Outdoors

Tentsile tents leap between air and ground with new conversion kits

Tentsile tents leap between air and ground with new conversion kits
The Connect ground conversion kit shown here creates a combination air/
The Connect ground conversion kit and double-bubble mesh (sold separately) create a combination air/ground tent
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The Connect ground conversion kit shown here creates a combination air/
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The Connect ground conversion kit and double-bubble mesh (sold separately) create a combination air/ground tent
The Safari Connect tree tent hanging from the trees
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The Safari Connect tree tent hanging from the trees
The Tentsile Stingray staked atop its protective footprint
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The Tentsile Stingray staked atop its protective footprint
The Tentsile Connect gets grounded
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The Tentsile Connect gets grounded
Underfloor gear nets are another new addition for the 2020 Tentsile lineup
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Underfloor gear nets are another new addition for the 2020 Tentsile lineup
This Tentsile tent now works on a treeless shore just as well as this tree-lined stretch of coast
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This Tentsile tent now works on a treeless shore just as well as this tree-lined stretch of coast
Should the weather prove questionable, the ground kit's telescoping poles and guy lines serve to pitch the rain fly (shown here on the Stingray)
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Should the weather prove questionable, the ground kit's telescoping poles and guy lines serve to pitch the rain fly (shown here on the Stingray)
Single-person UNA tent with ground conversion
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Single-person UNA tent with ground conversion
Grounded Tentsile tents won't make for quite such dramatic photos, but we're sure they'll still get pictured against gorgeous backdrops
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Grounded Tentsile tents won't make for quite such dramatic photos, but we're sure they'll still get pictured against gorgeous backdrops
The new gear nets provide a space to store clothes and gear you don't want on the ground or in the tent
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The new gear nets provide a space to store clothes and gear you don't want on the ground or in the tent
Two-person Tentsile Flite with ground kit
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Two-person Tentsile Flite with ground kit
Tentsile's Safari Connect looks like a hovering alien spacecraft from this angle
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Tentsile's Safari Connect looks like a hovering alien spacecraft from this angle
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Since Tentsile introduced its very first tent, stretched multi-point tree tents, sheltered hammocks and dangling live-in pods have been bombarding the market with regularity, and a number of them camp on the ground as well as in the air. To keep up with the trends, Tentsile adds a ground kit to its revamped third-generation tent lineup this year. The kit transforms swaying tree tents into stable ground tents, giving each tent more versatility in camping anywhere.

As we mentioned when looking at Tentsile's new stand a few weeks ago, we've encountered situations in which stringing a tent up in the trees was a no-go. A 100-lb (45-kg) stand is certainly one solution, but an easier, more packable solution is a ground conversion kit capable of eliminating the trees from the picture and making the Tensile a simpler ground tent. It's the strategy Tentsile used when launching its triple-element (land, water, air) Universe raft/tent, and Tentsile now extends air/ground capability to its entire lineup of one- through three-person tents.

Should the weather prove questionable, the ground kit's telescoping poles and guy lines serve to pitch the rain fly (shown here on the Stingray)
Should the weather prove questionable, the ground kit's telescoping poles and guy lines serve to pitch the rain fly (shown here on the Stingray)

The ground kits are specific to individual models but include the necessary components to make each Tentsile a freestanding tent. Each kit includes a ground sheet to protect the bottom of the Tentsile, screw-in stakes, reflective guy lines and telescoping support poles for the fly. Put those pieces all together (Tentsile has some handy videos to guide campers through the process), and the previously tree-dependent Tentsile tent makes the forest floor home like the Stingray above.

Underfloor gear nets are another new addition for the 2020 Tentsile lineup
Underfloor gear nets are another new addition for the 2020 Tentsile lineup

The new ground kits launched this year as part of an updated 2020 Tentsile lineup that also includes a new ruggedized "Safari" trim Vista tent and underfloor gear nets on all models. The ground kits range between $60 and $150, depending upon tent model, while the tents themselves run between $299 for the solo UNA to $999 for the new three-person Safari Vista. The ground kits also retrofit to previous Tentsile models so current owners of those tents can double their camping pleasure, too.

Source: Tentsile

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