8 July 2021: We are trickling out the latest batch of Trekking Treez in 2s and 3s. We are working hard on speeding up the process of taking raw carbon fiber poles and turning them into Treez. If the website says they are out-of-stock that means the few I put out have been sold. A few more will be available in a day or two. When this batch of raw poles is gone, this header will change.
A truly backpack-ready hammock stand, Trekking Treez are stout carbon fiber trekking poles that convert to a stand, for backpackers like us committed to sleeping in hammocks even on tree-sparse trails. If you do hike but don’t use trekking poles, consider Tensa Solo to save money. If you don’t hike, Tensa4 is a better choice.
We sell sides individually (one pole), because one is enough for economy when a single tree or similar hanging point presents, and many prefer to hike with only one. Each side with 30cm anchors, lines, and a few extra parts weighs 2.08lbs (945g), packing to 19.5″ (50cm) long.
If your current trekking poles weigh 20oz (567g), the additional weight of two Trekking Treez is only 2.9lbs (1320g), and most of this is in your pack (the anchors), not in your hands. Additional savings accrue from not needing to carry or even own redundant ground-based sleeping gear just in case no suitable trees present at your campsite.
Spring 2021 saw our introduction of stronger injection-molded fittings to Trekking Treez, to replace several of the former 3D-printed ones. Most notably, we’ve replaced the former spring-button stops for adjusting trekking pole length with flip-lock mechanism as on mass-produced trekking poles. This is infinitely adjustable within its range, silent, and prevents possible damage to the carbon fiber as the former spring button mechanism could incur with a stabby trekking pole technique. Maybe best of all, the flip-locks retrofit to older Trekking Treez production. Contact us if you have an older version you’d like to bring up to current spec!
Spring buttons remain in use to join the other sections, but these are only for holding the segments together when lifted, not bearing the compressive loads of either trekking or hammock modes, and as such have never risked damaging the carbon fiber.
Cast in-house (yes, literally Cheryl’s house), these injection-molded parts show some surface and other finish irregularities as they are hand-processed to completion upon release from the homemade molds. This is essentially an artisanal process in continuous improvement, and we hope you find rustic charm in the results, knowing not to expect the uniformity typical of mass produced parts. At some future point of market demand and design refinement curves intersecting, we’ll pay for the very expensive molds and high minimum order quantities to have these parts professionally produced. We are restricting sales of Trekking Treez temporarily to the United States, in view of the high costs of any warranty or return service until the recent design and production processes stabilize.
Check our introductory blog post and the print instructions in PDF format for detail.
Hilary Thornton (verified owner) –
Tensa Outdoor’s products are crafted with great care AND Cheryl provides personalized customer service before and after the sale that you simply won’t get from a “big” company. At one point I was having an issue with one of the very early production parts seeming to fit right and she scheduled a video call with me to “show” me how to easily make the repair with tools I had in my own home, avoiding the need to ship anything back to her (although if I had wanted to do that, she’d have done the repair for me herself, I’m sure).
Anthony (verified owner) –
Great service!! They really care about making sure you have a good experience with the product!
Nicholas (verified owner) –
I love my pole – it takes away my biggest anxiety about hammock camping – not having a place to hang!