[Insert clapping smiley here.]We had hangers from SC, LA and New York attending
[Insert clapping smiley here.]We had hangers from SC, LA and New York attending
I collect vintage camp stoves.
I roast coffee at home.
I used my HG Incubator for the first time on my BGBH for a weekend hang at Medoc Mtn State Park in NC. Outstanding results. Temps dipped down to 35 one of the nights and I had ZERO cold spots. Nice and warm...even at the shoulders.
I used a pair of Arrowhead Equipment's "Triangle Thingies" and hung them from the ridge line outside of the crossbars. I then ran the shock cords down to the UQ attachment points, around where the crossbar attaches to the hammock (see pictures). I attached the UQ's main s-biners at each end of the UQ suspension to the caribiner for the hammock. This arrangement kept the UQ snug up against the hammock and didn't move at all. I never had to tug at the UQ to cover any area. For some reason most of the pictures are turned sideways when posting them here...sorry! Can't figure out how to make them show the correct way.
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Retired US Navy, 10-year Stage IIIb colon cancer survivor. I believe my last words will be "Hold my beer..."
Looks Good Slugger!
First time I've seen the triangle thingy trick... hopefully it helps others too.
PS...
A few folks have asked for a bug net that has a zipper at one side so it's easier on/off. I notice you are slipping it off too.
What I've been knocking around for a version 2 or zippered option is the same basic design but one end having a zipper so you could just open it up at one end and just pull it away.
Is that a feature you (or anyone who wants to chime in) is interested in?
IMHO, I had no trouble moving in and out of the hammock the way the bug net is presently made. I only slipped it off that way so I could take clear pictures without the bugnet getting in the way. Slipping it off one end is extremely easy to do and - personally - would not need a zipper. But it is open for debate if anyone else would like that feature.Originally Posted by Just Bill
Yeah, I have never seen that trick with the triangle things. I happen to know the guy that came up with those things and he was into the diy bridges at the time and never thought of that!
Good looking hammock and setup!
Tell me more about this bug net. Is it like a sock that encloses the whole thing from end to end? Opening at the bottom similar to a frankly style bugnet? Details please.
https://1drv.ms/f/s!Apygyt54yYPwg7hfCjmhP1wbdun-Fg
Basically a version of a fronkey style with some extras and bridge specific shape.
The ends (at the apex) have a shock cord closure on the newer ones so it's easy to hook up.
The bottoms have the shock cord adjustments at the middle of each side panel which let you seal it up pretty well.
I like having the colored tabs because it's basically just a huge mess of netting and a few 'bright spots' at each end and bottom help get the thing sorted out in camp.
I tend to agree with Slugger. The middle adjustment lets you clip it up to the RL so getting in and out is pretty easy.
For me; once I put it 'on' it stays on. I roll the bridge up with the bugnet attached and find it easy to get in and out.
With the adjustments on both sides and at the middle- you can tension the net up from inside easily.
If I need to take it off, I just open one end up (the opening is a roughly fist sized) and unclip the biner.
But... we are talking hammocks where everyone has a little tweak they like to make and a slightly different use.
I think some really enjoy lounging easily and like to 'pop the top' and gaze at the leaves blowing in the breeze without any visual interruption... so I think that is what is driving the request for the easier on/off feature.
Some folks are looking for a bottom sealed or integrated net too due to their local conditions. Being up in the midwest and a bit of UL guy... a headnet usually does it for me. So full bug nets are not something I've been doing for a long time either so I depend on customer/tester feedback to guide me. I do have a concern though that an integrated net could impair the function of the adjustable ends and multiple sleep positions offered. While most folks seem to 'settle in' and pick a spot they like... each person picks a slightly different spot so there is no one-size fits all (which is the primary point of this bridge to begin with).
So since this bridge is holding up and doing the job it was intended to do... I am starting to look into how I can build it into a more trail ready system overall.
So I am starting to think towards tricking it out and completing the system so long as it doesn't affect the hammock itself.
I have a few small prototypes for gear storage, an 'add a pad sleeve' type option, and a tarp or two out for testing. So not planning on going nuts on the bug net yet... but I do like to dump stuff in my head so it has time to rattle around and see what falls out. This bridge exists because a forum member asked me to make it... I sat on it for a few months and waited for the pieces to fall into place.
Course now I just gotta sort out how to make more of them, lol. But the nets and tarps and quilts can rattle around while I do that.
Oh... one other thing I've been debating too...
Mountainhanger's experience always bugged me a bit. We were so close. There are a few 365+ folks in these now, but somewhere around there seems to be a functional, not a structural limit. That's why the Big Guy is 350+ and not a firm rating... at some point you simply don't quite fit right. Tim's issue wasn't comfort or structure but actual size of the bridge leaving him no place to go. He'd sleep 4-6 hours and then when it came time to roll over or change positions he just didn't have the option. So he needed just a bit more room.
The current limit on going bigger is actually the poles... not the fabric or suspension. My Easton supplier is getting me some quotes on .875" military thick wall AL poles and some 1" Aluminum tube.
No promises as it's a backburner project... but if I can sort it out I already talked to Tim about building a "Mountain Hanger" bridge.
Ideally into the 400 range on weight but mainly to go even wider overall so there is some room to move.
I've also always been fascinated by the 'Double hanger' problem and I think solving Tim's issue might be a step in the right direction to addressing a true double with a single spreader bar at the head end.
I've got three truly new gathered end hammocks I need to put some time into as well... one or three out for testing as we speak and I'm hoping to do more with at least one of them this year.
Well I am still full time hanging in my bridge. I am 6’2” and weight in at 320. I toss and turn all night. I always have. The biggest learning curve is learning how to roll over. The hammock is rock solid. It was unnerving for a while trying to turn over. After well over a year of full time sleeping and many many backpacking trips, these hammocks are solid for big guys. Trust the hammock and don’t grab the poles. I try sleeping in a bed every couple weeks. I never make it through the night. I always find myself back in the hammock.
I really need to build an Ariel I think. I had one made for me last year by a forum member here, but unfortunately it is starting to rip on me.
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