Testing the fit of Bridge Specific UQ's on the Towns End Luxury Bridge

[Beemermcr]

"Square quilts/woobie/CostCo
Plain jane square Underquilts, sheets, blankets, etc.... these generally work okay but require some DIY innovation and assembly of the system. Mini Binder clips can be handy to close up tricky spots or put a dart into the center. They will work, but seem to lose some performance for sure."

Full time in the basement, i just use a Costco that was my first DYI, with good coverage, no cold spots, etc. Didn't really think about it - was what I had, wasn't a pad (long line of failures in a GE effort) and toasty. Building a Gemini with more Costcos, but don't know how that will work with a clew system, but will find out. If I were outside, I would spend the money on one of the good fits discussed here: CBS inside is nothing to CBS outside.

[sqidmark]

For my Lux, I've only used my CDT that was made for GE's. It has it has 3, 15" darts per end to taper. It's about 45" in the center while the ends are about 35-38. This particular quilt was made as the outer of a modular set, so no secondary on it. It's the original 70" length which is fine for me @ 5'4".

I sleep hot. I drown in anything the resembles a vapor barrier, so pads are out.

Pretty much I've just used the bridge indoors. I slip the primary cords over the bar tips. I sleep with my shoulders directly under the bar. This presents a problem as the upper edge of the quilt is right under or slightly above my head and the pressure is not welcome. I clipped one of those alligator clips from Dutch to the center of that edge and ran a shock cord up to the suspension biner, thus pulling it away from my head a bit. This makes it tollerable, but by no means an ideal setup. We keep our thermostats at 60 in winter and the CDT has worked perfectly well for me at that. I've considered removing the quilt suspension altogether and rigging a different arrangement. Rather than modifying this quilt, I have a few more unmodified CDT's so I may tinker with them.

Since the edges of a bridge are not floppy like a GE, I've been thinking that loops at various points along the edges and corresponding loops on a custom fit quilt might be beneficial. Kam snaps could be used, but I'd guess that short shock cord loops would allow for a more dynamic fit.

I've found that on my GE's I prefer not having the side pressure of the quilt supsension on me, in particular the primary. Even though my only non conventionally suspended uq is a 3/4 CDT clews, and it has a few drawbacks, not having that side pressure is a true blessing for me. Sure, in a bridge that side pressure won't be felt anyway, but I'm wondering if a fitted clews or wooki-ish uq might be a viable solution for other reasons.

I haven't tried my LLG Habanero on it yet as I would roast with 20* indoors. But I may tinker with it just to see if I can add some useful input to the pool.

As Bill is well aware, I'm an oddball trying to get fit up in any hammock and bridges have proven to be no less a challenge. I'll experience great benefits in some areas and suffer in another. I'm not there yet but figure that nirvana is within grasp, but it will likely take form in a different configuration. For this reason I've been reluctant to devote a lot of time on the UQ issue.

[Just Bill]

I know with GE hammocks you're told to try to get 45 degree angle on the suspension. You saying it should be a lot less with the BGBH?

Bout 30* for a GE. 20-25* for a bridge. When the bridge is loaded it sags a bit more than a GE tends to so loaded it comes out around 30*.

LUX and BG Bridge Hang Diagram.pdf

[Slugger]

Yeah...I don't know where that 45 degree stuff came from. I even own a t-shirt that says I hang at 30 degrees!

[Slugger]

I tried fitting my HG Incubator UQ (I initially bought a couple years ago for my 1st GE hammock) to my new BGBH for the past 2 days. Would have better spent the time banging my head against the wall. So.........

I am comfortable using my insulated pads for now (Exped Synmat 7 L/W or my Big Agnes Q-Core L/W) for bottom insulation. Either will take me below 20 degrees. Not my first choice, but it will do until either Just Bill comes out with a UQ designed for the BGBH or I may try a WB Lynx.

Headed to northern NH on Columbus Day weekend & will be hanging in my new BGBH. With projected overnight temps in the low-mid 30's I'll let everyone know how I made out.

[Just Bill]

I tried fitting my HG Incubator UQ (I initially bought a couple years ago for my 1st GE hammock) to my new BGBH for the past 2 days. Would have better spent the time banging my head against the wall. So.........

I am comfortable using my insulated pads for now (Exped Synmat 7 L/W or my Big Agnes Q-Core L/W) for bottom insulation. Either will take me below 20 degrees. Not my first choice, but it will do until either Just Bill comes out with a UQ designed for the BGBH or I may try a WB Lynx.

Headed to northern NH on Columbus Day weekend & will be hanging in my new BGBH. With projected overnight temps in the low-mid 30's I'll let everyone know how I made out.

Look a few posts back at post 16... that's how I hung the incubator.
That was the easiest to hang for me... I just clipped it on the loops of the ARL with no modifications at all.

Hoping you were just overthinking it? Or maybe they have a different suspension on the newest Econ models?

Also- if just using the pads for insulation you might try the shoelace trick with the pads but don't want to frustrate you any further without instructions handy.

[Slugger]

Hoping you were just overthinking it? Or maybe they have a different suspension on the newest Econ models?

It would appear that I was trying to over-engineer it. After looking at your pictures I see no reason that it wouldn't work that way for me also. K.I.S.S. - Keep It Simple Stupid!

[Just Bill]

It would appear that I was trying to over-engineer it. After looking at your pictures I see no reason that it wouldn't work that way for me also. K.I.S.S. - Keep It Simple Stupid!

The only issue I can see- is if your case (big guys in general) if your wider shoulders make it harder to get 'in the canoe' as we were calling the shape of the regular UQ when used this way.

Yes... I'm wondering if I've involved too much cleverness at this point in trying to fix a few odd ball situations or poorly fitting quilts.
It's quite likely as we play with this with more folks that we'll find simply slapping them up Gathered end style will do the job.

Even if there is a few degrees of loss in real use... that's still better in my opinion than forcing folks to get a custom quilt.
Down the line that could make some sense but these bridges are expensive enough without having to invest super far into custom stuff. For the near term I'd rather see all of us getting stock/standard designs to work.

Long term if the bridge is your hammock and investing in some custom stuff for a system you'll use for years makes some sense.
But until this product gets a couple of years old and becomes trusted gear I don't want to see anyone forced to over-commit funds to tricking it out.

Still gotta download and post your picks- but the winter dream with Pole mods looked like a very roomy pitch to me!

[Slugger]

Still gotta download and post your picks- but the winter dream with Pole mods looked like a very roomy pitch to me!

Oh yes...I was quite pleased! Even with all 4 sides down there was more than enough room inside. When I go to NH in a couple weeks, I'll take a bunch of pictures of the BGBH with the WD12 tarp "in the wild." I'll get some with/without the UQ and also some with the "doors" closed on the tarp in severe weather mode. If I feel adventurous enough I'll shoot a video "review" of the hammock also.

[happydensity]

It was encouraging hearing somebody be able to go below 20F on a pad-don't know I'll be so lucky. So far, in my Lux, it's been a LW Neoair and a short 1S AHE Ridge Creek. The Ridge Creek was insufficient at 50F, and I missed coverage the most at the head end. The pad has been ok above 40-if I can stay on it. I'm a thrasher and the Lux is cavernous, so this is challenging. Looking forward to trying out an Exped Duo, as well as perhaps a down UQ and Synmat 7 LW (as well as a WD 12 tarp) in the upcoming months. I backpack more than car camp, so pack weight/volume is important. I preferred a pad in my WBRR (read flat and firm), so ideally I'd figure a way to pull that off in the Lux. I'm wondering if the Exped pad plus a 1 season quilt might be the best combo for me in the SouthEastern winter