Engineering of the Grizz Bridge Ariel

[@banderso44]

Grizz thanks for posting this video. I have watched it through a good number of times now. Materials for 2 Ariels should be here tomorrow! I'll be anxiously awaiting your "Tricking out the Ariel" video.

[@ProfessorHammock]

+banderso44 Ah, that explains the sudden jump in view count . Thanks for the interest. I'm trying real hard to not have the inter-arrival time for the next video be as long as the last. I'm just thinking through the bugnet(s) now, and when those are built, I'll jump back in front of the camera. Stay tuned.

[@lokicuthbert5757]

I'm so excited that this video is finally here. I've been waiting patiently since you debuted the ariel last year. Thanks a ton Grizz.

[@ProfessorHammock]

+loki cuthbert Thanks for your patience. Thanks for watching.

[@m00nsplitter72]

I now know why the ancient Egyptians gave up on hammocks and went for the cushier option of the pyramids. The hammock looks very solid and well designed, and thank you for sharing.

[@ProfessorHammock]

+M00nsplitter Suspension curves defeated the Egyptians. Tried straight-line sides and got the bathtub. Thanks for watching!

[@OrangeCrusader]

Whoo! Been waiting on this for a long while as well. I've done some CAD modeling (in Solidworks) along the same lines as well, but haven't yet done the math for the extensions on the ends like you have here, and I plan to use the usual strap rather than cord sides (as I already have it). I really like the look of those little pockets on the ends. Beautiful work!

[@ProfessorHammock]

+OrangeCrusader I'm using OpenSCAD, I like how easy it is to rotate the model. I'd been wanting to understand how to cut the body past the spreader bar for a long time. The 'ah-hah' moment was thinking about the bowling ball for head. After that it was just programming. I want pockets nearby for my glasses and a headlamp. OK, true confessions, earphones and an ipod nano too. These are just right for that. thanks for watching.

[@RcFlyer49]

As an engineering major, I appreciate the terminology.

[@rezaetemad591]

kinda missed you !glad to see you back Professor .

[@ProfessorHammock]

+REZA ETEMAD Thanks. I kinda missed being here. Thanks for watching.

[@rolandjohnson9664]

Idea. If you make the spreader bars so they ark upwards, it would eliminate the need for a ridgeline for the bug net and solve the ducking problem getting in and out of the hammock. Up to you with the idea.

[@ProfessorHammock]

Dan Mueller+ For some reason youtube isn't taking a reply to your comment/question, so I'll try it up here. I find that if I position myself so that the spreader is above my _forehead_ I can just sit up without ducking. I'll try filming that in the upcoming 'Tricking out the Ariel'. Thanks for watching!

[@virendrapatel2387]

Came a little late on the scene, but this is still the best ultralight bridge hammock design in 2018

[@ProfessorHammock]

Thanks, I appreciate the sentiments. It would be nice to have a kit available through one of the DIY vendors, it's on my to-do list to work through the details but the task doesn't have high enough priority yet to make it happen.

[@buffalobill8]

Fantastic design and video. I'm ordering materials and going to attempt making my own Ariel. I love the advantages of hammock camping but as a side sleeper comfort can be compromised. A bridge hammock my be the solution. One question; what are the lengths of the spreader bars used in this design? Thank you for sharing your knowledge, experience and work.

[@ProfessorHammock]

buffalobill, thanks for the nice comments. I use 36" spreader bars from dutchweargear dot com

[@ifell3]

Ummmm you have just took a hammock to another dimension!!! But also have given a few really good tips on material craft!

[@TacBlades]

Great video, i like the technical side, i design all my gear before making it, who would have thought trig at school would actually be useful :) I have a lot of look up tables made for all my pryamid shelters :) looking forward to how this one works out and the comfort. I like the mid eye in a cord, might think about how i can use that in other things :)

[@ProfessorHammock]

+Tac Blades A soul-mate! Yep, we like to understand what we're doing don't we. Better living through trigonometry.

[@dmueller1875]

Prof! Glad to see this. I have always been a fan of your work. I love the idea of how you are conquering shoulder squeeze by moving the bars closer to the shoulders. Is there any inconvenience in having the spreader bar directly above your head and feet? I was picturing myself getting out of the hammock at 2am and smacking myself in the head with the bar and then bending the aluminum. Im 6'2" and 270lbs so any "disturbance" with the spreader bars and I fear it will become a degenerating situation at best. Thoughts? Dan

[@randm30]

This was amazingly helpful. Thank you. May I ask a question? Is there a technical reason you sew the body and channel separately and then put them together?. My wife actually does all my sewing and she insists that she can simply cut the curve with added width then roll and sew the channel.

[@agashamnon]

Thanks for the great vid! May just have to do some DIYing myself now :) Did have one question tho, what kind of minimum hang distance does a bridge hammock of this style give you? I've looked at the more traditional style bridge hammocks, and they all seem to have a rather large minimum hang distance due to the additional suspension on the ends. I'd imagine moving in the spreader bars would cut this distance down a good bit so thought I'd ask. Thanks!

[@ProfessorHammock]

Great question..one of the motivations for this design was to fit a bridge hammock under a standard sized tarp, and in doing so reduce the minimum hang distance. The distance between the two apexes of the suspension triangle is 108", that's nine feet. Beyond that the minimum hang depends on how you attach, for the design shown here you could in theory just hang the loop that's at the apex on a device like Dutch's spider that's on webbing.

[@pdx_sv6509]

I've been lurking on hammockforums for some time and I love your design so much that after countless hours surfing the web for bridge hammocks I have settled on your design. A question for you though. I am 5' 9" tall and considering that you designed your hammock to fit yourself I am thinking of reducing my total length to 76" total instead of 82" and the depth of the arc in your design to 6" instead of 7" for a width at the middle point of 34". Do you foresee any issues with this design? Thanks for all your work in making these videos.

[@ProfessorHammock]

Thanks Ben. You are 4" shorter than me. Reducing the length by 6" will eat into the margins at the ends, but the margins are still there, it will just be a tad bit cosier. 6" arc depths I've done, but I wouldn't go any shallower than that. You need some depth there to 'pull up' the middle under load. Have at it!

[@pdx_sv6509]

Thanks for your speedy reply, happy hangin

[@cathygabbert4269]

Where do you say how long the spreader bars are and which ones do you show on the hammock?

[@NichFugal]

I can lay out the whole hammock with the details given EXCEPT for the end caps. you mentioned the arc length and depth, but still seems like something is missing. Do you have digital templates to share?

[@ProfessorHammock]

slips by quickly, at 8:15 the missing measurement you need, 26.5" length corner to corner, is up on the screen.

[@JoeOutdoors]

Good video Prof! You have a new subscriber too! And not just for the Floydian subtitle of part one . . . ;>)

[@ProfessorHammock]

Ha! So glad someone caught the reference! thanks for watching...and commenting

[@JoeOutdoors]

There are still a few of us that know what good music is . . . ;>)

[@JasperJanssen]

Why not use a single piece of amsteel, and then splicing a short stub length into it on both sides to create the eye? Seems theoretically a little stronger and more importantly easier to get lengths right.

[@ProfessorHammock]

Thanks for watching. I thought of what you describe and opted instead for the interleaved strands to make the eye. The reason mostly is that I was confident that the presented solution would be strong.. With one stub you are relying entirely on the 'squeeze' of the longer element to hold the shorter one in place. depending on the force ultimately applied to the stub, it's a contest between the force trying to 'push' it out of the longer piece versus the constriction applied owing to the weight being carried on the long piece. The presented solution is in line (a joke!) with known splicing usage of cord and so I went with that. Finally, if you are trying to cut the right lengths for the suspension before splicing, the stub is no easier IHMO...you need to compute the impact on the long side, twice, of embedding it. The presented solution 'looks' more complicated, and perhaps it is, but in terms of figuring out cord lengths its a wash. Cheers