Tree tent review
A review of the Flite tree tent, by Tentsile
Is there anything better than waking up suspended from the ground, held up by the trees? If you discount things like sex, beer and fast cars then you’d probably say NO. Waking up to the sunrise through the mesh ceiling – mercifully keeping the mosquitos at bay – is a feeling of immense satisfaction, likened by experts (me) to how a butterfly feels when it emerges from the chrysalis on a spring day, filled with energy and the burning desire to reproduce.
The tent comes in a variety of shapes and sizes – I was sent the two-man version to try out. The central tape splits the tent into two berths, and they act rather like hammocks – but with more tension. Putting it up is as simple as it can get for such a product – tapes go around three trees and attach onto the three corners of the tent, tensioned by a variety of means. The most crucial part of the process is to find the correct alignment of supports, as if one tree is slightly off the desired triangular shape you’ll spend the night at a 45-degree angle, crushed into the wall of the tent, wishing you’d been less hasty in choosing a spot.
Inside the tent there are three pockets – one on each corner – great for storing things as they do have a habit of rolling to the middle if you don’t stow them away. I woke up with a French baguette between my legs (I swear this was an accident) but this was a minor inconvenience in comparison to the joy of sleeping in a floating cocoon. Underneath the tent there is a bigger storage compartment made of mesh – a bit tricky to reach from inside, but a good way to keep everything safely off the ground. There is also a ceiling hook, great for a lamp, and the whole thing looks fantastic draped in a string of battery-operated fairy lights, lending a “Tumblr 2013™” energy to the occasion.
Once you’ve figured out the best spot, erected your tree tent and achieved the perfect tension, you’ll discover my favourite feature of this product: the sheer comfort of sleeping above the cold, hard ground. A sleeping mat is not necessary with enough tension, but sleeping on top of a blanket or quilt stops the cold getting through the fabric. Past camping trips have always been plagued by the memory of sleeping on the ground – a sleeping mat does little to dispel the unyielding nature of Mother Earth. As long as you have a good alignment of supports at your disposal, this tent is a great way to bypass this torture entirely. As a van-dweller, sleeping in the van can get a bit uncomfortable when the weather really heats up, so turning it into a two-bedroom home has given me a great deal more freedom and comfort.
Overall, I’m very impressed with this tent and am relieved that I’ve found a way to escape things I liked the least about camping trips, while imagining myself in another life – one where I am a sloth rambling aimlessly around the canopy.
The company have the ethical credentials of planting three trees per tent, and on their website is an honest summary of the origins and manufacturing processes involved in producing their tents - a transparency I welcome in a world of greenwashing and false advertising - hopefully this honesty becomes an example to other, similar companies.