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  1. #1
    Senior Member GrizzlyAdams's Avatar
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    hammock sock for bridge hammocks

    I've made a hammock sock that (with small modifications) could be adapted to most any bridge hammock, including (in particular) the JRB one. As the JRB BMBH is shipping now, I thought I'd share my design. In its simplest form, all you need to do is cut straight edges, and sew straight hems.

    On to the story.

    I became convinced I need a hammock sock one night last month when the temperature was in the mid 30's---and so was the wind (in mph). That's not so unusual out here on the prairie.

    I had adequate insulation for the temperature w/o wind, a JRB UQ. But that wind stole my warm away.

    I made and reported on an earlier version of the sock, but for a variety of reasons (mostly trying to avoid starting over) that one left the endpoints of the spreader bars exposed. Trying to work around those was a pain. When I made a new bridge hammock I figured it was time to redo the hammock sock.

    This time the sock would contain the whole hammock, spreader bars and all. The pressing question was how to shape the fabric around and bring it together past the spreader bar. Happily it turns out that a simple pattern seems to work.

    The end product is a big tube, 120" long, and 120" in circumference. Each end of the tube has velcro (I use Freemagic) on opposing sides, so you can seal up the tube end in a 60" line. When you seal, you end up sealing around the suspension lines.

    Here's a diagram of the fabric used. Dimensions shown are the finished ones that work for a bridge that is 7' long from end-cap to end-cap.



    The basic concept is to take full width roll of silnylon, cut a length that when hemmed is 120". Cut it down the middle in the long dimension. Hem or use bias tape on all the edges. On both pieces sew on a 120" strip of one-sided velcro (like FreeMagic). These two pieces are the ends of the sock. Being sil they provide waterproof coverage in the normally exposed directions.

    The sock has a 60" x 60" top, and 60" x 60" bottom (both dimensions when finished).

    This is a lot of fabric, compared with socks for normal hammocks. But it is necessary, if you are to cover the whole hammock---particularly covering the ends of the spreader bars. For the mathematically inclined, I can model the "width" requirements of the tube before the the long edge is sewn up as the circumference of an ellipse. The long axis is a tad over the length of the hiking pole, say 40". The short axis is the height; the hammock can drop to almost 18" below the spreader bar, so make the short axis 36". The circumference of an ellipse with those dimensions is approximately 119.5". So there you are.

    I wanted this sock to create dead air, and also protect the ends and bottom of the hammock. A bridge hammock is wider, lower, than other hammocks, and so the normal hex style may expose hammock ends of a bridge where it would not for a normal hammock. Thus I opted to use silnylon at the ends, and at the bottom of the tube, and use breathable DWR ripstop nylon above my body. Conceptually you sew together the pieces in the orientation shown in the figure above, then sew the top and bottom edges together. Instant tube.



    It would work to make the sock a simple tube, and have entry and exit require one to undo the velcro at the head end and slide the sock out of the way. That's a hassle though. I have a 8' long double tabbed zipper to press into service. There is a weight penalty of a few ounces using it, but it is also a convenience. I embedded it in one side of the top fabric panel. When closed up there are zipper tabs up near the ridgeline, at both ends of the top piece. Either one can be pulled down, so this is an easy way to get some ventilation. I can also get ventilation at the sil end caps by not tightly sealing up the velcro there, in some small spot.

    Because of my DIY bridge design it is easy for me to get it on and off the hammock just by disconnecting the suspension triangle from the ridgeline and slide the sock over the body. It might not be as convenient to do this with the JRB hammock though. There are ways one could alter this design though to accommodate, mostly involving additional cuts, and more velcro.

    Because of wind it was hard to get good pictures this morning. I'm in airports, conference rooms, and hotels all week. Not sure when next I'll get the rig up for pictures, so will share what I have at the moment.


    The bridge makes a pretty good sail. The orange line is suspension ridgeline, I've got tabs and lines up from the sock body so I can suspend the top. You can see th U shape of the 8' zipper, that starts at sock ridgeline, drops to be close to the lower body of the sock, then rises up again to the sock ridgeline.




    Here's a view of the sil endcap closed up.




    Here's a view of the sil endcap opened up.



    oh yeah, it weighs 21 oz. For the fabric alone in the dimensions I've posted the weight would be 16 oz. if I used 1.1 oz fabric for the top part of the body, and sil weighs 1.3 oz the weight would be 14 oz. I used 1.9 oz ('cause I had it), there's the zipper, and some velcro (I actually cut 1/2" wide strips in half to create 1/4" strips, to save weight there).

    Grizz
    Last edited by GrizzlyAdams; 12-09-2007 at 17:52.

  2. #2
    Senior Member FanaticFringer's Avatar
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    Nice job Grizz. Bet that will really add some warmth. I'm waiting on some 1.1oz ripstop for my top cover. I'm gonna cut it to the measurements of the bugnet, sew freemagic on the sides. Cool that your getting a JRB BMBH. The more I use mine, the more I'm liking it.
    "Every day above ground is a good day"

  3. #3
    Senior Member GrizzlyAdams's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by FanaticFringer View Post
    Nice job Grizz. Bet that will really add some warmth. I'm waiting on some 1.1oz ripstop for my top cover. I'm gonna cut it to the measurements of the bugnet, sew freemagic on the sides. Cool that your getting a JRB BMBH. The more I use mine, the more I'm liking it.
    oops, didn't mean to imply I'm getting a JRB BMBH, although I very much look forward to trying one out. Just that this basic design ought to work for folks that have 'em.

    good approach on the cover...getting the right dimensions is most of the battle...

    Grizz

  4. #4
    Senior Member Jazilla's Avatar
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    Grizz, using slightly more material you could extend the sock to the one suspension ring. Then sew one end closed and cord in the other. The to enter you peel back sock get in and pull cord tight. This would keep the sock off you cause its above the ridge line and you can pass the cord through the ring so all the fabric would bunch there and tie it off to the spreader bar
    Yosemite Sam: Are you trying to make me look a fool?
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  5. #5
    Senior Member GrizzlyAdams's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jazilla View Post
    Grizz, using slightly more material you could extend the sock to the one suspension ring. Then sew one end closed and cord in the other. The to enter you peel back sock get in and pull cord tight. This would keep the sock off you cause its above the ridge line and you can pass the cord through the ring so all the fabric would bunch there and tie it off to the spreader bar
    That's a good idea that is probably better served on the JRB BMBH. I have pretty big suspension triangles (maybe 50" on a side, if I remember correctly). With a 120" circumference (which can be rather smaller for the BMBH because of its spreaders), adding a couple of feet to get to the ring is over 2 more yards of fabric! (which is probably less than the weight of my zipper, so who am I to complain...)

    You're on to something though, I'm gonna noodle that one around. Simpler is better. Thanks.

    Grizz

  6. #6
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    Digging up this old, but good, thread. I have a Warbonnet Ridgerunner coming in the mail next week and am looking to make a sock for it out of Tyvek. I stumbled across this thread in a search, and glad I did. Grizz do you think this will work for the WBRR? Also, I was going to use all your same dimensions only using tyvek. It will have a large "U" shaped zipper on one side like yours and a smaller zippered window on the other side. I was also going to somehow sew some bug netting into the area above my head area so that condensation does not build up. I would also have omnitape sewed on each end like you have to close around the suspension lines past the spreader bars. I was planning to use soft structure Tyvek because I have a local source to get it cheaper than most anything else and it has great wind blocking and water resisting properties. What are your, or anyone else's, thoughts on this approach?

  7. #7
    Senior Member GrizzlyAdams's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Kpi890 View Post
    Digging up this old, but good, thread. I have a Warbonnet Ridgerunner coming in the mail next week and am looking to make a sock for it out of Tyvek. I stumbled across this thread in a search, and glad I did. Grizz do you think this will work for the WBRR? Also, I was going to use all your same dimensions only using tyvek. It will have a large "U" shaped zipper on one side like yours and a smaller zippered window on the other side. I was also going to somehow sew some bug netting into the area above my head area so that condensation does not build up. I would also have omnitape sewed on each end like you have to close around the suspension lines past the spreader bars. I was planning to use soft structure Tyvek because I have a local source to get it cheaper than most anything else and it has great wind blocking and water resisting properties. What are your, or anyone else's, thoughts on this approach?
    I have no experience making anything out of Tyvek, but I guess you know whether you can sew it. Does it have any kind of breathability? I'd be concerned about a cocoon of material through which no vapor passes. As for the other questions, (1) The RR specs say it is good for someone up to 6'6"; the hammock I made this for is 7' spreader bar to spreader bar. The difference due to the longer RR spreader bar than I use is no big deal I think for this. I expect that the dimensions given here will work. Or, for insurance, add a foot in length, any way you like.

    I made another model of sock sometime later, details now lost in the archives somewhere, that had mesh as you described to give more ventilation about the head. That helped, as did repositioning the zipper to be straight across rather than the U shape, as that let me have it open a bit near my face.

    You learn by doing, so go for it!

    Grizz
    Grizz
    (alias ProfessorHammock on youtube)

  8. #8
    Senior Member stevebo's Avatar
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    Good luck with your project! I really like using a sock with my wbrr, especially in the winter. It adds so much warmth, and wind protection---I wouldnt even consider winter camping without it. I have a spindrift, with 2 doors and bug netting added for warmer weather. Works great, but is a bit bulky. I also am making a diy version out of argon 90------its quite a bit lighter and doesnt take up as much space. I'm sure tyvek will work ok for a sock, but since you are putting all that time and effort into it, you might come out ahead using a light weight cloth like argon 90----just my opinion! I was always under the impression tyvec worked kinda like gortex---so Im wondering if condensation will be a big problem. (the spindrift is just regular untreated breathable ripstop nylon--and in the right conditions it can have condensation problems--so with a cloth that is semi water proof, you might get kind alot of condensation ?) Let us know how it all works out!

    (on the other hand, you could think of your tyvek version as a working prototype, get all the kinks worked out of it, and make a cloth version later---speaking for my self, the first version always has problems!)
    FYI: If you want to know what type a certain bear is, sneak up behind it and kick it. Then,
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    bear. If the bear just pushes the tree over and eats you, it's a grizzly bear : )


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  9. #9
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    hammock sock for bridge hammocks

    Quote Originally Posted by stevebo View Post
    Good luck with your project! I really like using a sock with my wbrr, especially in the winter. It adds so much warmth, and wind protection---I wouldnt even consider winter camping without it. I have a spindrift, with 2 doors and bug netting added for warmer weather. Works great, but is a bit bulky. I also am making a diy version out of argon 90------its quite a bit lighter and doesnt take up as much space. I'm sure tyvek will work ok for a sock, but since you are putting all that time and effort into it, you might come out ahead using a light weight cloth like argon 90----just my opinion! I was always under the impression tyvec worked kinda like gortex---so Im wondering if condensation will be a big problem. (the spindrift is just regular untreated breathable ripstop nylon--and in the right conditions it can have condensation problems--so with a cloth that is semi water proof, you might get kind alot of condensation ?) Let us know how it all works out!

    (on the other hand, you could think of your tyvek version as a working prototype, get all the kinks worked out of it, and make a cloth version later---speaking for my self, the first version always has problems!)
    Truer words have never been spoken haha "prototype to get the kinks out". I figured I could make the tyvek and see how the condensation goes and possible just add more/larger mesh vents to try and solve it.

  10. #10
    Senior Member stevebo's Avatar
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    I always find it a little annoying when people post that they had an afternoon free and knocked out 2 bridge hammocks , a tarp and a couple of underquilts---and they all turned out perfectly! It takes me forever to design and build a project, and they are never perfect---always a work in progress! I think everything Ive ever built could be considered a "working prototype" even when its "finished"! Have fun with your project!
    FYI: If you want to know what type a certain bear is, sneak up behind it and kick it. Then,
    run like crazy and climb up a tree. If the bear climbs the tree and eats you, it's a black
    bear. If the bear just pushes the tree over and eats you, it's a grizzly bear : )


    Do not walk behind me, for I may not lead. Do not walk ahead of me, for I may not follow. Do not walk beside me, either, just leave me alone.
    --unknown

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