butt area that pull it up and also allow deflection under load... a bit like the shaped design in the HG quilts at least in terms of shaping.
WV builds his PLG quilts via a fairly ingenious 3D triangle mapping system.
Grizz is a pretty tall, straight forward guy... he doesn't need a ton of shaping to get a good fit in his stuff that I saw.
So again forgive me if being rude but if your RR based quilt is basically just a GE quilt in slightly different dimensions- it'll probably work as well as a GE quilt has.
I've seen a few RR in person, but the folks that had them were using pads so I've never had a chance to put hands on one of those products to see if there was some shaping or other methods going on.
I assumed there was, but maybe not?
The canoe analogy is a good one for folks our size (non-big guy).
If I mostly stay in the middle of the bridge on my back or side then I never 'leave the canoe' the UQ makes.
When I change positions, I occasionally have to 'pull the canoe' over if I switch to sleeping on my side or curled in a ball.
The canoe is smaller than the bridge- so it looks funky when you are not in the bridge. When you are in- you settle into it and with the HG in particular- since it's hung just like a gathered end it moves with me with little or no effort.
The only time it gets a bit drafty is when I sleep in a ball in the center.
The RR Quilts are cat cut and fit exactly. As with any bridge, you certainly have less on the sides as you have mentioned and your TQ has to do its job. I am just curious. I love the look of these bridges and would love to try one, and can probably figure out how to make my current UQ work. As long as it can be kept snug against the bottom, I wouldn't we any serious problems. As per an earlier comment, I don't think the canoe shape would matter much. As long as I can position it where needed, it's plenty long, just wasn't sure about width I guess. I may need one of these in a SL 1.7 Robic or DL 1.1. BTW, I'm 5'8", 185.
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