I've been hanging recreationally for a couple of years now. No overnights or camping trips--just getting out into nature during the day and relaxing in a nice spot. The wife and I have really been enjoying doing that this summer.
This experience has got me thinking of trying out hammock sleeping in the home. I've got a couple of gathered-end hammocks (one a tablecloth DIYer) I could use for that. But we're pretty short on space--being only able to get about 10.5' in which to stretch a hammock. The space issue, plus what I've read about bridged hammocks being a flatter lay, has caused me to consider trying a bridged hammock in the home for a full-time sleeping experiment.
An initial issue I've run into is that ready-made bridge hammocks seem all to be made for campers/hikers, coming with bug nets, lightweight materials, and rain flys. For an indoor hammocker, none of those things really apply. Which leads me to think along the lines of a DIY bridge hammock.
I've watched the excellent video at https://www.hammockforums.net/forum/...Bridge-Hammock and read another in-depth thread about DIY bridge hammocks at https://www.hammockforums.net/forum/...Bridge-Hammock. Those could certainly prove helpful and are inspirational. But, like the ready-made bridge hammocks I could buy from a catalog, those DIY versions are also hiker/camper-centric. For example, they also use lightweight materials while, for an indoor hammocker, the overall weight of the hammock is not an issue, since there will be no need to tote it around. I had even begun to wonder, becoming aware that what I have in mind differs from the plans I've seen in that it is not intended for camping/hiking, whether a bridge indoor hammock would even require the spreader bar that is part of nearly all bridge designs I've thus far encountered: you've got a wall to which to attach your hammock indoors (this is a former carpenter speaking, who has plenty of experience hanging heavy weight from walls), and you could just run the webbing along the sides of the hammock long, right to the wall to four attachment points. There's no need in such a scenario for it to terminate at a spreader bar.
Then, I ran across a DIY write-up, which seems to offer a plan for pretty much the exact bridge hammock I've been contemplating. See https://www.hammockforums.net/forum/...ock-(pictures), except the foot end shown in the picture would not come together but be spread apart like the head end.
Given the direction I'm going here, then, a couple of questions. First, are there any other full-time hammockers here who use brdige hammocks? If so, I'd be interested to hear about your experience and what sort of hammock you're using. Second, regarding hammock construction, given that my scenario does not dictate that I use lightweight fabric in the construction of this hammock, what other options are there in terms of fabric I could use for this? Input on this matter will be appreciated.
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