THIS is the tent inspired by spider webs that lets you and up to seven of your camping mates hang out in the trees.

The Tentsile tent was designed by UK architect Alex Shirley-Smith who had a hard time convincing backers it was a good idea.

"It was very difficult to get right - everyone I went to for funding thought I was crazy because they had never seen anything like it before," Mr Shirley-Smith said.

As well as the adventure market, he said the invention could be used in emergency situations like floods to shelter above the waters.

There are three types of tents available and with the “phenomenal” feedback he was planning on ramping up production.

There are a variety of "tree tents" already on the market, but none are quite as strange as the Tentsile.

Another bizarre tent invention was the JakPak jacket-tent, which made headlines in 2010 for its claustrophobic design.