Outdoors

TreePod tent suspends campers like a life-sized Christmas ornament

TreePod tent suspends campers like a life-sized Christmas ornament
The TreePod Camper will hit the market in April
The TreePod Camper will hit the market in April
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TreePod's Camper tent makes its debut at Outdoor Retailer Winter Market 2017
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TreePod's Camper tent makes its debut at Outdoor Retailer Winter Market 2017
The weatherproof Camper tent includes retractable window and door coverings
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The weatherproof Camper tent includes retractable window and door coverings
TreePod equips the Camper with an aluminum frame
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TreePod equips the Camper with an aluminum frame 
The TreePod Camper will hit the market in April
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The TreePod Camper will hit the market in April
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A trend we've noticed while touring various trade shows around the US and Europe over the past few years is the hanging hammock pod. Part hammock-chair and part fabric treehouse, these pods are available from a number of different brands, bringing a bit of suspended relaxation to the trees. TreePod is one such brand and, much like the Cacoon, its hanging shelters have served as fun, simple children's treehouses. It's now launching a version for adults, a suspended camping tent that suspends two campers above the ground for a different perspective and experience.

Right along with hammock pods, suspended tents are another trend that has gained steam over the past five years or so. Tentsile has earned some fame with its ever-expanding lineup of tree tents, and brands like Kammock and Crua Outdoors have devised their own means of getting campers up off the ground. In addition to offering a higher vantage point and looking pretty cool in photos, such tents get campers up off the hard, bumpy ground, away from critters, pooling water and other undesirable elements.

TreePod recognizes that the suspended tent market is a fast-crowding space but believes the design it's adapted from its kids' treehouse line will offer a more user-friendly experience.

"There are other companies in the field of suspended tents, but none have done it from a single point or reached the level of ease of use that the Camper affords," says TreePod CEO Ricardo Bottome.

Indeed, in the past, we've often stared at the likes of the Tentsile Vista and been awed briefly before reality set in: "How the hell do you secure such a tent in picture-perfect fashion way up above the ground?!" We're thinking the answer is decidedly not a very relaxing way to start off the camping trip. More basic dual-point hammock shelters are simpler, but they still require a pair of trees spaced just right.

TreePod equips the Camper with an aluminum frame
TreePod equips the Camper with an aluminum frame 

The Camper, on the other hand, utilizes a single-point suspension system, requiring only one sturdy tree branch for set-up. The aluminum frame and high-tensile-strength fabric walls fill out the structure, holding up to 500 lb (227 kg) of total weight. The tent sleeps two people and has a 54 x 84 in (137 x 213 cm) footprint. Guy lines prevent the whole thing from swinging around like a wind-battered piñata.

We'd like to try setting the Camper up, or at least see some video, before declaring it a no-hassle breeze, but the new tent at least looks and sounds easier to manage than some of the other tree tents out there.

Each camper enjoys a dedicated door, making entry and exit more convenient than a single-door design. An optional mesh divider keeps the two campers comfortably separated if they so choose. The mesh doors and windows include retractable weatherproof panels so that they can be closed to fend off bad weather or left open for added ventilation. Taped seams help prevent moisture from getting in.

TreePod introduced the Camper at the Outdoor Retailer Winter Market this week and plans to begin selling it by April 2017. It will retail for US$575.

We've seen similar single-point suspended pod designs before, but variants like Luminair tents and Cocoon Tree pods have leaned much more heavily toward the glamping resort end of the market, with price tags well into the thousands of dollars. Others have actually been part of a resort. TreePod offers a simpler, more affordable alternative for outdoorsy folks, though $575 is still a pretty hefty price to pay for what amounts to a basic two-person tent that hangs in the air.

Source: TreePod

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5 comments
5 comments
FearlessExplorer
Looks like a Grizzly bear piñata.
grtblu
I get and like the "hammock" type tents that are suspended between two trees. They are easily set up. This thing however requires that their be a strong and long branch that one can somehow sling a rope over, in order to pull it up and suspend it. It is often difficult enough in back country camping, to find a suitable branch for a food bag to keep predators away. Trying to find a large, long, strong branch and then attach a rope to it is just a fantasy in most situations.
Lardo
I'm sorry, but I just don't get this new fascination with hanging tents. What's so bad about the ground? If you're using on of these (and at $600, I sure won't be) I hope you don't roll around in your sleep. Even with the guy-lines, this thing will be bouncing and swinging like, well... a Christmas ornament.
Bob Flint
So an expensive two person tent that you need a strong branch to hang from, till you give up and settle for the ground. Forget open fields, sides of mountains, or beach camping.
raterry@fedex.com
Well if you attach at a single point use a tripod and you don't need to damage a tree. We've adapted two point hammocks to hang off two point on a frame using a trailer hitch bracket .. You need imagination not perfect trees. as for backpacking.. the weight is an issue.. if you are going to DRIVE to the location just use a tent. If hiking the hammocks, straps, lines and covers even underquilts measure it the ounces.