Outdoors

Tentsile unveils Stingray suspended tent

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Stingray enables up to four people to sleep suspended in the air
Stingray enables up to four people to sleep suspended in the air
Options for Stingray include accessories such as shoe drying rack, luggage nets, and iPad pouches
Stingray will accommodate three campers with luggage, or four campers total
Tentsile has turned to Kickstarter in order to raise funds for the production of Stingray
Fun for all the family, Stingray is lightweight and can accommodate up to four campers
Stingray can reportedly be assembled or disassembled in just 5 minutes
Stingray enables up to four people to sleep suspended in the air
Stingray will accommodate three campers with luggage, or four campers total
When suspended, access to the interior of the tent is via its collapsible ladder to either a floor hatch or side door
Stingray employs three tree straps, two poles, and a polyester fly sheet
Stingray can reportedly be assembled or disassembled in just 5 minutes
Stingray enables up to four people to sleep suspended in the air
Access to Stingray is via the side door or floor hatch
Stingray weighs 13 lbs (6 kg)
Options for Stingray include accessories such as shoe drying rack, luggage nets, and iPad pouches
Stingray enables up to four people to sleep suspended in the air
Options for Stingray include accessories such as shoe drying rack, luggage nets, and iPad pouches
View gallery - 21 images

UK-based tent manufacturer Tentsile has unveiled an all-new suspended tent, dubbed "Stingray," which the company bills as an ideal combination of hammock and tent. Employing three tree straps, two poles, and a polyester fly sheet, Stingray allows up to four campers to sleep suspended in the air, thus avoiding ground frost and errant rocks – not to mention all those creepy-crawlies which tend to live on the forest floor.

Stingray's more streamlined and compact design is a departure from the large eponymous tent we previously reported on, and has been created in a bid to make a tent more suited to mass-market production.

Stingray will accommodate three campers with luggage, or four campers total

Stingray weighs 13 lbs (6 kg) and can reportedly be assembled or disassembled in just 5 minutes, so should be more suitable for campers who like to travel light. When suspended, access to the interior of the tent is afforded via its collapsible ladder to either a floor hatch or side door. Additional accessories are also available, including a shoe drying rack, luggage nets, and iPad pouches.

Tentsile boss Alex Shirley-Smith is keen to promote the flexibility of the Stingray, and name drops the United Nations and Australian military as two groups which have shown an interest in Tentsile. Indeed, the design could conceivably serve as a lightweight and relatively low-cost temporary shelter in areas which have been flooded (or where the ground is otherwise unsuitable), so a humanitarian use for the tent does seem feasible.

In order to help bring Stingray to market, Tentsile has turned to Kickstarter, with a minimum pledge of £899 (roughly US$1,400) required in order to secure a tent. Initial units are expected appear in March.

The promo video below features the company's pitch.

Source: Tentsile, Kickstarter via Inhabitat

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View gallery - 21 images
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15 comments
flink
I would consider this for fair weather camping in a temperate, non-tropical zone.
Camping in cold weather? I think I'd rather not want to be suspended in mid-air if an overnight storm front came through.
Thomas Aquino
NASA makes a 1/4" airgel polymer thermal blanket that would be a perfect winter liner for this tent.
brahmo
This is really looks pretty neat. I guess you avoid some bugs and animals being in the air, also probably more comfortable up there. but i bet that you will have birds nesting on your tent and keeping you up all night sometimes.
Ken Dawson
I really want to see a picture with 4 full sized adults in this tent. Even 3. What prevents everyone from slowly rolling on top of each other during the night?
Vince Pack
I don't normally pick nits on the interwebs, but 13lbs is the opposite of a tent that "should be more suitable for campers who like to travel light." And for $1400usd there isn't much perceivable "value".
As a nearly full hammock camping convert (for backpacking), I fully understand the desire to get off the ground, but at that weight and cost, no amount of cool factor is enough for a tent. At a more "reasonable" cost, this would definitely catch my interest as a car or boat camping alternative.
Realmcoyoneone REalmcoyoneone
If it gets too cold make a coal fire under it.
didge_player
Good Luck finding 3 trees in a perfect triangle. Winter camping in a hammock is way better as it keeps you off of the cold ground, so I can see it good for that but again I say, Good luck finding 3 trees in a perfect triangle.
McDesign
Wait - any threepoints define a triangle. What?
Joe Sobotka
$1400.00 for a tent? I'll pass on that one.
KMH
I would think that a tent with a built-in inflatable bag (think one of those queen size bed in a box things) on the bottom would be a better bet. It could also float, if need be, and be easily unhooked from whatever it's attached to. The hammock idea isn't a bad one per se, but it seems more complicated by small areas instead of one bigger one.