Reminding myself of what a great hammock the JRB James River Bridge is ( Plus Hammock Tent 90)

[BillyBob58]

Or even more so, what a great combo this hammock with the JRB Greylock UQ is. Actually, today I remembered what a great hammock the JRB is as well as the Hammock Tent 90(HT90). It is hard for me to choose between these 2 hammocks, even though they are quite different and have their pros and cons relative to each other and other hammocks. But first the JRB.

The incredible thing about this hammock,rated I think for 250 lbs, is that it weighs 18 oz including spreader bars! It is about 9 oz without the bars! It is single layer, but I have had pretty good success just laying my 2.5" thick Neoair All Season just laid inside the hammock. I had no trouble staying on the pad as I moved from back to side.





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Plus, it was deep enough in the hammock that if I got way off to one side, the sides of the hammock would still catch me. Of course, if I tried to sleep that way, which I love to do with an UQ, I would need a small piece of CCF pad to insulate the part of my back that is pressed into the hammock's side, but I have worked out an easy way to do that.

I noticed for the first time that this was not quite as comfy as my UQ. Good enough if I needed a pad, but not quite as comfy either on my back or side. I'm fairly convinced that my trees were not quite far enough apart to get optimal adjustment of at least 11'3" between the suspension apex. So this was causing a very slight sag in the middle which I could tell was slightly affecting the lay. If I had been spending the night, I would have adjusted that, but I didn't bother for the few hours I was out, with even less time on the pad. But for some reason this was more noticeable with the pad than the UQ. It also took the pad longer to warm up than it took the UQ, but once it did it seemed very toasty.

But the Greylock 4 and JRB combo, Yeah Baby, that's the ticket. I still needed another 3 or 4" for an optimum tree to tree distance(good thing I wasn't trying to use my WBRR, I would have had to find different trees). But so comfy, and so warm! And none of that trying to find the sweet spot, just get in, lay down, comfy and warm. No matter where I place a body part, or if I lay back into the hammock sides, it was covered and warm.

Foot end: ..............

Head end: ............

Comfy on my back: ..........

Comfy on my side: ............

And every spot where my body put any pressure on the hammock, wonderfully warm. (except feet of course unless I us a foot pad which I do when it is cold enough. Though in fetal position, even my feet are warm without a foot pad.

I'll comment on the HT90 in the next post.

[BillyBob58]

First thing to note about this HammockTent9(HT90) hang is that the trees are only about 7 or 8 feet apart! This is the only hammock I have that I could even consider trying such a thing with. I normally use this hammock with the same Neoair pad pictured in the OP. But, I had deflated the pad when done using it with the JRB, thinking I would only play with one hammock today. But I decided I had time, and didn't want to inflate the pad again, so I just shoved the JRB Greylock 4 into the 3" deep pad pocket of the HT90(Inner Quilt). Then did my best to spread it left to right. So, 3.5" single layer loft maybe as thick as 7 or 8" in some spots, but at least 3.5" every where. Compressed down to about 3" after I get in. Here you can see the loft lifting up the inside layer of the hammock:

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Lots of warmth, zero calf ridge or shoulder squeeze, even with no pad.

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The camera angle makes it look like I am sloping down hill towards my feet, but I'm not, I am flat. But when not using a pad, notice that when in fetal how a ridge rises up in the middle. This provides support for my waist, rather the opposite of many hammocks where there is a tendency for my waist to be forced downward, which is not comfortable.

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So, tons of shoulder room, without spreader bars. Very flat lay with a slight tendency towards knee extension if a full length pad is used. Most comfortable I have used for side sleeping, especially with no pad- but still great with a pad. Very awkward getting in and out of or using as a chair at least when using the pad, much prefer the JRB and other hammocks in that department. Zero calf ridge with or without a pad. Takes a lot of getting used to. Using an UQ would be quite tricky, especially without a pad. But, using an IQ, with or without a pad, works great. Expensive and must be ordered from Europe, and has a low weight rating, 200 lbs I think for the new ones. Overall, either most comfortable hammock I have used, or tied for best.