Attempting a DIY Bridge Hammock

[WildAboutWalking]

One limitation of a tent is the inability to pitch in dense rough woodland, such as that erupting from the limestone pavement of Whitbarrow or clinging to the steep slopes of Scar Crags, the sort of places that I find myself drawn to. I tried out a conventional hammock last Saturday night in our back garden, hoping to catch a repeat of the aurora, but just couldn't get comfortable (I am a restless side sleeper) and gave up after 3 hours - and the aurora didn't even make a show. So I gave up on the idea of a hammock.

But then I saw a picture of a bridge hammock, a potential solution. However, the bridge hammocks available are breathtakingly expensive, for what is essentially a small rectangle of fabric, some tape and cord, and a couple of aluminium bars. 'How difficult can it be to make one', I thought to myself. Time for some research.

As always, the internet comes up trumps. Following some links on this sub forum I ended up watching Hikingdad's excellent two part instructions on YouTube, a good introduction - I will be using his geometry for the curve and the same basic dimensions, although I will not be using specially manufactured titanium plates! Further research prompted me to place a couple of orders on ebay for some 12mm tape and some 60gsm ripstop nylon (total cost £14.50 so far). As this is a first attempt, I'm not going to bother with splicing fancy cord, some good quality paracord will do the job, and I already have some wider tape and old climbing carabiners for tree straps. And I'll be using my walking poles for the spreader bars, have already modded the top of the mid sections so that they have a stout locating pin for the corner plates that I will make (aluminium, not Ti).

Any tips from hammock DIYers out there?

 

[Teepee]

Good luck with it. Bridge hammocks are great but they can offer more complexity than a gathered end for us. The spreader bars can rub against your shelter and they need more length/hardware.
They enable you to use a mat though better than a gathered.

If you persevere with the gathered, you'll likely find you get used to it. It usually takes folks a good couple of nights to get used to them.

FWIW, my full time hammocks are gathered and MYOG, but I also love my MYOG bridge and favour it when conditions allow.

Please don't use paracord, it is nowhere near strong enough... and it stretches too much. Climbing tape also stretches. There is a good reason hammockers use low stretch cord. Splicing is also a good idea as it cuts down on tangles and preserves the lines strength.

Spliced hollow braid Dyneema is the way to go.

 

[WildAboutWalking]

Good luck with it. Bridge hammocks are great but they can offer more complexity than a gathered end for us. The spreader bars can rub against your shelter and they need more length/hardware.
They enable you to use a mat though better than a gathered.

If you persevere with the gathered, you'll likely find you get used to it. It usually takes folks a good couple of nights to get used to them.

FWIW, my full time hammocks are gathered and MYOG, but I also love my MYOG bridge and favour it when conditions allow.

Please don't use paracord, it is nowhere near strong enough... and it stretches too much. Climbing tape also stretches. There is a good reason hammockers use low stretch cord. Splicing is also a good idea as it cuts down on tangles and preserves the lines strength.

Spliced hollow braid Dyneema is the way to go.

Thanks for the advice regarding paracord.
Total beginner when it comes to hammocks!

 

[WildAboutWalking]

Progress so far has been slow, as the ripstop nylon that I have ordered has yet to arrive

But I have pressed on and made some Bridge Hammock Ends, and have put locating pins in the ends of the mid sections of my walking poles, so that I can use them as spreader bars.

 

[Teepee]

They look good.

With using your poles, the tips are very abrasive. Bridge hammocks suffer in wind when it blows the tarp onto the spreader bars and also when your moving about. It can easily cut a hole.

I put half a cork on my thicker spreader bar tips but you could quite easily mount some kind of (more elegant) padding to those plates.

 

[WildAboutWalking]

They look good.

With using your poles, the tips are very abrasive. Bridge hammocks suffer in wind when it blows the tarp onto the spreader bars and also when your moving about. It can easily cut a hole.

I put half a cork on my thicker spreader bar tips but you could quite easily mount some kind of (more elegant) padding to those plates.

Thanks for the feedback, and the warning.

My pole tips are well worn, so no sharp tungsten carbide edge to slash the nylon, but I shall take heed. I have taken care to make sure that all the edges on the aluminium hammock ends are well rounded.

This is a steep learning curve for me!

 

[WildAboutWalking]

Finished at last! 40' of hand stitching.

 

[WildAboutWalking]

Gave it a try out last night, was a huge success, despite being quite literally let down by my improvised and inadequate suspension system (doubled up 40 year old paracord and an old polyester halyard from a small yacht that has long since rotted to pieces). Very comfortable, even when side sleeping, but I awoke at 2am to find my hips on the ground, so abandoned.

Next step - order some dyneema and make some lightweight tree straps.