At last I can talk about this, I have been biting my tongue for months:
https://www.jacksrbetter.com/product...light-hammock/
First, consider the source( i.e. me ). I have been hanging since I set out for a week in the northern Rockies with my HHSS in Sept 06. Over the years sense, I have used many different brands and styles of hammocks, including one of the very first JRB bridge hammocks to be released from JRB, actually the first bridge hammock from any vendor here. Then a few years later I got their second bridge, which was a lighter version of the original, and not as deep. So the thing about any report from me is: over all of these years, I have never quite been able to declare an absolute favorite among the available hammocks. There are maybe 1/2 dozen of them that I can be happy with, and they all have their pros and cons as far as comfort goes, and then they differ somewhat on how the different insulation systems work with them. I.E ccf pads vs UQs(full length vs short UQs) vs Pea Pods vs HHSSs. So when I am trying to pick a particular hammock for a trip, or a test, my available insulation gets into the decision as much as does the hammock. But it is often a difficult choice for me to choose between bridge and gathered- especially for a back pack, back yard or car camping I am usually going bridge), or to choose say a Claytor used with a Pea pod vs my HH with a Super Shelter or a JRB with an MW3 or 4 or even pad, a WBRR with the AHE custom UQ or pad, etc. All of those are more than acceptable choices and will work for me, and I can be comfy and warm in any of them. Though I might sometimes need to add a knee pillow to my GEs.
Now, with all that said, I have been testing a prototype new version, JRB UL hammock for months. And it is one more superb hammock for me. It is UL, even with the spreader bars only 18 oz( 9 oz if you rigged up hiking poles).
Some folks, even with the WBRR much wider spreader bars, still complain about shoulder squeeze even with that bridge, which is significantly wider than either previous JRB. So I need to point out one more thing about me: I do not have any shoulder squeeze issues with any of the bridge hammocks, not even the original JRB which- due to it's depth and not so wide bars- has the least shoulder room of any of them. When I first got that original JRB back in maybe 07(?), I thought I had shoulder "squeeze", plus it was so different in so many ways, I panicked and returned it during the "no questions asked" time period. But later, I got to thinking about how I had ZERO calf pressure or knee extension, and how I had zero side discomfort, how even with the "shoulder squeeze", I might have been more comfy over all than any other hammock, etc, and wondered if I had given it a fair chance. So I got another one, and have had many a comfy nights sleep in it since then. I realized I did not really have shoulder squeeze, like I sometimes got if I hung a GE too tight. Rather, my shoulders- flat on my back- had to assume the shape of the hammock, which was similar to if I have my arms crossed over my chest. A position I often assume anyway. If I do that, then even in the most narrow JRB, my shoulders simply touch the sides of the hammock, but they are NOT squeezed, and it is quite comfy. And if I go even slightly to my side, my upside shoulder is not even in contact with the hammock, so squeeze is impossible.
So, I do not have shoulder squeeze in any of the bridge hammocks. But, like the WBRR, this new JRB has much more shoulder room than the older JRBs. Since it has wider bars like the WBRR, it is going to also need a wider pitched tarp, a negative compared to the the older JRBs. I don't think the bars are quite as wide as the WBRR with the 4" extender bar, but they are a good bit wider than the older JRBs.
Since the bars are wider, the triangles are longer and, just like the WBRR, are going to require more distance between the trees than the older JRBs, or most GEs. Another negative compared to the older JRBs.
However, the comfort is superb, very similar for me to the WBRR, with some slight difs/pros/cons. I think one dif it has a slight advantage for me: it is a bit deeper and as well as wider in the middle, I think. Seems to me wider(in the middle) anyway. I have not measured that width, just basing that on how it feels in fetal position. I have more room for my knees when pulled up in fetal than in the WB. And being a bit deeper(pros and cons), I can still lay back into the side with no worries of falling out, which I love to do. I can also do that in the WBRR, but always feels a bit risky. Other than that, they have a very similar feel. I do miss the saddle bags on the WB, but I have other ways of dealing with that.
There is no pad pocket in this model, unlike my WB and original JRB. But bridges work so much better for me with pads, I think I could still use one if desired. But, I have not really experimented with it much.
It has worked great with my JRB convertible MW3. I especially love it with my MW3 in short mode, and my sit pad under my feet, a perfect, gap free fit from the top of my head to under my thighs. Since that UQ is wider than the hammock- just as with previous JRBs- when I lay back into that side, the UQ keeps my back toasty. Maybe JRB is planning a custom UQ, such as exists for the WB? But, if so, I hope it still will work as well for when I lean back into the side of the hammock.
I'll think of some more to say about it later, and see if I can round up some pics. But, bottom line: as always, pros and cons, but I rate this one at least tied with the best I have used, either bridge or GE. And for fetal position, it is maybe the very best for me.
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