by Jaimela King

Created on: November 11, 2008   Last Updated: January 01, 2009

Traveling light is essential to one's enjoyment of a hiking or backpacking experience, through unchartered terrain. Night falls quickly when you are having fun and soon you will want to bed down and rest your weary feet or back. The essentials that you carry on your trip will include a rig for just this purpose. Enter the Six Moon Designs Wild Oasis; this is not your grandfather's tent. You are getting something that is lightweight and small while providing adequate protection from the elements and yes, those persistent bugs.

The Six Moon Designs Wild Oasis 1 will satisfy the needs of the most demanding hiker. This tent provides a full 360 degree protection from the rain, sleet or snow, weighs in at just 13 ounces and folds to a tiny 6"X 5" sack for easy , lightweight storage in your backpack.

Don't be fooled by its small size, however, the Wild Oasis is big enough to provide a good nights rest for a single hiker. In addition to comfort and protection , It also allows you too keep those pesky bugs and nasty mosquitoes at bay. This is provided by the No-See-Um 18 inch wide skirt perimeter which maintainins effective bug protection even when the tent is adjusted higher or lower.

Ease of set up is one of the great features of the Wild Oasis. All you need a hiking pole or you can purchase the optional carbon fiber pole that retails for around $25.00. It offers the flexibility of adjusting to various heights depending on the conditions at the time; set low in bad weather and high when you expect a beautiful night. Follow the set up instructions carefully and you will be amazed at how quickly you are all set up. You will also need 6 stakes which are not included in purchase. A zippered entry makes for easy movement in and out of the tent and its high vent contributes to a reduction in condensation.

Your biggest challenge with the Six Moon Designs Wild Oasis, is finding a smooth level spot on which to pitch it. You will need to scout out comfortable spots since this tent has no floor. But what do you expect for such a lightweight "shelter," as it is sometimes called, with so many other great features. While its design is based on the popular Gatewood Cape, the Wild Oasis does not double as a poncho, it is for all intents and purposes, a single purpose shelter.

The Six Moon Designs Wild Oasis is a no-frills, ultra light shelter that is remarkably sturdy against strong winds. It is said that good things come in small packages and the Wild Oasis is certainly proof of that. Competitively priced at around 175.00, this 13 oz shelter from the storm is a huge hiking companion.

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