Youth Bridge Project:

[Flatliner]

Hi all, One of my winter projects will be a 'Youth Bridge System' for my 12 y/o. I am going to try to meet several fairly lofty objectives that are ever so slightly off the norm of design moving towards lighter at the expense of all else...

The purpose of this thread is simply to discuss, bounce ideas, and eventually show pics. Feel free to chime in with your thoughts.

Objectives:

1.) A comfortable hammock for a side/stomach sleeping 12 y/o

2.) A size that is as big as it can be while still being comfortable now at about 5'5" 100 lbs. Genetically, the poor kid will likely end up tall enough to need special gear...

3.) A fabric choice with very minimal stretch and good durability without wildly excessive weight.

4.) A SUPER easy system to set up, ideally with snap on UQ(s) and an semi-integrated Tarp that only gets removed if it is wet. (I am currently thinking two quilts that snap on so they can be used alone or as a double layer.) --- I am simply TIRED of setting up his camp after mine EVERY time...

5.) A very easy to adjust suspension that does not require really strong grip/fingers. I am thinking Dutch spiders (which I recently purchased from someone here on this forum)

Nothing on this plan is sacred, please chime in, if you are going to call me an idiot, do it nicely unless you have multi-thousand posts on another forum and simply live to be condescending to newbs, in which case, knock yourself out, I ignore you anyway...

[Idaho Hanger]

2.2 Hex Ripstop from RBTR is crazy strong and abrasion resistant. With a bridge hammock body running 3-3.5 square yards I would at least look at it. The strength and abrasion resistance seems to be far higher than a 1.9 Ripstop at a very small weight penalty. I believe Dream Hammock had a video where they attempted to tear it with a screwdriver and were unsuccessful.

[Idaho Hanger]

On the quilts, I like the snap idea for ease of setup, but that will likely require the underquilt to be wider than necessary. You definitely don't want snaps anywhere on the body but the reinforced edges. Of course, for a kid, having the quilts the same size as the hammock may just eliminate a lot of fiddling and will prevent it from having gaps or cold spots if he tosses and turns a lot. Those snaps will have to be measured very precisely to prevent gaps along the edges between the hammock and the quilt.

[Flatliner]

What do you think about a little elastic on the border of the quilt to provide just enough tension to avoid the gap issue?

[Idaho Hanger]

That would probably help.

In my opinion(which isn't always worth much), I think the complication of making the quilt fit properly with snaps is more trouble than it's worth. You have to have precise snap spacing, and the width of the quilt will have to be perfect to keep it snug without pulling it tight enough to compress the insulation when the hammock stretches. That stretch of the hammock will change as your son grows heavier too. In my experience, getting all those things just right, especially on the first try, is a pretty tall order. Given the nature of a bridge hammock, I would probably do a standard quilt. I've found it far easier to get an underquilt adjusted properly on a bridge hammock than a gathered end. I would get it fitted the first time, then tie some knots in the suspension so it will stay that way. I would think an underquilt that's already adjusted would be easy enough that for a kid to attach themselves. I'm thinking Dutch's bridge hammock hardware that already has hooks for the UQ might be handy for a kid too.

That's my 2 cents. Don't get me wrong, I love your idea, it just might be difficult to get the precision required to make sure it all works well together. I know if someone asked me to make this for them I would probably decline. Even after 50 hammocks and a pile of quilts I'm not sure I could be that precise in every measurement to turn that hammock/quilt combo out at a satisfactory fit and finish.

[Flatliner]

All good points and I was already planning on the Dutch hardware. Maybe just use snaps for the "extra layer'. The idea being that I shoot for a 40* that becomes a 20* with the bonus layer snapped in.


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[Idaho Hanger]

That's a good idea. I think that would accomplish your goal and save a lot of frustration on your build. I'm liking the idea of the snap-on extra layer a lot.

It's funny, I used to install and program audio/video systems for churches, conference rooms, etc and we always found that the simpler the system needed to be for the end-user, the more complicated it was for the technician to design and build.

I hope it doesn't sound like I'm knocking your plan. I've just had a few projects that I probably should have gotten more advice on before I burned a bunch of time, effort, and fabric on something that didn't function how I wanted it to.

[Flatliner]

Not at all, I totally appreciate the discussion. You hit the nail on the head, that is exactly what I want to do, work out the bugs BEFORE I start so that the process is as painless and effective as possible.