TENTSILE - Stingray Tree Tent

This is the second one we've had after returning the first... bad saintly. The newest one had the rainfly rip at tthe attachment point to the ratchet. very poor build quality.

So you have seen the instagram pictures of this really cool design for a tent? Curious about what its like to have one? I was right in your shoes. So I sprung on it.

bought this a year ago and use it every chance we get. kids love it. and people can't get enough of it. definitelyrespray the faintly though for heavier storms.

I am 53 yr old adventurous engineering female who loves “anything outdoors”. I have “flown” tent twice alone - napping but not sleeping in it. Weather was calm and sunny.

We needed a hammock setup for a gorgeous lakeside site on a hillside. Heavy to hike in but we paddled. Great for 2 plus gear inside & below. Need straps relatively level & triangle pull but not exact. No tree savers, no problem. It is hammock style (comfortable) & you slide if not level. We love it for allowing some unique locations.

STORY TIIIIIME!!!!!! Deep in the boonies of Arkansas lies a town by the name of Greers Ferry. In Greers Ferry there lies a rather large lake. On this lake is where our story begins in a small campsite by the name of Devils Fork. We had planned this trip for a week and had everything down to the last detail. We were going to finally bring our Tentsile Stingray out on its maiden voyage. We had camped out in the backyard but never in a park with it. So we planned and got everything set to go. By Friday I noticed something brewing off the west side of the map. A storm. Didn’t look too bad at that point so we decided to go ahead with our adventure. I printed out the directions from google maps and put it in the car. We headed out Saturday morning with the dogs , picking up ice and a few stoner snacks for the trip, and made it to the campsite without too much trouble at all. We paid our money and found a perfect little spot right by the lake with three trees in a semi perfect triangular pattern. We set up the tent first and as we were just bringing out the cooler we were stopped by a very concerned park ranger telling us that he was sorry but that we would need to take down our tent because it was not truly a tent and that it was not allowed by the Core. Upon further question we concluded that he did not fully understand the nature of our tent so we politely asked him look at the tent first before he made us take it down forever. As we suspected he was not familiar with the Stingray and kindly allowed us to stay but not without offering a word of warning that there was a very bad storm coming in that night and that we should really consider staying another weekend instead. We declined and assured him that we would be fine. He shook his head and bid us farewell as we continued setting up. The day went by without too much trouble as we viewed the lake, took pictures, set up our sleeping bags, and hung twinkle lights. We truly were glamping. The tent went up easy as always along with the Trillium under it as we like to use the “stack” method. By nightfall we were hunkered down with our bellies full and ready for bed. I really should point out the dogs that I mentioned earlier. There is Shiloh, a 100lb. bloodhound. Molly, a Parson Russell Terrier. And then Rocky, a Rhodesian Ridgeback. All three dogs were in this tent with us and it held surprisingly well with room to spare in the front of the tent for our gear. We got in just as the rain started falling lightly, swiftly falling asleep listening to the raindrops hit our rain fly. Around two in the morning we awoke to a wall of wind hitting us repeatedly from the front of the tent. 80-90 mph winds coming off of the lake hitting us square in the face strong enough to bend the poles back where we had to hold them up and making the straps hum eerily. The tarp had come undone from the wind under the tent making it appear as if we were flying. Thinking fast I grabbed a carabiner and ran from the tent to re-secure the tarp as it blew wildly around me. It was at that moment that it occurred to me how much danger we could be in. What if a tornado was on the lake but we couldn’t hear it over the wind and humming straps? I squinted over the lake but could not see anything in the pitch black as rain hit my eyes. I was scared. I wanted to go home where it was safe. But I hastily made my way back in the tent and changed into dry clothes which was surprisingly easy in the space of the tent with another adult and three dogs. Together we rode out the storm until the sun came up and the sky finally cleared. We emerged completely dry and with a fully intact tent. No damage at all. That morning we had many visitors asking us if we were okay and what it was like to ride out the storm in a flying tent. Even our old friend the park ranger came to check on us informing us that we were officially the last tent left standing in the park as the other tent campers had left early in the morning when the wind picked up and blew their tents over. If you want a tent that is durable then this is it. And if you made it through my story then you deserve this tent because it is the best out there. I am fully convinced that nothing other than fire can harm it. Honestly, just buy it!

Been haunting this tent for quite some time. Price and opportunities to be able to use it have been the things keeping me away until now. Both of those became manageable, so I finally pulled the trigger. Really happy I did. In the process of lurking while waiting to make this purchase, I read every review and watched every video I could dig up (strongly recommend.) After doing that, the first time I set up the tent went off without a hitch. The only thing amiss was that I was setting this up around dark and managed to put the rain fly on crooked, but even then it worked like a charm. Rained pretty hard that night and we stayed dry as a bone. As for the negative issues that I was made aware of through others' reviews, I didn't experience any of them. Didn't have a single issue with the poles and can't really see how anyone could. I understand the tent underwent some design upgrades and maybe they fixed the issues, but I had none. As for problems with the trees not being spaced properly, I'm not sure if it was from watching the videos (couldn't have hurt,) or just being able to visualize how to make it work out, it seemed pretty intuitive to me and we had no problems. I think this tent is going to be like most in that every time we use it, the process gets a little better and we learn something to make things easier. Bottom line is that we are really happy we bought it and we look forward to using it the next time. It probably bears mentioning that a good measure of how happy I am with this purchase was the help and support we received from REI. I honestly cannot recall a single instance where I dealt with the folks at REI and didn't look forward to the next time; in store or on line. Thanks REI!