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Bridge material?

K

kodiak3842

Active Member
Joined
Jan 21, 2018
Messages
195
With seasons winding down in much of the country, I imagine the DIY and modification juices will begin flowing for many of us.

I am still search for ng for what is the ideal bridge for me. So....I am curious what others do, or have done to their bridge. Please explain whether you kept it stock and as it came from the factory, or if you shortened, lengthened, or replaced.

If you changed it at all, please describe the changes. What material you used ( rope or webbing), type and size of rope or web, length, method of attachment, etc.

I am sure people other than me who are new, or fairly new to saddle hunting could find much useful info in one thread.

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I purchased a Kestrel and it had a long bridge. I made it adjustable and figured out how long I liked it then I bought some 5/16 Amsteel at Amazon and made a 29" fixed bridge. Per instructions from @Allegheny Tom I girth hitched both sides because the girth hitch locks in the position you put it, so you can change the position of the saddle by moving your bridge high or low in your bridge loops. Works great!
 
rutjr said:
I purchased a Kestrel and it had a long bridge. I made it adjustable and figured out how long I liked it then I bought some 5/16 Amsteel at Amazon and made a 29" fixed bridge. Per instructions from @Allegheny Tom I girth hitched both sides because the girth hitch locks in the position you put it, so you can change the position of the saddle by moving your bridge high or low in your bridge loops. Works great!
Click to expand...
Ive slightly changed the way I do that.
Instead of girth hitching to the loops, I'm now basically just doing a wrap around the saddle loops and a whoopie sling. The wrap (basically an overhand knot), still grabs well but I think its a little easier to facilitate adjusting the length via the whoopie.
And less importantly...There was someone in another thread that said girth hitches reduce Amsteel strength. Not exactly sure of the physics behind the reason why, but I assume Amsteel doesn't like the "reversal" where the line goes back thru itself?? IDK.
But an overhand wrap has no reversal. The rope continues around the saddle loop in the same direction. Hard to explain. IDK if that is stronger than a girth, but I'm pretty sure it isn't any weaker...and its easier to adjust, so why not do it this way?

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I saw the same post. The 5/16 Amsteel has a breaking point of 13,700 pounds. The post said a girth reduces it by 55 percent which ends up being 6,165 pounds. That's still over three tons! I feel safe with that. :)
 
rutjr said:
I saw the same post. The 5/16 Amsteel has a breaking point of 13,700 pounds. The post said a girth reduces it by 55 percent which ends up being 6,165 pounds. That's still over three tons! I feel safe with that. :)
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IDK, Its right after all the holliday festivities. I know I gained a few.
Seriously though, I'm not afraid of the girth weakening the Amsteel enough for it to be anywhere close to being an issue for how we are using the stuff.
I was just messing around with the girth vs the wrap. I just like the wrap a tiny bit better. Not a big change over the girth but I think its slightly better.

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You make a loop on one side of the Amsteel and girth hitch it to a bridge loop on your saddle. Take the tag end and kinda weave a girth hitch on the other loop then bury it into the Amsteel and lock stitch it in place. I'll make a video in a bit. I've never made a video so don't expect much. LOL
 
rutjr said:
You make a loop on one side of the Amsteel and girth hitch it to a bridge loop on your saddle. Take the tag end and kinda weave a girth hitch on the other loop then bury it into the Amsteel and lock stitch it in place. I'll make a video in a bit. I've never made a video so don't expect much. LOL
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Thanks for that. I think there are a lot of guys that haven't quite grasped my concept...especially because of my lame explanations. A vid would be helpful.
I do think a whoopie instead of a fix on each end is way easier to make (not saying that a stitch is difficult because it is simple to do), and the whoopie is also adjustable.
If deciding on a whoopie, I think a wrap adjusts easier than a girth will, but the difference is minimal.

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Nutterbuster said:
Tubular webbing is hard to beat. Easier to tie a water knot than to splice, cheaper, comes in more colors, no real bulk or weight difference.
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Cant disagree with that, although I haven't tried tube.
Sometimes I wonder if we haven't drunk the Amsteel coolaid.
But an Amsteel whoopie is easily adjustable. Not sure its that easy with tube...or is it? IDK...just asking.

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Allegheny Tom said:
Cant disagree with that, although I haven't tried tube.
Sometimes I wonder if we haven't drunk the Amsteel coolaid.
But an Amsteel whoopie is easily adjustable. Not sure its that easy with tube...or is it? IDK...just asking.

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Click to expand...
Maybe not you, but some folks have definitely drank a pitcher.;)

Tube can easily be untied/retied to adjust or completely replace at home. Can't adjust it in the tree to my knowledge. Personally, I've never seen the appeal after you find what you like.
 
rutjr said:
@Allegheny Tom not sure I follow you. Do you have a picture?
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Here are pics posted via Tapatalk (tapatalk is great for pics but sucks for editing). Give me another couple minutes to edit in some explanation on the pics.

Fixed-loop end. Instead of a girth I did a wrap, and made it as tight as I could. I think it stays in place a smidge better than the girth.
7cafc448662791352e54c63d07356b8d.jpg



The other side. It's just an overhand (or is it a clove hitch...not sure it matters), and into the whoopie. It grips the bridge where you want it and doesn't have the (insignificant) strength loss that a girth has on Amsteel. The length of the bridge is easily adjustable in the tree without untying anything. Adjustability is not necessarily a long term rig, but it's helpful to someone trying to figure out what bridge length they prefer.
ca0bff9f2356dbe708100accb7507137.jpg


An end bury on the whoopie tag end assure it can't slip out. Also, the position on the rope that you exit is important. Do it so the tether carabiner will never ride over the tag of the whoopie bury. 180 degree exits keeps the tag away from the surface the carabiner rides.
And a little loop at the end bury will help if you ever want to undo the self bury and change/eliminate the whoopie. Not a major addition, but it just makes it a little easier if/when you decide on exact bridge length and want to do away with the whoopie and go to a stitch lock.
My main point with any bridge, regardless of Amsteel, tube, Predator rope or whatever...if the bridge can clinch/grip the saddle loop, then it's position is adjustable which sure helped my comfort level. Maybe some of you guys don't need this but it may help some others. I'd suggest if anyone is having even the slightest issue with saddle comfort, to try this before they give up.
2f46f5e812566a13c45d237717d95071.jpg


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Nutterbuster said:
Maybe not you, but some folks have definitely drank a pitcher.;)

Tube can easily be untied/retied to adjust or completely replace at home. Can't adjust it in the tree to my knowledge. Personally, I've never seen the appeal after you find what you like.
Click to expand...
Could carry an extremely length of tubing, tie in a second bridge, and clip in with your lineman carabiner as an "adjustable" method in the tree. But I don't see the point either.
 
I just spent a lot of time making an amsteel bridge. Not real happy with it. Cut it off and went back to a web
 
I was the one who brought up girth hitching reducing strength. Rule of thumb is it reduces about 50 - 55%. When the manufacturer list breaking strength, it doesn't take knots, sewn loops or splices into account. Splices and sewn loops are around 70% - 80%. I'm not saying don't do it. I just wanted to make it clear that splices, knots, sewn loops, girth hitches all reduce strength. This isn't true for pre-sewn prussiks though. They test those with the sewn loop in place. We've been using knots in sailing, mountaineering, climbing, etc ... for years. They have their place and it's fine. I don't use Amsteel for the weight. I like a neat bridge with no knots. Just a preference. Amsteel is the easiest cord to splice and there are a ton of videos and instruction on how to do it. I bought splicing tools long ago and have been splicing 7/16 and 1/8 Amsteel in the hammock community for years. So if anyone wanders through central Oklahoma and needs help, swing by and I'll set you up.
 
Again, I think @g2outdoors nailed this one. Fixed, Amsteel and shortened it up to remove some hip pressure. Check his youtube channel for his video showing you how to splice then run the fixed loop onto your saddle. Dont be intimidated, it was pretty easy even for a guy who’d never heard of Amsteel before. I didn’t have fids or fancy splicing gear but found a set of chopsticks really helpful in its place. The bridge is light weight, lacks knots so its streamline, easy rotation on a biner and could hold my jeep.
 
Nutterbuster said:
Tubular webbing is hard to beat. Easier to tie a water knot than to splice, cheaper, comes in more colors, no real bulk or weight difference.
Click to expand...
I have a question, I am planning on making a webbing bridge but i'm not sure if it would be safe to tie webbing to my AmSteel bridge loops. Do you happen to know if friction would be a problem?
 
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