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October 28, 2014 / Comments (0)

Gear Review: Six Moon Designs Wild Oasis

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Allison is the founder of trailtosummit.com which she began as a way to track and share her first round of the NH 4000 Footers. Now on round 5 (the first round for her dog Ruckus) she has been honored to have taken part of many people’s firsts. She is an experienced trail maintainer, speaker, and passionate member of the outdoor community. In New England, Allison enjoys trekking along the highest peaks, bushwhacking to less traveled areas, and has a fondness for sunrise and sunset trips. Outside of New England Allison has also thru hiked the John Muir Trail and explored mountains in the German and Austrian Alps, Israel, and the Azores. Her goal is to share her passion for hiking and backpacking with others, especially with women, to inspire them to experience the freedom of the trail!

The Six Moon Designs Wild Oasis shelter is a 13 ounce shaped tarp. It requires no poles as it is supported by a single adjustable trekking pole and is floorless.

Being a single wall ultralight shelter, I was pretty concerned how it would do during a storm on the John Muir Trail. While California is known to be dry, I experienced monsoon weather on my summer 2014 thru hike. One night we had been camping on rocks and I could not stake down the Wild Oasis. I used the guylines I attached to wrap it around rocks and branches. With a single 4.1 oz trekking pole supporting it, I had low expectations. The pole and walls shook with the violent wind and I could see the nearby lightening strike a lake only a few dozen feet away through the bug netting. Through the night I stayed dry and my shelter stayed upright. I was impressed.

The Wild Oasis can be setup high or low either allowing plenty of airflow or protecting you from the elements. Pitching it high was very easy and took only a few minutes. You will have to adjust your stakes after 30 minutes as the fabric does relax a bit.

I did have some issues pitching it low. I found that once I adjusted one stake I would have to adjust the rest for the walls to be taught and give me as much headroom as possible. One or two nights I had a saggy wall as I was not as adamant with setup.


I found there to be enough room for myself (5’6″) and my gear. I would prop my legs up on my pack. I used a polycryo sheet to protect my sleeping bag from the ground.

The shelter dries quickly and is very easy to pack. Take out the stakes, quickly fold it up, and stuff it into its sack. There is extra room in the sack it comes in.

Depending on where you plan on camping, you may want to upgrade the stakes and you may have to seam seal it yourself.

At $175 this shelter is a steal! I recommend the Wild Oasis for anyone that wants an ultralight shelter that is versatile and highly packable. It is a one person shelter and does best in areas without a lot of creepy crawlies as there is no tent floor. I did a lot of research when selecting this shelter and it was the perfect mix for me. I didn’t want a completely open tarp on the trail, but also don’t find a need for a traditional freestanding tent.

To learn more about the Wild Oasis and other shelters from Six Moon Designs, check out their page here.

Have you tried the Wild Oasis? Have another shelter you love? Leave a comment!


Disclosure: I own this product and purchased it using my own funds.

Last modified: September 2, 2017

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