RidgeRunner woes

[Freakin Farmer]

Am I alone?

Two months ago I sent off for my long coveted RidgeRunner. When it arrived I couldn't have been more pleased. Perfect quality and design. Every night in it is a treat: Ultra comfort.
I finally got it out on a real trip...the Iowa Hang. It gave me two great nights of sleep.

Now here's the "however":

However, a few things just didn't feel right.
On the first night my shoulders felt exposed. I was never cold but I found myself missing the sidewalls of the gathered end, something to help keep the chilling breeze off the face. The next morning as I awkwardly sat on the edge of the hammock to get dressed and put my boots on I found myself not only missing the sure-footedness of the gathered end. The opposite side of the hammock swinging up so high I was afraid of ripping my tarp with the spreader bars isn't exactly a selling point, either. That brings me to my next concern, the spreader bars. I started unpacking my gear to set up and a rush of panic set in when I couldn't find one of the footend spreaders. After a few agonizing minutes I discovered it had nested in one of the headend bars. Not a deal breaker...but fiddle factor points deduction.
I want to love the RidgeRunner. I sleep so amazingly in it. I realize all of those items have a solution, but I keep getting hung up on them.
I want to love the RidgeRunner.

Am I alone?


P.s. I want to reiterate that the quality and design of the RidgeRunner and the Lynx are top notch and couldn't speak any more highly on that end.

[johnspenn]

I've never tried a bridge hammock. What made you decide to move out of a gathered-end?

[Freakin Farmer]

I've never tried a bridge hammock. What made you decide to move out of a gathered-end?

I have always struggled with calf ridge in my gathered end. I tried all varieties of things to correct i.e. hangle, RL, etc. Got better but never totally went away.
I first laid in a RidgeRunner last year at the Iowa Hang and was immediately sold on comfort alone.

[zukiguy]

You're sold on the comfort so just stick with it. The bridge is significantly different than a gathered end. This is both a good and bad thing. You'll have to decided which for you.

As for the shoulders I never really noticed. The bridge wraps much more than a bed or pad on the ground so do you have the same effect there? I've used a down sleeping bag in my bridge with a pad before getting my UQ. It worked fine and I found that getting in/out of the bag was pretty simple.

The tilt problem you mentioned is a combination of hang height/tension and "operator error". The bridge acts just like those old spreader bar backyard hammocks in some respects. Sitting too close to the edge is going to cause it to tilt, that's just physics. Slide your bottom back toward the center a bit and it will level out. For the tension/height you'll just need to play with that a bit. The magical 30-degree angle needed for gathered ends doesn't seem to be as critical. There is still a sweet spot but I don't know what angle it is. Too steep and you don't get the flat lay and too flat and the bridge ends up really tippy.

Hammocks in general have a much steeper learning curve than other sleep systems and a bridge has just a few more tricks to learn. Give it some time and you'll be a convert. My gathered ends have been passed down to the kids. I've drunk the bridge kool-aid and I don't plan to go back.

[TrailSlug]

Are you using down quilts? I've never had the cold shoulder but I have nice down top and under quilts but I do get a cold nose. What you describe as not liking is a selling point for bridge hammocks and that is the view out. No need to raise up to see out just look left or right. The spreader bars are a bit of worry for me as I've almost left them at home. I now bungee them to my hammock so I do not forget them. For the comfort provided I'll put up with the bars though. I also have to top pole mod on my tarp and the hammock doesn't hit the tarp very often and when it does I have the rubber bumpers that cover the sharp part of the pole that sticks out. So all in all I love my Ridgerunner and only use my gathered end when I have guests.

[Freakin Farmer]

Are you using down quilts? I've never had the cold shoulder but I have nice down top and under quilts but I do get a cold nose. What you describe as not liking is a selling point for bridge hammocks and that is the view out. No need to raise up to see out just look left or right. The spreader bars are a bit of worry for me as I've almost left them at home. I now bungee them to my hammock so I do not forget them. For the comfort provided I'll put up with the bars though. I also have to top pole mod on my tarp and the hammock doesn't hit the tarp very often and when it does I have the rubber bumpers that cover the sharp part of the pole that sticks out. So all in all I love my Ridgerunner and only use my gathered end when I have guests.

Yes, I have a down TQ and the Lynx UQ. As I said, I was never cold. Plenty warm in fact.

[sqidmark]

A wider UQ for a GE would rise up beyond the edges of the RR. Not so much at the very ends I'd guess, but maybe just enough to help. However, this would tend to render the saddlebags virtually useless.

I made tarp protectors for the bar ends from 1/2" foam pipe insulation.

[Shug]

I think your just gonna have to use it more and get more familiar with it. Put a hand back on the edge that goes up wheb sitting up to get out to tame it.
It is like dating a different gal.......still a gal but a wee different.
Time should do you.
Shug

[Freakin Farmer]

I think your just gonna have to use it more and get more familiar with it. Put a hand back on the edge that goes up wheb sitting up to get out to tame it.
It is like dating a different gal.......still a gal but a wee different.
Time should do you.
Shug

Understood and expected....though nagging feeling that once deep winter arrives may be more than I want to fiddle with. Put the rig and UQ on the for sale section this morning...one trip around the dance floor with the new girl was all it took, I guess. Off to shop for a new gathered end.

[TrailSlug]

Understood and expected....though nagging feeling that once deep winter arrives may be more than I want to fiddle with. Put the rig and UQ on the for sale section this morning...one trip around the dance floor with the new girl was all it took, I guess. Off to shop for a new gathered end.

This is a first for me hearing the the Ridgerunner had any fiddle factor. I find the gather end hammocks and under quilts to be 10 times more fiddle factor but hey to each their own.