Mountain Hanger- Preview

[Just Bill]

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.

[Intimidator]

This is legendary. I am always so impressed with your products and thoughtfulness. Sorry to hear about the unfortunate passing.

[sidneyhornblower]

You're really exploring the limits on these larger hammocks and it's great vicarious fun to read about it. The pics are fascinating too, especially for the glimpses of your workspace, like being in the kitchen when the chef is working.

Cheers.

[mountainhanger]

Great job Bill!sent you a email and am humbled by your kindness

[sloanie]

Love how massive this thing is. As someone who is both on the big and tall side and moves around a lot at night, I might even be interested in something like this. I still need to put the Big Guy you sold me through the paces, though. My initial impression was that it was a bit narrow in the middle and might make it challenging to change sides during the night.... but as I said. I haven't put it through the paces

[Just Bill]

Love how massive this thing is. As someone who is both on the big and tall side and moves around a lot at night, I might even be interested in something like this. I still need to put the Big Guy you sold me through the paces, though. My initial impression was that it was a bit narrow in the middle and might make it challenging to change sides during the night.... but as I said. I haven't put it through the paces

Right about 2 minutes in I show a bit how to flip around, and about 2:50 in I show how I use my foot to step on the edge to help flip myself over.

Having a robust set of negative abs myself these days; you have to get a little creative and move your upper and lower body separately.
So I tend to twist my shoulders first, then kick off the edge with a foot to complete the turn.

While many find it a bit extreme, I actually like sleeping all the way on the edge at times. This picture is just to demonstrate how wide this is, but despite the bridge/poles rotating to about 60* relative to the ground the fabric still deforms around you and makes it much more stable than it looks. The point being; once you get comfortable with it you can use more of the middle than many realize. At first it will feel pretty alarming being on the edge but if you go slow and aren't pinned under a tarp in storm mode you can do this as well. Sometimes going all the way to the edge makes a full 180* roll over easier too.
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All that said:
As someone who fits in the Happy Medium well enough but sleeps in the Luxury most nights... I can understand how those who fit in the Big Guy well enough might appreciate the same option down the line.

But this is by far the largest camping bridge hammock I'm aware of so this model will progress slowly overall. So don't lose any sleep in the Big Guy dreaming of a Mountain Hanger

[aaronw]

Great job! This is legendary!
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[Intimidator]

robust set of negative abs

[Just Bill]

robust set of negative abs

Not everyone appreciates my extensive knowledge of human anatomy... so thank you.

Though my wife likes to point out it's mainly my extensive grasp of bullsharting at work.

[Just Bill]

The Man himself was able to come by last night and pick up round 1.

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MountainHanger recently had a double knee replacement... however since this hammock is literally named after him seemed fair to wait until he was ready to test it out.

I overdid the 'pop' in the center... so I was worried this round would be a total bust.
Though turns out that trail magic strikes again as it appears this mistake worked out pretty well to support his knees if he slides past the hump in the center into the head end of the bridge.
But goal number one of giving him some room to move seems accomplished. Mountain Hanger has his bridge in hand though and even if it turns out round one is just a therapy bridge then I'm a happy guy.

Figure we'll give him a few weeks to get his feedback and then start working on leveling out the center a bit for round two of design.
Usually a bridge takes me 4-5 rounds to dial it in just right... so pretty encouraging overall actually.
He had room at his shoulders, plenty of clearance under the bar for his head and while everything was firm... the fabric wasn't overstressed or straining and it looked and felt like it should.
Tim's knees are still healing so we didn't want to push too much rolling around in there, but there was room to do it. I'd say he was nice and flat but as mentioned the center is popping too much... so on the plus side that just means more width at the center of the bridge once that gets corrected.


Also- I realized after I posted that I had the weights wrong (had extra stuff in the storage bag). So I took the opportunity to weigh it again.
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With the Mil-Spec Easton Aluminum poles... 3lbs 9.25 ounces (everything but straps and whoopies)
The poles are a killer at 1lb 9 1/8 ounces all by themselves.

So couldn't help myself and I got together with Josh at Ruta Locura and had a .910 diameter carbon fiber set made up that held all 430lbs of my family in it so far.
That monster set of CF came in at 12.25 ounces and dropped the total weight to 2lbs 12.5 ounces
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Pretty exciting stuff... more therapy and recovery for Tim in the coming months and a few more rounds of design... hopefully by this fall when the weather is nice we can get Mountain Hanger back on the trail!


In other news...
A little more work... and perhaps we can turn this into a true double hammock for lighter couples as well.
Toss in a set of CF bars, another trick or two to balance the bedspace, and some suspension and we're looking at about 3lbs all in on this floating bed.