Happy Thanksgiving to all... Took the extra day off the day job to jump on a prototype I've been thinking of ever since the first round of Big Guy Bridge testing didn't end up working for one of the testers. Tim was a big fan of the Big Boy but unfortunately even the Big Guy wasn't quite big enough for him. Built like a door slab and filling the bridge up meant he could easily fall asleep but with only one position he could lay in a few hours into the night he ended up having to get up because he had no room to shift around. While the Big Guy has solved problems for many, it didn't do the job for Tim.
So in honor of Tim's screen name I started working on what has become the 'Mountain Hanger'. I was able to source some Military Spec Easton Aluminum poles in 7/8" diameter that appear to be doing the job so far. At 4lbs 4 ounces it's not UL... but I've already contacted Ruta Locura about working up something in Carbon Fiber to see if we can do something about that. With one layer of Hybrid 1.7 and one layer of Hex 70... it's a tank so as long as the poles will keep up I suspect that this is a viable design even if the pattern might need some tweaks in the coming months.
No plans to ship this thing anytime soon, but I hope to contact Mountain Hanger about testing the first one off the line and see how it does before I go too far. I put so much pop in the middle in anticipation of 350+ pound occupants that it may be too much as even with my Wife and I piled in the middle we couldn't get this thing to bottom out much and even under our combined load the bridge still inverted very firmly. (230+125 for me and the missus).
So I may need to dial it back or try it with some other fabrics... though I was shooting for 400+ single occupant loads and while it was way to firm for me to enjoy at 230; I think for the intended occupant it may be a big step in the right direction.
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As a bonus... I have always had some suspicions this could work as a double for some.
My beer storage unit has reached excess capacity, and my wife and I are both 40 with various injuries acquired along the way. So I don't think we'll be testing it in any serious way, but the potential is there for this to be a true double hammock. Especially for smaller couples or those who are extra cuddly in bed. Weight capacity isn't so much the issue but the large weight difference between us means I'm fairly comfortable but the rest of the hammock gets drum tight and hard to lay in for her.
I tossed on a standard UGQ Zeppelin and the fit is sloppy but doable for indoor use. Even hung fairly saggy though the middle popped up too much for me to get a tight seal... so long term a custom quilt may be needed for this one. Though I did toss in a Costco throw and some 'pick me ups' in the middle and got a decent enough level of warmth... with the spreaderbars being wider than the quilt it's a push getting a standard quilt to function properly because of the inverted bridge.
It also performed acceptably as a camp couch with a double 'chair trick' modification and provided a ton of fun for me and the family to goof around in. The kiddos and I fit in there well enough and could likely have goofy sleep... but me and a single kiddo would probably work great. Team Townsend is tipping the scales at a combined 450 pounds or so and at one point all four of us were in there but we ran out of Townsend's to take any pictures.
I may shoot it out to a testing couple to try, but some sad news here as the tester I had in mind passed away after a long battle with cancer over the holiday. I was really hoping to get this to him for him and his wife to share during his recovery. Don't mean to end things on a down note, but I'm saddened this didn't get to the other Tim I had in mind so I'll likely set this one aside for a bit. Literally finished shooting these pics and got the news.
Be thankful for this short life we have.
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