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  1. #1
    Senior Member TeeDee's Avatar
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    Hammock Bliss Coccon and Bridge Hammock

    Hammock Bliss netting

    TiredFeet and I purchased a Hammock Bliss noseeum that we hoped to adapt for one of my Narrow Bridge Hammocks.

    Adapting it wasn't too hard for the Narrow Bridge. The wide Bridge required too much additional fabric.

    We used black chiffon for the additional fabric instead of noseeum. The final weight with the Hammock Bliss stuff sack came to 18.90 oz. We didn't weigh it initially, but it is listed as 17 oz on the internet.

    To adapt, we pulled the bottom hem by pulling the threads. This opened the whole bottom of the netting cocoon. We then pinned the bottom on a straight line about 6" below the Bridge Hammock, cut the excess material and sewed a rolled hem. This left both ends open.

    To close off the ends we used black chiffon and pinned panels to the hung material with TiredFeet in the hammock. That wasn't bad except for TiredFeet's snoring. I attribute that to the comfort of the Bridge Hammock.

    Sewed the edges and finished with rolled hems. Note: pin and then baste. The basting is essential since the pins will NOT stay in place long enough to sew the edges.

    The final product fits my Narrow Bridge Hammocks and my Minimalist Bridge Hammocks.

    We also replaced all of the ridiculous strings they used for attaching to the ridge line and for draw strings in the ends over the suspension. Replaced with 1.75 mm Lash-it.

    After using for a while, both of us like the shock corded netting I developed for my Bridge Hammocks better.

    Observations:
    1. total enclosure of the hammock - this is nice since nothing extra is needed to protect the bottom of the hammock. There is a penalty for this of course and that is weight, 18.9 oz. The weight penalty isn't all that bad, since you would have to use something else to protect the bottom with my shock corded netting. I use a Dri Ducks poncho which gives a total weight for the poncho and shock corded bug netting of 14.65 oz. So the cocoon really has only a 4.35 oz penalty over my shock corded netting. Both have approximately the same amount of interior room. Chemicals on the bottom would be lighter, but I do not like either Permithrin or Deet on my sleeping accommodations and breathing the fumes - yeah the makers swear the chemicals are harmless, but examples abound of people saying the same of a lot of chemicals and were proved wrong in the fullness of time. They may be correct about skin contact, but breathing the fumes into the lungs may an entirely different story - the lungs are permeable to gases by design.
    2. setup isn't too bad - we suggest attaching the netting cocoon to a ridge line first using the 3 ridge line attachments. Then unzip the single vertical zipper, insert a suspension triangle into the cocoon, then out the draw string enclosure and attach to the suspension. We attach to the SLS. Then do the same for the opposite suspension triangle. If you don't attach the netting cocoon to the ridge line first, then everything is on the ground while you are inserting the hammock into the cocoon.
    3. use of zipper for closure. I again realized why I don't like zippers for netting closures. In order to get into the hammock, you have to unzip the entry/exit opening to the bottom or near the bottom, enter the hammock and once situated in the hammock, reach down under the hammock, find the zipper pull and zip closed. While you are groping underneath for the zipper, the netting opening is wide open, and I mean wide open, for all of the nasties to follow you into the hammock. This is one area that Hennessy's bottom entry design excels and why I really like my shock corded netting. With both designs the hammock and netting close up automatically after you enter and exclude the mosquitoes from following you into the hammock.
    4. the chiffon works well for a noseeum patch or total replacement.
    5. Initially I wasn't sure that the draw string closures and the zipper pulls would really work to close off entry to unwanted visitors. But after use, I find that both work very well.
    6. The overhead netting is saggy. The ridge line attachments are absolutely necessary to keep the netting up and away from the interior of the hammock, but not sufficient to keep it from sagging. The sag isn't too bad, but we are both used to the tight overhead netting of my shock corded netting design.
    7. Except for the strings that we replaced with 1.75 mm Lash-It, the quality of the Hammock Bliss noseeum cocoon is pretty good. The seams are well sewn and the ridge line seam attachments are reinforced with solid material patches. Other than that, the noseeum is noseum and the pretty much the same as all other noseeum. The stuff sack could be replaced with some 1.1 oz ripstop nylon to reduce the weight a few tenths of an oz for those concerned about tenths of an ounce.
    8. Not too sure how well the cocoon works for a regular hammock on the sides, but the spreader bars of The Bridge Hammock work very well in keeping the netting spread out and well away from your body on the sides. Thus, keeping the mosquitoes well away.

  2. #2
    Senior Member dblhmmck's Avatar
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    Thank-you for documenting this process, you really have a knack for recounting the details of your proceedures. I bought a Sea To Summit bug net with the idea that I might modify it for use on a hammock, similarly to what you have done with the Hammock Bliss.

    To adapt, we pulled the bottom hem by pulling the threads. This opened the whole bottom of the netting cocoon. We then pinned the bottom on a straight line about 6" below the Bridge Hammock, cut the excess material and sewed a rolled hem.
    It seemed to me that the biggest advantage to this, besides the fact that the netting is totally removable, would be when the hammock was set up on the ground like a bivy. The fact that the material was cut at a horizontal line would accommodate this use as a bivy even better.

    One part that I am having trouble visualizing is the zipper extension under the hammock. I am thinking the zipper probably had to be cut shorter when you did the trimming of excess material.

    Did you consider totally removing the zipper, and orienting it lengthwise rather than vertical? Or as an alternate idea, since you say:

    After using for a while, both of us like the shock corded netting I developed for my Bridge Hammocks better.
    Are you thinking of adapting the netting to be used with shock cords? Or will you continue to do more testing with the stand-alone bugnet enclosure that you have made?

  3. #3
    Senior Member TeeDee's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by dblhmmck View Post
    Thank-you for documenting this process, you really have a knack for recounting the details of your proceedures. I bought a Sea To Summit bug net with the idea that I might modify it for use on a hammock, similarly to what you have done with the Hammock Bliss.



    It seemed to me that the biggest advantage to this, besides the fact that the netting is totally removable, would be when the hammock was set up on the ground like a bivy. The fact that the material was cut at a horizontal line would accommodate this use as a bivy even better.
    Having the netting totally removable is a big advantage for us since we use 1 hammock for 4 seasons instead of different hammocks for different seasons. That was a design requirement for my shock corded design and one reason we decided to experiment with the Bliss cocoon.

    Quote Originally Posted by dblhmmck View Post
    One part that I am having trouble visualizing is the zipper extension under the hammock. I am thinking the zipper probably had to be cut shorter when you did the trimming of excess material.
    Yes - we cut the zipper and then just sewed over the new end. Back and forth a few times to tack it down tight. That's really how the the original design was done.

    Quote Originally Posted by dblhmmck View Post
    Did you consider totally removing the zipper, and orienting it lengthwise rather than vertical? Or as an alternate idea, since you say:
    No. That is way too much work for what we would consider to be little gain. The horizontal orientation would make it easier to find the zipper for closing, but not too sure there would be any other advantages. It still doesn't automatically snap shut like my shock corded design.



    Quote Originally Posted by dblhmmck View Post
    Are you thinking of adapting the netting to be used with shock cords? Or will you continue to do more testing with the stand-alone bugnet enclosure that you have made?
    We don't plan on doing anything more with the coccon. It is a good product and can be adapted easily for a Bridge Hammock using extra noseeum or the chiffon if you don't want to make something from scratch. Adapting for the JRB BMBH would be about the same as my Narrow Bridges (if I remember correctly that their spreader bars are 31"). If the spreaders are any wider, the original netting won't fit past the spreaders and so doing the end panels would be a lot more work since the added material would have to wrap up over the ends of the spreader bars and maybe not worth the effort. That's why we abandoned adapting for my wide Bridges with the 39" to 41" spreader bar about 1 to 2 months back.

    We plan on staying with my shock corded design. This was an experiment to try the zipper and bottom netting to see how we liked them.

    One design requirement that I had for my shock corded design was I wouldn't need to disconnect the hammock from the suspension or the suspension from the tree to setup the netting. My shock corded design satisfies that requirement. The cocoon almost does - I need to take one end of the hammock suspension down to put it into the Cocoon netting, re-attach and then do the same for the other end. Not a really big problem with my SLS, but an extra step. If you don't use a separate ridge line for your hammock, then the cocoon becomes more work since you don't have anything to attach the cocoon to keep it up off the ground while stringing the hammock through the cocoon ends. In my experience, everything then ends up lying the ground which I work hard to avoid.

  4. #4
    Senior Member TeeDee's Avatar
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    Another thought on the Bliss Cocoon vs. my shock corded design.

    With the Bliss Cocoon, the spreader bars are inside the netting. For a Bridge Hammock this becomes an irritant, since the zipper has to be opened fully to gain access to the interior of the netting in order to place the spreader bars in position. Not a really big problem, but more effort and time and it makes the interior of the netting open for entry by the mosquitoes while you are doing this.

    In my shock corded netting design, the spreader bars are outside the netting. Thus, when hanging the hammock, the interior of the netting is completely closed off at all times and placing the spreader bars is very easy.

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