Uh oh

[twdant]

I started DIY-ing my first bridge hammock last night following Grizz's tutorial. I got the body completely done in about 3 hours time (it really is easier than it looks) but I'm afraid I may have misunderstood. I thought I heard Grizz say he was planning on having 28" spreader bars, so I added an inch since I'm somewhat broad in the shoulders. I plan on having the head and foot end the same, since I'm not that concerned about pack weight. Anyhow, have I gone horribly amiss with a 29" head end spreader bar? Should I rip some stitches and go for a higher number?

FYI, the width of the hammock body is 53".

[gmcttr]

My DIY Bridge hammock is ~45" at the head end and I use a 35.5"-39.5" spreader bar.

The WBRR is a few inches narrower and uses the same head end spreader bars.

I believe both of these hammocks are shallower and use wider bars than the Grizz Bridge versions. I suggest you go back and review Grizz's info for his bar widths.

[4estTrekker]

I build one following his directions, but with a 33" spreader bar at each end. I decided, however, I wanted a wider spread at the head end. I made a straight cut about 8" down the center of the head end end cap and sewed in a triangle. This gave me more width, allowing for a longer spreader bar. Here's a pic. Hope that makes sense.

[twdant]

I tore out the stitching in the head end last night and replaced that end cap with one that would allow for a 40" spreader, and kept the foot end at 29". I cobbled together some broomhandle spreader bars and test hung it for the first time. I have to say, I think I'm a convert!

[GrizzlyAdams]

for a while I was building my hammocks with a narrower foot end than head end. This has some advantages with respect to tarps...you can pitch with the foot end into the expected direction of wind, bring the tarp closer together down there and close it off with a beak. Tarp is wider at the head end, giving more clearance for the spreader bars.

But I side sleep a lot and pull my knees up some. A narrower foot necessarily brings the middle together closer and is more limiting on pulling knees in. So my personal builds now use 36" spreaders at both ends.

I've also migrated towards using narrower fabric width and shallower suspension curves to get greater flatness rather than the RidgeRunner approach of using a longer pole. The flip side of narrow fabric and flatter suspension curve is greater stress on the poles. Ain't no free lunch.

Congrats on building your first bridge hammock BTW. It really is pretty simple. My vids tend to make it look complicated but that's just because the professor in me wants to lecture

[twdant]

I had a hunch the shallower curves would help. I also had a feeling that I might screw it up, so I measured the depth of the curves to only 3" and got .742" poles. Thanks for those excellent videos. The braniac in me really appreciates understanding the theory in the whole thing.

[GrizzlyAdams]

the suspension cut gets shallower when I make the width at head and foot end narrower, but aim to keep the middle width the same (for me, I shoot for 33").

A deeper suspension cut is more conducive to the flat (head to foot) lay because you have more control over how far apart to pull the ends of the hammock, and so pull up the middle of the hammock. Just think of what happens if you make the suspension cut shallower and shallower until it is 0. Then you've got a blanket suspended between two cords, and a sagging butt.

[Dave-O]

Grizz,

Do you find that migrating "towards using narrower fabric width and shallower suspension curves to get greater flatness" also helps as a side sleeper, too? I had a JRB BMBH before and had trouble getting my knees the way I wanted them.

Would you mind posting the dimensions of your current builds?

Sincerely,
Dave-O