DIY bridge for a hefty guy

[Zigerot]

So I've been thinking about making my own bridge hammock, and I had some questions. I'm a pretty ig guy, somewhere in the 310-320 area and I wanted to know what parts of the hammock I need to beef up to hold me.

It seems that the spreader bars are the weaker link, so would a stronger bar help with that or is it more of the bar connection. Also does anyone have a weight calculator for bridge hammocks, somthing that would show me where the stresses are going to be in the system and I can strengthen paticular parts.

Any info would be appreciated, it is a shame to be locked out of such a cool hammock design by my weight.

[BrianWillan]

Your spreader bars will be your main concern. They take the compressive force of the suspension triangle for your bridge hammock. So you will want to use a longer triangle side length to reduce this compression force. Also I think a dual layer of fabric is recommended for someone of your size. I use a 1" hardwood dowel for my spreader bar and carved notches in the end to fit into my corner rings. Not the most compact solution, but it was readily available and rather cost effective.

I made my DIY bridges out of a single layer of the polyester crinkle taffeta tablecloth fabric that gets lots of mention on this stie.

Cheers

Brian