4+8+8=20
20x6g per foot= 120g
120/28.5= 4.25 ounces for #5 zipper coil. #3 just won't hold up well and #8 is overkill.
Figure an ounce or two for detailing things out and you're looking at 5-6 ounces just to add a zipper in a similar fashion to the net on the RR that stows away... more for a Banyon style removable top before you even count the netting.
So now you're taking one of the lightest full sized hammocks around and adding quite a bit of weight to it while losing some function overall. If you go with a rainbow door. entry on one side.. you can trim some zipper but now you're locked into one side entry. Not the worst thing on the symmetrical Happy Medium design, but a bigger deal on the Luxury or Big Guy. It offers some interesting options in terms of storage to do that type of door... but now feature creep drives up the weight/cost further there too. You may lose a little function in terms of being able to use different quilts, roll over an piss, and more easily lounge or cook from the hammock.
One big bridge advantage for backpacking (In my opinon) is versatility. If you use a pad... you can easily go to ground when desired or required. The current bugnet allows you to set it up as quick 'net tent' style piece either on it's own or in conjunction with your tarp. So in effect- as a 'set' of gear a good bridge system functions more like a nice ground setup with the option to hang, rather than the other way around. That's what got me started with bridges. With four pieces of gear (tarp, pad, net, bridge) you have a kit that can be used for a variety of trips/conditions. Add an underquilt and you can opt for maximum luxury. If that is a quick weekend- you can pick or choose what fits. If that is a long distance hike- you can sleep well in the trees, cowboy camp on a mountain view, tarp camp in a meadow, sleep on a shelter floor, or hide in the bushes at the Post office waiting for a mail drop. So besides 'on the trail' function... being able to leave a piece of kit on the shelf at home is nice. While I get the detachable concept of something like the banyon... even when you leave the net at home you still have to carry half the zipper and the extras required to attach it. When you leave my current net at home you leave 100% of it there.
That's sorta where I personally get stuck with the integrated net idea overall. A personal failing perhaps... but I have a hard time designing something I don't believe in very strongly. Or my opinion is simply too strongly held,
Zippers have a relatively high failure rate or at least add failure point- that bugs me a hair if I'm honest. One thing many folks fail to talk about when they claim their hammock can 'go to ground' is that you are taking your hammock and using it on the ground. So dirt, debris, etc are now getting into your zippers and you are grinding your load bearing fabric into those same dirt and debris which will wear things out faster. It's not a tent floor fabric and if you get a few pinholes in your hammock... a dab of seam sealer won't hold up under load when you go back to the air. The alternative is building a tank of a 'hammock' with fabric you don't really want and weight you don't want to carry just for the parlor trick of pitching it in 'tent mode'.
While I suppose is up to the customer... the likelyhood of heading into the $400-$500 range on cost is another issue in my opinion at least.
Yar- twist it around and think of it as a 'shelter' rather than a hammock and it's not a completely unreasonable pricepoint... but for many it does seem that way.
You're not the only person looking for an integrated net, but you're also not the only one who lives in pretty rough bug country who was skeptical of the bottom entry net either. By the nature of this forum's user base, most of my customers are in the south east. But with rare exception (one return) and a few folks who are holding off- the current net does the job for many. OR perhaps more accurately it's just that the other options don't do the job well enough and folks are willing to compromise on the net to get the bridge that works better for them.
So... still a tough one for me. I do think about it more often than I should... and the design challenge interests me.
Eventually I think it will happen if I can sort it out in a way that makes sense to me as a backpacker. The recessed spreader bar presents some challenges for designer and user alike as well.
Ultimately at the moment it may simply be my limited production ability that is keeping it off the market if I'm totally blunt. Offering the different models (vs one model in a few flavors) is tough to keep up with as it is for me doing this part time.
I see my stuff as backpacking focused. Even the Big Guy is a reasonable piece of backpacking gear and meant to be used that way.
If you're talking pure car camping... an Aerobed is $100. While not sexy... it does the job.
If you're talking home sleepers who really need the support of my bridges... the bridge functions best without the net in the way.
If you're talking UL backpacking... the head net you have for an ounce is ideal.
But I do get it. Always up for talking about it and always thinking about it.
There is a subset of folks who just really like having their 'house' as Colin Fletcher first put it. I know many a camper who would never cowboy camp, many who would never tarp, and many who would never consider anything but a solid double wall tent. For many hammocks have evolved to mean a fully enclosed shelter. Going netless is a unthinkable as going 'topless'
Not spilling stuff onto the ground is a challenge for some as well. We all have 'something' we have strong feelings about in regards to gear and this is no exception.
One option pushed off due to this lovely year; is a fully enclosed version of my current net with a rainbow door on the side. I've discussed this with two Floridians and a few others to get some feedback. Probably do a Membrane 10 type fabric along the bottom. I am not a believer in 'socks' so while familiar with them I don't have a ton of personal experience. But this type of item seems like a decent 'meet in the middle' choice. The Membrane 10 bottom would give you underquilt protection from wind and splash and the fully enclosed space would resolve the worst bug issues. Most importantly to me... it fits in with my design philosophy overall. It could be left at home, doesn't interfere with the recessed bars, quilts or other features and would function well or even better when going to ground. It would likely come out close to the same weight and packsize while offering some improvements. About the only big thing you loose is the roll over to pee feature. It would run a little more expensive perhaps due to the cost of the M10 fabric... but it wouldn't be the same wallet crushing ding as a a fully integrated net.
That newer model I'm debating is the better entry point for me to sort out a net since it is an end bar.
So at this point likely that one would be the first model to see an integrated net before any of the current models. I'm thinking a zipperless entry for that one or a nike swoosh type door.
I'd also like to do more with an 'all-in one' air bivy type bridge design I have done for some FKT stuff. The only real downside with those is a wet tarp being packed up with the hammock. Not a big deal when paired with a pad... but not much fun to lay down on a bit of dampness if you go without the pad. And while this would run up there too in cost... it wouldn't be too crazy.
I've got a few gathered end designs I'd like to explore too, lol. Too many ideas, Too little time.
Anyway- rambling away. Sorry to derail the thread and continued luck with the search for perfection!
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Originally Posted by Just Bill
Which simply means it is over your body and within your bedspace. You might bump into it sometime, and you'll have to get used to it being there. It does seriously freak some people out. For those with stiffer nerve, it is still nerve racking to start. After a dozen or so nights most get used to it... everyonce in a while someone doesn't. To quote the great grizz 'Professor Hammock' hisself- 'There is no free lunch'.
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