World Insights Bringing You best of world at one placeIt might be a hassle to set up, but this suspended treehouse is the latest in arboreal luxury. Just don’t try this in a hurricane.
Float like a butterfly: Amazing £3,000 ‘cocoon bed’ that can be suspended from a tree.
- Cocoon Tree suspends sleepers amongst the foliage
- French inventor says it’s just like slumbering in a cocoon
- Structure is suspended by wires that can hold up to a tonne
You may have had a cool treehouse as a kid, but would you want to spend more than five minutes in it today? Well, try spending the night in this deluxe pod that hangs from the branches.
The Cocoon Tree is a spherical tent formed by 24 aluminum rods. It hangs from polyester ropes tied to trunks and branches, and has a net below for access and safety.
The tent weighs about 130 pounds without anyone in it. The structure itself can support more than 2 tons. The ropes can bear loads of 1.6 tons, and there are six ropes for suspension and six for lateral stability.
Aside from rigging the 12 ropes, setting up the cocoon itself and securing its waterproof tarpaulin is far more complex than erecting a pop tent, but the French company behind it offers a setup and maintenance service.
Inside, the cocoon is nearly 10 feet across and the round bed can sleep two adults and two small children.
It has netting over the door to keep the bugs out, and of course you’ll be safe from anything that might want to eat you since you’re off the ground.
The cocoon can also be set up on the ground, on a floating platform, or on a post attached to the bottom of a lake.
