Ever since my first high school adventure on the Appalachian Trail, I've been hooked on backpacking. A few years later, in the summer of 1977, my wife, Linda and I took off to hike the Appalachian Trail. We were one of the first couples to hike the entire trail southbound.

Following our AT hike, we moved from Virginia to Oregon. As impoverished college students, we learned to sew much of the equipment needed or backcountry forays. Over the years we have made numerous bivy sacks, tarps, sleeping bags, jackets and other pieces of gear.

Through out my backpacking experience, I've always been fascinated with going lightweight. I'd learned a lot reading the exploits of early hikers like Grandma Gatewood, but wasn't quite ready to hike in sneakers, or use a shower curtain for shelter. In '77 our AT packs weighed about 35 pounds each with ten days of food. This was a remarkable weight, considering we used conventional gear available at the time, and most backpackers then were carrying 50-60 pounds on their backs.

Evolution of a Concept

In 2000 I really worked at reducing my pack weight for a hike of the Pacific Crest Trail. I incorporated a number of then state of the art ultralight gear along with my own ideas. I made much of my own gear. This time it wasn't because I couldn't afford the gear, but because what I wanted simply didn't exist.

Following my PCT adventure, I began thinking about a future hike of the Continental Divide Trail. I realized that an affordable, ultra-lightweight shelter was really needed. Months of planning and development resulted in the birth of Six Moon Designs.

In May 2002 we introduced our first product, The Europa Tent. The Europa was designed to be light, affordable, easy to set up, and sturdy enough to be used over a wide variety of backcountry environments. Since then, we've steadly improved the Europa tent, added the award winning Lunar Solo tent and introduced three new packs.

Company Philosophy

Our goal at Six Moon Designs is to offer lightweight, high quality, affordable backpacking equipment. We want you to be happy with your purchases, and will stand behind our products 100%. If you have concerns, let us know. We'll do our best to make things right. We're confident that Six Moon products will be invaluable additions to your backpacking essentials.

So, if you're looking to make your next backpacking adventure more enjoyable, and less of a burden, we invite you to consider Six Moon Designs.

Ron "Fallingwater" Moak