gathered-bridge hammock hybrid.
Channel: Arthur Noll
Date: 04/06/2011

Some people do fine with ordinary gathered end hammocks, sleeping on a diagonal in them.  I didn't care for them and tried a bunch of ideas to fix the problems I had of poor knee support and always sliding down and feeling like my feet were above my head.  I tried a bunch of things to fix these problems.  For me this has been the best of them.  It is similar to a bridge hammock in having spreaders at feet and head, and something like a gathered hammock in that the four corners are wrapped around a smooth or soft lump of something. This makes a very strong connection.   If you put a sag between the spreaders at the head end to make it look even more like a bridge hammock, I think you would lay even flatter.   It was just personal preference to make it the way I did.   It might not suit others, but a nice thing about the basic design is that you can try a lot of different configurations with it.  The fabric is nylon that is coated with something.  I don't know what weight the fabric is, but would guess a medium weight.  I think the design should hold someone heavier than me, but I have no idea what the upper limit would be.  I'm around 165 lbs and 5'9"
I haven't cut off the fabric because I'm still experimenting with lengths.  It is about 7.5 feet long right now.  When I'm settled on a length I plan to cut it long enough to fold the fabric up loosely and and tie it to the corners. That will make a loose closure for the end.   I haven't had any trouble with sliding out, though of course that is a matter of how high the two ends are set up relative to each other.   A tarp covering is no problem. I haven't done it yet, but a mosquito net tied to the corners and draped over the sides with some weights should work quite easily.