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Hammock Technology for Saddle Hunting

jbogg

jbogg

Well-Known Member
Joined
Nov 26, 2018
Messages
392
Full disclosure, I am brand new to saddle hunting but I am an experienced backpacker and Hammock camper. One of the most common complaints of hammock campers using a gathered end conventional hammock is what is known as shoulder squeeze. Saddle Hunters experience the same discomfort on a different part of the body and this is known as hip pinch. Several hammock manufacturers have addressed the issue of shoulder squeeze by producing what is known as a bridge Hammock. These hammocks use very light weight spreader bars made out of aluminum or carbon fiber at either end of the hammock completely alleviating the tight fabric constriction around the shoulders.
Using existing trekking pole technology it would be very easy to design an adjustable spreader bar that could be inserted into a couple of grommet holes on the front of the saddle. The length would be easily adjustable, and I’m guessing felt hip pinch could easily be reduced by 50% or more.
It’s all physics. Bigger guys will experience more hip pinch due to their weight. Seems like this would be a very easy solution and would eliminate much of the fiddle factor when it comes to determining bridge length and tether height. So, which manufacture is going to come out with this first?
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jbogg said:
Full disclosure, I am brand new to saddle hunting but I am an experienced backpacker and Hammock camper. One of the most common complaints of hammock campers using a gathered end conventional hammock is what is known as shoulder squeeze. Saddle Hunters experience the same discomfort on a different part of the body and this is known as hip pinch. Several hammock manufacturers have addressed the issue of shoulder squeeze by producing what is known as a bridge Hammock. These hammocks use very light weight spreader bar made out of aluminum or carbon fiber at either end of the hammock completely alleviating the tight fabric construction around the shoulders.
Using existing treking pole technology it would be very easy to design a spreader bar that could be inserted into a couple of grommet holes on the front of the saddle. The length would be easily adjustable, and I’m guessing felt hip pinch could easily be reduced by 50% or more.
It’s all physics. Bigger guys will experience more hip pinch due to their weight. Seems like this would be a very easy solution and would eliminate much of the fiddle factor when it comes to determining bridge length and tether height. So, which manufacture is going to come out with this first?
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You!!!!!
 
How do you stay in it if you have slack in your system and fall? How do you custom fit it to different hip widths? What’s the advantage over a bosuns chair or already available saddles like the hybrid or web?
 
The bar would be adjustable exactly like a hikers trekking pole. It would telescope into itself and use one of the several locking mechanisms used by hiking poles today. I don’t believe there’s any risk of falling out of the saddle. All I’m talking about is letting the pole absorb some of the downward gravitational force exactly like the spreader bars used in bridge Hammocks. Widening the saddle using a spreader bar by even just an inch or two would go along way to alleviating the pressure points and in no way cause a safety issue. As far as other existing available options, I have the JX3 currently and would not trade it for anything. However, for the miany hunters in the Saddle community that want to be very mobile and light weight this option would add literally just a few ounces to a conventional saddle like a Mantis, Kite....
 
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I’m pretty sure it’s been attempted with pvc as a diy project. I was 290+ all of last season and was comfortable without any spreader bars. That said they would help a lot of people increase their comfort level. The placement of it would be critical to give room without being in the way. A bigger or smaller guy in the same saddle would have the rigid piece close or farther away.
 
Yeah it's been done. I'm pretty sure the results were less than stellar. You can search around on here and you'll find the threads.
 
Interesting idea that may work with experimentation. I feel whatever bar you use will end up causing more discomfort that any hip pinch from the saddle. How would you prevent the bar from pressing up against your back?
 
fr0sty said:
Interesting idea that may work with experimentation. I feel whatever bar you use will end up causing more discomfort that any hip pinch from the saddle. How would you prevent the bar from pressing up against your back?
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The bar would actually go in the front, just an inch or two out from your belt buckle.
 
g2outdoors said:
Yeah it's been done. I'm pretty sure the results were less than stellar. You can search around on here and you'll find the threads.
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I will do some searching. I have a hard time imagining that it would not help reduce hip pinch. It has worked fine for hammock users for years so I’m not sure why saddle users would not realize some benefit. What was the downside?
 
I can't remember. I think there are better ways to reduce hip pinch. Positioning of the saddle, Tether height, bridge length, and platform choice all play a big role.

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g2outdoors said:
I can't remember. I think there are better ways to reduce hip pinch. Positioning of the saddle, Tether height, bridge length, and platform choice all play a big role.

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk
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I get that. Gathered end hammock users struggle with shoulder squeeze and as a result there is a lot of fiddling in an effort to reduce the squeeze. Hammock length combined with ridge line length are all factors that can be tweaked to reduce the discomfort. Along the same lines, saddle hunters also fiddle with platform, bridge length and tether height with the same goal being comfort. All I’m saying is that I see this as being a very simple no brainer solution to increase comfort. It has been proven beyond a shadow of a doubt to relieve pressure points with hammock users, so I can’t envision a scenario where it would not provide a similar comfort improvement for a saddle user. Maybe someone who has played around with this option could chime in and let us know what they found.
 
I'm 6-3, use a gathered end hammock and have never had any shoulder squeeze....because I made my hammock longer than suggested. The same applies to saddles. Go larger in size. There's a plethora of posts on here where people have switched sizes of saddles and found much more comfort and I would dare estimate that 90+ percent of those instances were a result of going to a larger saddle.

FWIW I use a size 2 Kestrel and it's never given me ANY discomfort whatsoever.
 
dalton916 said:
I'm 6-3, use a gathered end hammock and have never had any shoulder squeeze....because I made my hammock longer than suggested. The same applies to saddles. Go larger in size. There's a plethora of posts on here where people have switched sizes of saddles and found much more comfort and I would dare estimate that 90+ percent of those instances were a result of going to a larger saddle.

FWIW I use a size 2 Kestrel and it's never given me ANY discomfort whatsoever.
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Sounds like you solved the problem of shoulder squeeze and hip pinch. It sure seems like a lot of Saddle Hunters complain about hip pinch and if it was as easy a fix as sizing up I wonder why so many folks seem to struggle with it. My point is that if a spreader bar would increase comfort and allow a hunter to sit comfortably for an extra hour or two per hunt they will have a much higher likelihood of being successful in the field.
 
I added two prusicks to my tether that each have a carabiner attached to them. The prusicks are situated where the loops align with the side of the tree. I run my lineman’s rope through both carabiners as a second bridge. Then tighten up until I have equally distributed my weight on the bridge and lineman’s rope. This spreads the d-loops and fixed hip pinch for me.
 
I don't think it affects my mobility around the tree. It does create more resistance when I twist my hips for the 6 o clock shot, but not bad.
 
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