Bridge Hammock: First Model

[oreana]

Good idea, it would help lift the center and give better support. I am glad to see more experimentation around bridge designs.

Also you may want to enclose the lower spreaders in fabric, rather than attaching a loop to the center. This might help distribute the weight making the bottom flatter, and might also protect the lower spreaders from bending or breaking.

I had sewn the lower spreaders at first. I did not like their effect on the lower hang. Also the lower spreaders and line suspension are part of my overkill design and I wanted to run a secondary (and last chance) support system through the lower spreaders. The grommets installed in the fabric and the lines run through the spreader bars just seemed so simple.

By the way, on the upper spreader wires I set two swaged stops outside the upper bars to keep the upper support triangle in place. It cannot slide off to one side when I am distorting the hammock by getting into one side.

Today I installed snaps on the CCF and ythe underlying fabric. If this does not stay in place, I'll just sew down the CCF to the hammock.

I started a rainfly today. I have a black rip stop nylon with a white rubberized coating. This fabric is very light and strong. Most important to me is the fabric is very opaque: it casts a harsh shadow unlike other nylons. I used two sided tapeto join 2 eleven foot panels. Then I folded the seam over and sewed it down twice, leaving a center tunnel that I ran a ridgeline through. Next time out, I'll set up the rainfly over the hammock.

[Paprika bohlmann]

Your hammock reminds me of a officers bed.

http://lrrpublic.cli.det.nsw.edu.au/.../HMBE_0293.JPG

[oreana]

That is a great picture and it looks so comfy. I like the support lines that run down the edges. Very coll looking hammock

[oreana]

So I changed a few things. I recut the fabric of the hammock into an hour glass shape. I re-inforced the edging by using 3 inch nylon seat belt for edge binding.
I set snaps to hold the pad in place. The result is an easy access hammock that allows sideways sitting, but still is deep in the body of the hammock.

This is a very comfortable hammock. The spreader bars will alone hold my weight so they are convenient for pulling on to adjust body position. The pad ends up wrapping the entire body. Combined with my -33 degree sleeping bag with gortex cover, I should be in a good place when I want to sleep.

The entire hammock with tree straps, ridgeline and carabiners weighs 10 lbs.