Tentsile Connect is a durable, two-person hammock tent that offers great interior volume for 2 people.
Tree tents are perfect for adventure lovers, If you have 3 trees then you can create a floating city of your own without thinking of finding a comfortable flat ground. Tentsile is the biggest brand when it comes to tree tents. This article will focus on their top models, Tentsile Flite vs Connect.
If you want the quick answer, Tentsile Connect provides a higher capacity, bigger interior volume, more pockets, and better longevity but it’s heavy and bulky for backpacking & hiking trips. Tentsile Flite, on the other hand, can be used for backpacking it’s much lighter, packs down smaller, and still provides enough room for two people.
Tentsile Flite vs Connect: Specs
TENTSILE FLITE | TENTSILE CONNECT | |
|---|---|---|
 |  | |
Capacity | 485lbs / 220kg | 880lbs / 440kg |
Season | 3-Season | 3-Season |
Weight | 8.42lbs / 3.82kg | 20.8lbs / 9.5kg |
Packed Size | 17" x 8.6" x 8.6" / 45cm x 22cm x 22cm | 22" x 13" x 9.85" / 56cm x 33cm x 25cm |
Head Height | 2.7 ft / 0.9m | 3 ft / 1m |
Floor Area | 43 ft² / 4 m² | 52 ft² / 5 m² |
Floor Dimensions | 10.6' x 10.6' x 9' / 3.25m x 3.25m x 2.7m | 13' x 13' x 8.5' / 4m x 4m x 2.56m |
Covered Porch Area | 55 ft² / 5 m² | 65 ft² / 6 m² |
Fly Fabric | 70D PU-Coated Polyester (HH=5000mm) | 70D PU-Coated Polyester (HH=5000mm) |
Floor Fabric | 45D inclined joint nylon-polyester composite | 250D inclined joint nylon-polyester composite |
Insect Mesh | No-See-Um Mesh | No-See-Um Mesh |
Ratchets & Straps | 26mm x 5m Straps 1.2 Tonne Rated Ratchets | 38mm x 6m Straps 2.5 Tonne Rated Ratchets |
Poles | 2 x 8.5mm Anodized Aluminium Poles | 2 x 8.5mm Anodized Aluminium Poles |
Doors | 2 Doors | 4 Doors |
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Detailed Comparison
Capacity
Winner: Tentsile Connect
Tentsile Connect has twice the capacity of Tentsile Flite. And, because Tentsile Connect has a capacity of 880 lbs, you can put all of your gear on the tent without hesitation, on the other hand, Flite has 440 lbs capacity, you may need to think twice while storing your gear.
But, you will be using Tentsile Flight mostly on your hikes or backpacking trips, therefore you won’t be carrying lots of loads, so it shouldn’t be a deal-breaker.
Interior Volume
Winner: Tentsile Connect
For the roominess, again, Tentsile Connect is the superior one. Tentsile Flite contains shorter poles and less fabric on the floor to be lighter.
Due to its cross pole structure and bigger floor area, Tentsile Connect offers a much larger interior space and surface area.
Tentsile Flite
Tentsile Connect
Although Connect offers more space, I have to give credit to Flite as well, although it is a bit tight, it offers enough space for two-person backpacking trips.
Here’re the floor area dimensions:
Longevity
Winner: Tentsile Connect
When it comes to longevity, there’re many factors to be considered, but the most important ones are:
- Floor fabric type: Tentsile Connect‘s floor fabric is made of 250D inclined joint nylon-polyester, while Tentsile Flite‘s floor fabric is made of 45D inclined joint nylon-polyester (for fabrics the more the denier the better the durability).
- Width of the straps: The wider the strap, the less the load it carries in the unit area, so as the width increases, you get more longevity, with that being said, the strap widths of Connect and Flite are respectively 38mm and 26mm.
- Ratchets’ tonnage rating: A Ratchet’s Tonnage Rating shows the maximum load it can carry, which is 2.5 tons for Connect and 1.2 tons for Flite.
Weight & Packed Size
Winner: Tentsile Flite
Package size and weight are two features that make Flite unique. It provides a higher Floor Area / Weight Ratio than all tree tents on the market. And it packs down very small.
Tentsile Flite packs down to 17 “x 8.6” x 8.6 “, Tentsile Connect, on the other hand, packs down almost twice as big, with the dimensions of 22″ x 13 “x 9.85”.
And for the weight, Tentsile Flite (8.42lbs) weighs less than half the weight of Tentsile Connect (20.8lbs).
Pockets & Features
Winner: Tentsile Connect
If you are going to camp in a tree tent for the first time, you should know that most campers complain that there are not enough pockets in the tree tents.
That’s why Tentsile is trying to put as many pockets as possible in the last tree tents they design.
This is why the latest version of Tentsile Connect has so many pockets. But Tentsile Flite, on the other hand, does not contain enough pockets as it is made for lightweight camping.
Also, Tentsile Connect features four doors whereas Flite offers two doors, it’s not a deal-breaker but worth mentioning.
Ease of Pitch
Winner: Tentsile Flite
To be honest, both tents’ setting up process takes longer than normal tents, however, this difference is not much, once you get to hang of it, it takes about 10 minutes to set up the Tentsile Flite and roughly 15 minutes to set up Connect.
I should also mention that Tentsile Connect’s straps are 1 meter longer than Tentsile Flite’s straps, therefore, Tentsile Connect offers the ability to set up the tent in areas where gaps between trees are wider.
Water Resistance
Winner: Tie
Since both tents do not touch the ground, there is no possibility of water intake from the ground, and the fly fabric of both tent is well laminated, both are highly waterproof (HH = 5000 mm).
Tentsile Flite+ Review
Tentsile Flite+ is a lightweight two-person hammock tent that would give you the best of both worlds between hammock camping and tent camping.
It comes with:
- Tent canopy
- 5000mm HH (Waterproofness rating) rainfly
- 2 x 8.5mm diameter anodized aluminum alloy poles
- 3 x Heavy-duty ratchet and 5m / 19ft polyester straps
- 1 x WebLock
- 4 x Low-impact giant yellow screw pegs
- 3 x WaterGates
- Bungee cords
Tentsile Flite+ is a lightweight two-person hammock tent that would give you the best of both worlds between hammock camping and tent camping.
Since it comes with only 3 ratchet and 2 poles pitching the Tentsile Flite is very easy to for a tree tent, after finding the appropriate trees to hang it, it takes around 10 minutes to set the whole tent up.
It features two D shaped doors so you don’t have to wake up your partner if you need to leave the tent in the middle of the night. And, it provides a detachable storage net to keep your bulky gear underneath the tent.
The floor fabric is 45D Dacron Nylon-Polyester and the fly fabric is 70D PU Coated Polyester that has 5000 mm of waterproof rating (which is enough the keep you dry under rainy conditions). It only weighs 8.42 lbs and packs down to Ø8.6″ x 17.7″.
It might seem a little bit heavy compared to a regular two-person tent, but in the tree tent market, it’s considered extremely lightweight. And lastly, the weight capacity of this tent is 485 lbs, so it can carry two-person easily.
Overall, it offers a great balance between weight, packed size, durability, and weather resistance. The drawbacks of this suspended tent are, it’s interior volume is a little bit small, it’s a little bit tight for 2 people, and it doesn’t feature convenient pockets inside the tent.
Tentsile Connect Review
Tentsile Connect is a durable, two-person hammock tent that offers great interior volume for 2 people.
It comes with:
- Tent Canopy
- 5000mm HH (Waterproofness rating)
- 2 x 8.5mm diameter anodized aluminum alloy poles
- 3 x Heavy-duty ratchet buckles (2.5-ton breaking strength)
- 3 x 6m / 19ft polyester straps
- 4 x Low-impact giant yellow screw pegs
- 3 x WaterGates
- Bungee cords
- Spare hooks
Setting up process is a little bit complicated compared to regular tents, but once you get the hang of it, it takes around 15 minutes to set up the whole tent by single-person.
The tent weighs 20.8 lbs and packs down to 20″ x 13″ x 9.85″, so it’s not suitable for hiking or backpacking. If you’re planning a small hike, and if you have a partner to split the load maybe then you can use it for backpacking but still, 20.8 lb is too much. But if you’re planning a car camping the bulkiness shouldn’t be a big problem.
There are five great things about this tree tent:
- The tent offers a big liveable place, it’s very roomy compared to its alternatives
- It features lots of pockets in the tent to store your gear, and it also features two separate detachable storage for each person
- The weight capacity of this tree tent is great, it can lift up to 880 lbs
- It’s made of very durable material for a hammock tent, therefore it provides great longevity
- With the 5000mm HH Rainfly, and it offers great weather protection
Overall, it’s a roomy, durable, weather-resistant, and comfortable tree tent. The only downside of this suspended tent is, it is heavy and bulky, therefore it’s only suitable for car camping.
Good Weight Capacity
Suspension not included
