Need a recommendation

[Sidewinder]

So I just got delivery of these 2 hammock: JRB BMBH and a 1.1 WBBB. They seem to be very different animals. I have not slepted in either. My plan is to use a pad for the first few times, but know at some point I will want to try them with an UQ.

Is there an UQ which will work for both? I would really like to avoid buying 2 or more. Most of my trips will be in Northern California, costal and Mountain areas during Spring/Summer. The night temps will vary from 32F to 70F.

Thanks for your help and suggestions!

S.

[Hawk-eye]

Several good offerings out there ... my personal reccomendation is the one I have ... the Hammockgear.com Crowsnest 3 season

[GrizzlyAdams]

So I just got delivery of these 2 hammock: JRB BMBH and a 1.1 WBBB. They seem to be very different animals. I have not slepted in either. My plan is to use a pad for the first few times, but know at some point I will want to try them with an UQ.

Is there an UQ which will work for both? I would really like to avoid buying 2 or more. Most of my trips will be in Northern California, costal and Mountain areas during Spring/Summer. The night temps will vary from 32F to 70F.

Thanks for your help and suggestions!

S.

Even though sleepers in gathered end hammocks tend to lie on a diagonal, most (but not all!) UQs are cut and sewn in a symmetric shape. The diagonal lay sort of goes from corner to corner of the quilt rather than end to end.

For you, this is good! In a BMBH you are laying symmetrically with respect to the quilt. Those makers that tailor their quilts to the asymmetric lay make a marketing point of it, so those are hard to miss. Any of the others ought to work just fine for both of your hammocks. The only possible exception is still a theoretical one---a quilt built exclusively for a bridge hammock can be narrower and slightly shorter than those for gathered end hammocks, because it need not accomodate the diagonal. That's how I make my DIY quilts. I don't think anybody is doing that commercially. Quilts by JRB work well with the BMBH, but don't seem to be tailored for a bridge hammock.

[Peter_pan]

Even though sleepers in gathered end hammocks tend to lie on a diagonal, most (but not all!) UQs are cut and sewn in a symmetric shape. The diagonal lay sort of goes from corner to corner of the quilt rather than end to end.

For you, this is good! In a BMBH you are laying symmetrically with respect to the quilt. Those makers that tailor their quilts to the asymmetric lay make a marketing point of it, so those are hard to miss. Any of the others ought to work just fine for both of your hammocks. The only possible exception is still a theoretical one---a quilt built exclusively for a bridge hammock can be narrower and slightly shorter than those for gathered end hammocks, because it need not accomodate the diagonal. That's how I make my DIY quilts. I don't think anybody is doing that commercially. Quilts by JRB work well with the BMBH, but don't seem to be tailored for a bridge hammock.

Grizz makes good points ... to clarify on JRB fit.

JRB Standard Family of quilts as well as the unique Mt Washington Series of quilts excel on both gathered end hammocks and The JRB BMBH...Most JRB under quilt designs have been refined over seven years of insulating primarily gathered end hammocks... And to state the obvious...When we created the Bear Mtn Bridge Hammock, we made sure that every one of the thousands of JRB UQ out there would do equally well on it.

As to a narrower quilt that excels on the straight laying bridges and is super on the diagonally laying gathered end hammocks I had a hybrid prototype at TD weighing less than 16 oz, 20* capable and using JRB standard materials and 800 fp down...only a few observant folk noted it

It will under go the next round of testing in the Maine Wilderness next month....

As a "specialty" UQ it is doubtfull that it will become a standard stocked model offering...Maybe a special pre-order limited production item this fall/winter. A lot will depend on community interest.

Pan

[BillyBob58]

So I just got delivery of these 2 hammock: JRB BMBH and a 1.1 WBBB. They seem to be very different animals. I have not slepted in either. My plan is to use a pad for the first few times, but know at some point I will want to try them with an UQ.

Is there an UQ which will work for both? I would really like to avoid buying 2 or more. Most of my trips will be in Northern California, costal and Mountain areas during Spring/Summer. The night temps will vary from 32F to 70F.

Thanks for your help and suggestions!

S.

They are indeed very different animals, each with it's own set of strong pros and cons ( IMO any way).

So you are going to start with a pad? No hammock (IMO and in my experience at least) works as well and easily and consistently with a pad as the JRB bridge. I assume you have a double layer WB? It will work much better than any single layer hammock, but it still won't match a bridge. Some folks even think that a wide pad even improves the JRB BMBH experience, by "widening" the hammock. I'm not so sure about that, though it can definitely widen things a bit in the shoulders. But either way, a pad in a BMBH is as good as it gets with a pad. Flat rectangular hammocks with pad pockets go well with flat rectangular pads.

A JRB UQ, such as a Mt.Washington(MW), will work very well with any gathered end(GE) hammock, including a WB. ( research the pros and cons of the differentially cut quilts vs traditional quilts) But, once again, using a JRB quilt with the BMBH is unique in function and simplicity. Hang an MW on as per the simple directions from JRB, done. Perfect fit, no more adjustments. Almost like it is a custom combo. Basically it is.

I love my 3/4 WB Climashield UQ on gathered end hammocks, which is very similar to the Yeti except CS vs down. But I'm not at all sure it works to full efficiency on a BMBH. So, the JRB quilts work fine on a BMBH or gathered end. But I'm not as sure the WB UQs will work well on a BH.

Has anybody tried that much when it's really cold? A Yeti on a BMBH?

And then there are the MollyMac IX UQs. GE only so far, I think.

[lizzie]

They are indeed very different animals, each with *** And then there are the MollyMac IX UQs. GE only so far, I think.

Hey there Billy! What is GE? I thought I saw an article or thread listing acronyms, but I can't find it. I looked in the FAQ and articles index too.

[BrianWillan]

Hey there Billy! What is GE? I thought I saw an article or thread listing acronyms, but I can't find it. I looked in the FAQ and articles index too.

GE = Gathered End

[Cranky Bear]

I do believe that there is only on UQ that really won't work for both the hammock's you mentioned and that is the new TeWa UQ which has diagonal baffles, with which if you lay across the UQ that he has designed it might decrease loft, hopefully he will chime in on this as he might have a fix for that, or I could be way wrong?!?! But all of the other UQ's will work with both hammock's, you would just have to pay close attention to the dimensions of the UQ, as if you are a larger person and or have broad shoulder's a slightly narrower UQ like the yeti might not fit you very well, it would/could work, but might be close?!?!?!

[Sidewinder]

[QUOTE=BillyBob58;283073]

So you are going to start with a pad? No hammock (IMO and in my experience at least) works as well and easily and consistently with a pad as the JRB bridge. I assume you have a double layer WB? It will work much better than any single layer hammock, but it still won't match a bridge. Some folks even think that a wide pad even improves the JRB BMBH experience, by "widening" the hammock. I'm not so sure about that, though it can definitely widen things a bit in the shoulders. But either way, a pad in a BMBH is as good as it gets with a pad. Flat rectangular hammocks with pad pockets go well with flat rectangular pads.

QUOTE]

I think you are right at least for me with regard to using a pad with the bridge hammock. I just set it up in my back yard and layed in it. I am short and stocky with wide shoulders for my hight (5'5") 175lbs. Without the pad it seemed that my shoulders were being squeezed together. With a pad, I was able to lay comfortably flat, even on my stomach. I will sleep in the JRB tonight to see how it works out.

I must say a pad with WBBB is not the way to go. Even with the 1.1, I could not find a way to get comfortable no matter what I tried. Will surely need to try this hammock with an UQ.

I've been reading some older posts and I am getting interested in the MW3 Convertible. If the BMBH is designed with this UQ in mind, It might make sense for me to use. My thought is that I could use the short section as my Summer UQ and use with the Compliment section for Fall use. Any WBBB users out there that have the MW3 convertible?

Also, I noticed in pictures that the end caps of the bridge hammock are not covered when the MW UQ are used. Does the same thing happen with UQ's from other makers?

Thanks everyone for your imput. I am amazed that there is so much to learn about hammocks. This is a great place to learn.

- S