At first I could only sleep in a bridge. I forced myself to learn how to sleep in a GE hammock and now I prefer them. I found the bridge best for stomach sleeping. when used with an air pad, the center of gravity was way too high and I felt like I could roll out if I wasn't careful. Ultimately it was the weight of carrying the hammock that made me get rid of it.
~S~
Pros and Cons is exactly right. And they have been pretty much listed. I think I have had my most consistently comfortable nights in a bridge. I am NOT going to wake up in the middle of the night realizing there is some kind of leg problem or so called "side torque" if on my side, with a bridge. I might with my other hammocks.
Then again, there is more shoulder room ( I am fairly broad shouldered) and much more "fetal" ability in my non bridge hammocks. Pick your poison.
Here is one maybe not mentioned yet. Insulation: point to JRB Bridge.
Do you ever use pads? If so, the JRB Bridge wins handily over any other hammock I have tried to use with pads. Simply no contest IMO.
Are you an UQ man? Sometimes folks have some challenge getting an UQ positioned just right and keeping it there all night. But things do not get any simpler than with the custom fit of a JRB MW UQ and the JRB BMBH. Just attach it per the directions, done, and warm. No gaps or lack of end seal to mess with. Sometimes there is with other combos.
I still love my HHSS and WBBB with my synthetic Yeti. And the HH Safari is the most comfy of the non-bridges for me. But I do seem to be leaning more towards the JRB/BMBH/MW combo these days. For any one who sometimes has issues with leg pressure or knee hyper-extension or so called "side torque", the bridge is the guaranteed cure, 100% of the time.
I have never tried a bridge hammock, but am interested because I might be able to leave the underquilt at home and go with a pad only. This would be a big pro in my case, because on the type of trips I do, I always have to take a small tent as well, as I'm not guarantueed a space to hang my hammock. This means, tent, pad, hammock, underquilt, tarp = lots of weight and lots of space in my panniers...
I was also thinking if I would go down the DIY route, maybe it would be possible to build a bridge that could double as a tent (I assume this is easier than with a gathered end hammock). This would not be sensible for the type of trips most people in this forum do, but for me it might be a big weight and space saver (heavier hammock, but no tent and no underquilt - maybe not even a tarp, if I could integrate it in the bridge). Just my half-baked thoughts/ideas.
I would think that a bridge would help you develop your balance a bit more than a gathered end of knotted hammock.
-TheNumberSix
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Has anyone tried increasing the length of the head end spreader bar to reduce shoulder squeeze? Does doing so make the bridge more tippy? I have only lain in a bridge once or twice and never spent the night in one, but this thread (and instructions from Griz and TeeDee) are making me curious. Also wondering if some sort of hoop performing the function of spreader bar and tarp support could allow a more efficient tarp design.
GrizzBridge does exactly that and it is a thing of beauty. But 1: no one manufactures this and 2: one of the cons of a spreader bar design is tarp/bar contact requiring a wider tarp pitch. The wider the bars, the greater the problem. I guess JRB sticks with their one size as a matter of picking a trade off size between too little shoulder room vs too much tarp contact.Originally Posted by WV
But last time I was out in my JRB, my size 45 jacket self noticed: I really did not care about the shoulder room when laying flat on my back reading or sleeping. I guess I have just sort of got used to it and any slight annoyance from that is overwhelmed my no leg pressure or knee hyper-extension. Because for me, it is not actually a discomfort like when I get actual shoulder squeeze from a too tightly pitched gathered hammock. It is just more like my shoulders are slightly rolled forward, as though I were standing with bad posture. After a while I did not even notice it, especially with my arms folded over my chest or abdomen, which is how I sleep anyway. I don't sleep at attention with my arms at my side.
And of course, if even slightly on my side, there is plenty of shoulder room. The only remaining down side for me is not being able to pull my legs way up, only moderately up. But this has also become a non-issue. Made up for by zero so called side torque issues.
Dave,
I have done exactly this. My bridges have narrower fabric, but longer spreader bars at the head end than Grizz made on his Rhino project. For me (and YMMV), this has completely eliminated any pressure on the shoulders. I note an improvement in shoulder confinement even between my DIY#1 and the later versions. As the ratio of (fabric width)/(spreader bar length) approaches 1, you get a flatter body and less squeeze (at the price of increased fabric tension).
I refer you to this chart I made as a comparison that is cross posted from my Cirrus DIY. Note the 4th column. The Chrysalis was very flat across the shoulders but also used much beefier fabric.
The lower ratio at the head end does make the bridge slightly more tippy as your center of gravity relative to the suspension is higher, but I think that tippiness is multifactorial. Having a larger ratio at the foot end seems to decrease the tippy feel somewhat. Either way, I am not feeling unstable in my bridges.
The wider spreader does also necessitate a wider tarp pitch to avoid the spreader end tips. A couple of the pics in this album show the hammock under two different tarps. Both tarps are 12'x10'. Having side panel pull-outs on my OES certainly helps. If I were to order (or make) a new tarp I would put the pull-out closer to the head end of the tarp specifically because of the longer head spreader.
These are just my experiences and are fairly limited thus far. Grizz and TeeDee and others have much more experience than I do and may be able to better answer these questions.
Last edited by BER; 10-23-2011 at 09:44. Reason: grammar policing my self
Can I ask a few about the BMBH? It is listed at a max weight of 250 Lbs is that chisled in granite for say...someone who weighs in about 20 lbs over that? Length at 6-2 will it fit (I rarely sleep stretched out)? Now for the wife who this hammock will actually be for; any here with mild claustrophobia find the shoulder squeeze be too much (talking subjective degrees I guess)?
Guys, guys, guys there is another commercially made bridge that everyone is always forgetting about
http://helsdonoutdoors.com/
42" spreader bar at the head end and slightly shorted at the foot. No shoulder squeeze and no calf pressure, low sides to get in and out easily and to lay sideways. Not at all tippy just not micro light.
True. The Chrysalis is one of the two bridge hammocks I've actually tried (the other was a DIY), and I found it quite comfortable. As you say, it's not UL, but I like the fact that the tarp and bugnet are sold separately. You could lighten it somewhat by replacing the spreader bars with carbon tubes and using a DIY suspension. Personally, I'm not likely to buy any commercial hammock, but that's just me. I like making things.Guys, guys, guys there is another commercially made bridge that everyone is always forgetting about
http://helsdonoutdoors.com/
42" spreader bar at the head end and slightly shorted at the foot. No shoulder squeeze and no calf pressure, low sides to get in and out easily and to lay sideways. Not at all tippy just not micro light.
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