Our Story

Portable Treehouses

Alex Shirley-Smith, Tentsile’s Founder, was born and raised in London and trained as an Architect, specialising in sustainable living and low impact shelters.

In 2013 years ago, still living in the UK, he decided to follow a childhood dream and his lifelong passion for trees by designing and manufacturing the first prototype Tree Tent. 

Our journey began when after years of designing and building tree houses, our founder Alex-Shirley Smith (architect) wanted to create a lightweight and portable tree house for outdoor enthusiast to have a portable, off-the-ground home wherever they are.

From back garden to backcountry, he wanted to take people’s experience of the outside world to the next level.

The First Tree Tent

This idea quickly evolved into our flagship model, the Stingray 3-Person Tree Tent which was picked up, displayed and sold at MOMA, New York. It was an instant hit in both design and camping circles, and very quickly sold out.

It was from here that Tentsile quickly grew and developed a devout following of customers. Tentsile Tree Tents combine the comfort and versatility of a hammock with the security and multi-person functionality of a tent, allowing you and your tribe to camp in more unique places than ever before.

Giant Camping Hammocks

Now in 2019, the team has grown, as has our product offering. We now have a range of Tree Tents from one person to five people, as well as hammocks, insect mesh walls, waterproof walls and ladders which can be used together to create a ‘stack’.

The versatility of a Tentsile, means you can create a multi-story camp ground with friends and family–the possibilities are endless!

We have their own custom-built production and R&D facility in China, employing 20 highly skilled production staff. This allows us to maintain their high-quality standards, which can be attested by their customer feedback and loyalty towards their products.

As we’ve grown, the team have maintained our drive for sustainability and the protection of trees. Since introducing their pledge to plant trees with every tent sold, we've planted over 900,000 trees.

Please see Our Mission to learn about our commitment to sustainability.

Tentsile’s Tree Tents excite and inspire campers around the world. The Tentsile community want to share their experiences and places they have camped because their Tree Tents allow them to camp in more places, fun and comfort than ever before.