Mods to the Bridge to save a bit of weight.
1. the obvious-switch out to a Whoopie Sling...if you have how'd it work with the Bridge?
2. I've got a Hilleberg Akto for when I have to in winter..I saved 4 ounces subbing out the OEM pole with a Fibraplex pole....has anyonce considered subbing out the OEM JRB Bridge spacer bars with carbon?
Just thinking out loud because the server is down and I'm twittling my thumbs here for a bit.
Idle thumbs are the devil's workshop. Or something.Originally Posted by MedicineMan
So it happens that I do have a JRB BMBH, I got it 2nd hand here on the forums in hopes to coax my wife into hammocking.
The easiest mod to make to lose weight is to shed the webbing. You've got rings at the corners, and rings at the
triangle apex, and webbing as far as the eye can see. Kiss that warranty good-bye, and whack that webbing off. Measure the length of the corner to apex side, because you want to duplicate that.
You can get by with one piece of cord for the suspension triangle. Be a real mensch and put eye splices around the corner rings, on this one piece of cord. Then lark's head the apex ring onto that cord, at the center. Loop your whoopie sling also onto the apex ring, and you're ready to go.
Just so happens I did all this, just an hour ago, on a DIY bridge hammock. In between rain showers I hung it, it's all good.
I'm not seeing major advantages to swapping out the JRB spreader bars. They are pretty light, known to be strong enough, and come apart into two pieces. Webbing vs. cord is an easy call by comparison.
Now what are you going to do with those thumbs
Grizz
Well the thumbs have already written Fibraplex to see if they are interested in a carbon version of the spreader bars......
So if goodbye webbing/minus the netting then you are already looking at maybe 8 ounces saved? Yep for 2-3 more ounces via carbon I'd do it to get to 11 or maybe 12 ounces...now that would be significant on the BMBH don't you think?
eye splice? well I watched this vid:
http://www.tollesburysc.co.uk/Knots/Eye_splice.htm
Just promise me it's strong enough!
But my little pee brain got to thinking---can you n(k)ot run the Amsteel through one loop, cross over and through the other loop, up to the apex ring and through it, down to meet the amsteel and tie a double or triple fishermans knot to make one continuous loop?
The only reason I ask it that I have confidence in the fishermans knot while I don't know the subtle intricacies of the eye splice......yes a length of Amsteel from spreader ring to spreader ring will be extra/wasted I realize.
Also this from animatedknots:
'Tapering the tails: It used to be fashionable to gradually thin the strands for an additional few tucks. In tarred hemp this made a very elegant tapered splice. Modern rope is sufficiently slippery to mean that the tapered tails tend to get dislodged and make the splice look very untidy. True tapering of individual strands is rarely done now and should probably never be attempted by amateur, occasional, splicers.'
and that would be me an amateur with a root or rock stuck in my back!
Last thought....why not bury a dead-eye in the Amsteel at each corner ring?
Last edited by MedicineMan; 11-17-2009 at 03:48.
The video is splicing 3-ply twisted rope, not what you do with Amsteel at all. I think you're suggestion of the dead-eye is exactly what I suggested. It certainly is what I just did!
To keep the eye from slipping when not loaded you ought to run some stitches through it.
Grizz
It's my understanding that carbon fiber poles cannot withstand much force perpendicular to the axis. I do not know if they just bend or if they tend to break. Never used them.
If the above is true, then they probably would not work too well as spreader bars.
Looking at the BMBH and how he spreader bars are set into the rings, there is going to be some force perpendicular to the axis of the pole. In any Bridge Hammock there is going to be some force perpendicular to the spreader bar. The force perpendicular to the axis will depending on how the spreader bars are fixed to the suspension triangle.
If the carbon fiber poles just bend then no harm done. If, however, they tend to break instead of bending, then be very careful.
Those who sacrifice freedom for safety, have neither.
Do not dig your grave with your teeth. (Unknown)
Well so far no reply from Fibraplex and I always lean toward whatever Prof.Griz says and will do my major weight savings in the Amsteel versus webbing.
About carbon and forces applied I have to think to arrows. I shoot a lot and 99% are carbon, they do well with force applied down the length of them-not so well when a force is applied to the side.
Back to attaching Amsteel to the rings...the dead-eye is a give but did you experts rule out one continous loop through all 3 rings withe the loop made via triple fishermens knot?
Thanks
It would work. It doubles the amount of cord, which, for a given diameter of cord doubles the weight. I can imagine that doubling a thinner cord might make it useable where a single strand would not. It seems though you'd have to be careful not to create any place where the strain was on a single strand, e.g., the cross-over loop on a lark's head. Maybe that's fine, I dunno.
Piece of mind is knowing that all the components of your suspension are individually up to carrying you.
Grizz
Thanks.
Honestly it's a confidence thing. I've used the fisherman's knot when I used the Ascender rings and nothing broke in 6 or 7 outings....and I've not the tools to do the dead-eye but that's just an excuse because the vid I watch the guy shows doing it with pens/coat hangers.
The chicken way is to designate the Bridge as a paddle camping hammock and leave it as is but there is that challenge within wanting it backpackable and that means getting at least 8-10ounces off of it.
Anybody want to makes some dough? I'm good at shipping things out!
you could still do it like grizz recommended except you could always replace the spliced loop with a tied figure 8 loop or equivalent. a correct eye splice should retain more strength than a knot though.
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