JRB First Impressions

First off JRB ROCKS! Thanks Jacks! The 3 Seasons Special was ordered Wednesday afternoon, and was slept in Saturday night; great purchasing experience!

This is my noob perspective of my first hammock camping experience:

The tarp functioned as a tarp. It wasn't easy to hang, but a pair of Dutch Flyz has been ordered to facilitate the process. The operator didn't hang it high enough, so a sock was used on the ends of the spreader bars for protection.

The BMBH UL was easy to hang, and was plenty comfortable. I am afraid of putting too much tension on the netting zipper, so a Dutch Detachable Adjustable UCR ridgeline has been ordered to, maybe, keep doo-doo from occurring. After learning an ingress/egress method, the hammock did not seem tippy at all, in fact, I found laying on it with the spreader bars almost vertical most comfortable. With the bars in the horizontal position, and lying on my back, there was some squeeze, but more in the lat area than the shoulders, making it difficult to lay with my elbows at my sides. I'm thinking I might try a pad, and see how that works. Side sleeping was a breeze.

I am a cold sleeper, and my toes got a little nippy, but everything else stayed warm inside of the Jack's quilts with fleece sleepwear, cap, and neck gator on a 31°F night.

Overall, I'm excited about getting involved in a new hobby, and Jacks ‘R’ Better has made it easy and comfortable to get started.

As you spend more time in the JRB BMBH UL you will find it more and more comfy. Its a great bridge hammock. And they have fantastic service as you just found out. Enjoy your hangs? :)

the Thermarest wide NeoAir pads are great in my jrb deluxe bridge. The baffles run across the pad not lengthwise. there is a thread for this somewhere with photos.

Hahahaha! Here's to Jacks' built in abuse resistance! I just hooked an adjustable ridgeline to the end rings, and stretched the hammock to about the same tension I had it for my first night out. I won't say how far apart the outer edge of the rings were. Suffice it to say, it is amazing how easy it is to attach and remove the spreader bars with the ridgeline keeping the rings inside the maximum prescribed span. As far as I can tell, nothing was damaged from the first stretch, but I just don't think it is recommended. Boy, do I have a lot to learn. Is it ok to use the ridgeline? Can anyone straighten my thinking? What is safe, and what is irrelevant? I know, thanks to y'all, I am enjoying all of this, and, to me, that is what matters most!

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Originally Posted by fartintone

Hahahaha! Here's to Jacks' built in abuse resistance! I just hooked an adjustable ridgeline to the end rings, and stretched the hammock to about the same tension I had it for my first night out. I won't say how far apart the outer edge of the rings were. Suffice it to say, it is amazing how easy it is to attach and remove the spreader bars with the ridgeline keeping the rings inside the maximum prescribed span. As far as I can tell, nothing was damaged from the first stretch, but I just don't think it is recommended. Boy, do I have a lot to learn. Is it ok to use the ridgeline? Can anyone straighten my thinking? What is safe, and what is irrelevant? I know, thanks to y'all, I am enjoying all of this, and, to me, that is what matters most!

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Ridgeline use or don't... just do not pull the primary rings more than 9'3 "...If you follow the hanging directions with the BMBH you should be getting a 9-9'3" every time even without a ridge line.

Pan

I have a ridgeline on mine, but it's solely for hanging stuff on. I keep it just taunt enough to hold stuff up without sagging, but not putting any tension on the hammock.

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Originally Posted by Peter_pan

Ridgeline use or don't... just do not pull the primary rings more than 9'3 "...If you follow the hanging directions with the BMBH you should be getting a 9-9'3" every time even without a ridge line.

Pan

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I checked my ridgeline length today and I have been hanging it at around 9'5". I moved it to 9' 3" and the bug net seemed a bit saggy. When I had it at 9'5 it did not seem to put too much tension on the net, and held it higher. Is this 2-3" difference critical if it does not seem to be pulling on the bug net? I have the newer bmbh deluxe with zipper.

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Originally Posted by chewbacca

I checked my ridgeline length today and I have been hanging it at around 9'5". I moved it to 9' 3" and the bug net seemed a bit saggy. When I had it at 9'5 it did not seem to put too much tension on the net, and held it higher. Is this 2-3" difference critical if it does not seem to be pulling on the bug net? I have the newer bmbh deluxe with zipper.

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Minor sag in the bug net is much preferred to stringing it too tight and causing corner tear in the bug net.

Pan

Just for some clarification, my hammock is the UL version; 105" max.

After re-reading the instructions, there must be some subjectivity when it comes to the word "taut". From my perspective, the bug net never did get "taut". So, the suspension was banjo strung then relaxed slightly. The distance between the primary rings was a mystery until I got home, used the same hanging technique, and could measure. I was shocked! It is a testament to the quality of the gear to survive that manner of misuse.

My employer put me in the QA lab because of my ability to inadvertently destroy things. I think I will keep the ridgeline connected to, hopefully, protect the equipment.

I love my JRB hammock too. I am glad you are enjoying it. For me I like to boil some water, put it in my water bottle and use it as a heating pad throughout the night. This warms up the entire set up in a short time.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by fartintone

First off JRB ROCKS! Thanks Jacks! The 3 Seasons Special was ordered Wednesday afternoon, and was slept in Saturday night; great purchasing experience!

This is my noob perspective of my first hammock camping experience:

The tarp functioned as a tarp. It wasn't easy to hang, but a pair of Dutch Flyz has been ordered to facilitate the process. The operator didn't hang it high enough, so a sock was used on the ends of the spreader bars for protection.

The BMBH UL was easy to hang, and was plenty comfortable. I am afraid of putting too much tension on the netting zipper, so a Dutch Detachable Adjustable UCR ridgeline has been ordered to, maybe, keep doo-doo from occurring. After learning an ingress/egress method, the hammock did not seem tippy at all, in fact, I found laying on it with the spreader bars almost vertical most comfortable. With the bars in the horizontal position, and lying on my back, there was some squeeze, but more in the lat area than the shoulders, making it difficult to lay with my elbows at my sides. I'm thinking I might try a pad, and see how that works. Side sleeping was a breeze.

I am a cold sleeper, and my toes got a little nippy, but everything else stayed warm inside of the Jack's quilts with fleece sleepwear, cap, and neck gator on a 31°F night.

Overall, I'm excited about getting involved in a new hobby, and Jacks ‘R’ Better has made it easy and comfortable to get started.

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Congrats on some great gear,the jacks are a class act.

Just as a follow-up, a ridgeline has been set to keep the outer edges of the primary rings at 104.5". The running end of the web straps stay strung through the primary rings and threaded back through one side of the tri-glide buckle. Dutch Clips have been added to the loop end of the straps. My set-up is to hook the dutch clips onto the strap around a tree, center the hammock, and pull the straps tight. So far, so good, nice and easy. YMMV. Thanks JRB!

I have ordered from Jacks twice and I've been pleased with there products nice guys to deal with very helpful