Thought I would share this info in case any of you are looking for a light weight/ low tech/ no hardware way of creating attachment points on a DIY bridge hammock for your bridge poles.
I recently built a couple of DIY bridge hammocks. After looking at the design, I decided to replace the aluminum connectors that we traditionally use to connect the ropes to the bridge hammock with a 'grommet' type connector system. Here are a few photos of the grommet connectors in action...
Basically, I bought a 1/4" grommet kit (which included the gear needed to fasten the grommets together) off Amazon https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1 and used those grommets as the connection points for my poles. Here's how I worked the grommets into my build ...
1) After you have cut out and sewed your bridge hammock body together, you are ready to make and connect the pole connection straps to your hammock. Following the recommendations by Bic in his excellent bridge hammock video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXlSA9shWJc), I cut my bridge hammock pole connector straps from mule tape. You can use either mule tape (ie from Lowe's) or polyester straps. I prefer mule tape because it has a more open weave that allows the 1/4" grommets to be pushed through it. You can also use polyester webbing for your pole connection straps. See Step 3 below for more info on that....
2) I added some additional stitching to the mule tape in the loop to keep the strap weave together (that's the black stitching you see in the photos). I probably didn't need this but it made me feel more secure.
3) I pushed the male end of a grommet through both sides of the mule strap connection loops. Once they were through, I placed the female part of the grommet over male end of the grommet that had been pushed through both side of the connector loop and, using the grommet tool that came with the kit, hammered the two grommet pieces together so that they were tightly fastened through both sides of the pole connector loops. Note: if you are using polyester webbing for the pole connector loop, you would simply burn a round hole through both both sides of the connector loops with a heated 1/4" metal rod. The melted hole is what you push your male grommet piece through.
4) Connect your bridge hammock straps through the loops on the end of your pole connectors, insert the ends of your bridge poles through the 1/4 grommet holes and you are ready to use.
I have been using the grommet connector setup on this hammock build for over a month, including several camping trips, and there has been no movement or issues with this setup. Obviously, making sure that your grommets are very securely fastened to the connector loops is critical.
I hope some of the DIY Bridge hammock makers find value in this.
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Originally Posted by gmcttr
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