Bridge Hammock Basics

[BillyBob58]

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Does the JRB bridge use some kind of shaping technique to increase the pocket size for a pad, or is it just that they make it particularly wide to accommodate the pad?

-Smalls

Pan will have to answer for sure, but I'm not aware of any special shaping. As far as I can tell it is just an extra 26" wide sewn on layer, deep enough to handle up to 3" of pad thickness ( which would tame some pretty frigid temps). A pad works better in this pad pocket than with any other hammock I have tried a pad in, BY FAR. Also a good bit better than a Speer SPE. Probably due to the flatness of the hammock. It may not be as comfy overall as using the BMBH with a JRB MW4, especially for some people who really hate pads in a hammock. But in one way, the pad actually improves comfort, by "widening" (so to speak) the BMBH, giving a bit more shoulder room.

I would not characterize the JRB bridge as "particularly wide" in any way.
While (IMO) being the most comfortable commercial hammock from the waist down, it has no where near the shoulder room ( width) as most GE hammocks. It has enough for me to be comfortable, but I would never call it "wide".

[Peter_pan]

Pan will have to answer for sure, but I'm not aware of any special shaping. As far as I can tell it is just an extra 26" wide sewn on layer, deep enough to handle up to 3" of pad thickness ( which would tame some pretty frigid temps). A pad works better in this pad pocket than with any other hammock I have tried a pad in, BY FAR. Also a good bit better than a Speer SPE. Probably due to the flatness of the hammock. It may not be as comfy overall as using the BMBH with a JRB MW4, especially for some people who really hate pads in a hammock. But in one way, the pad actually improves comfort, by "widening" (so to speak) the BMBH, giving a bit more shoulder room.

BB58 has the description right... There are a couple darts in the end to give the pocket the extra depth to handle the thicker pads... Essentially the "shape" is rectangular and obvious in design.

Pan

[smalls]

Ahh ok I see what you mean by pad pocket. The pad slips in to a pocket between layers of fabric on the hammock, sort of like a built in Speer SPE (saw that on Shug's noob video). That makes a lot of sense, and should be easy to implement.

I was kicking around something like the SPE for mine, perhaps built in, but I need to ensure I can figure out how to keep that as light as possible. I'm pretty set on a pad for my thru-hike, just for its multitasking ability if I get driven in to a shelter by thunderstorms or a wind storm. I just haven't decided yet on 3/4 or full length.

The real trouble is that *all* full length pads I've seen so far are pointlessly long for me. I need a pad that's about 54" long and 24" wide for maximum space/weight efficiency. That would give me coverage from my shoulders to my feet pretty easily (yes, I really am a runt). Seems like the commercial pads are all 48" or shorter, or 72" or longer if I want a self-inflating. If I carry a foam pad, which I'm seriously considering, that opens up a lot more possibilities, but won't be nearly as comfortable on the ground.