As 2025 comes to a close, we find ourselves looking back at our first full year of operation and all that we accomplished. Honestly until recently, we’ve just not had enough time to realize how many incredible things have happened and people we have met.
The past year didn’t just move fast. It fundamentally shaped, and reshaped, Sky View Tents.
We started the year with the plan to build a true stargazing tent and an all-night 360 degree night sky experience for cosmically deprived campers. We ended up growing into a brand, a team, a storefront, two product lines, and a global following of stargazers, campers, and outdoor dreamers.
2025 was the year Sky View Tents went from “startup idea” to something undeniably real.
How It All Started: Inventing the Stargazing Tent
Before we get into the milestones, it’s worth remembering why Sky View Tents exists in the first place.
Joe started Sky View Tents with a simple frustration: traditional tents cut campers off from the very thing that drew them outside. After a particularly memorable night one New Year’s Eve night several years ago when he and his fiancee watched the stars on a beach in Mexico, he longed for the chance to truly ‘sleep under the stars.’ The problem was that sleeping without a tent left you exposed to the bugs, and unpredictable weather could bring an unwanted rain shower and certainly lots of morning dew.
He became convinced there had to be a better way to lie back and truly experience the night sky while still being protected from the elements.
That fateful night in Mexico led to a 2-hour brainstorming session to design what would become the breakthrough tent technology that makes Sky View Tents such a radical and welcome departure from traditional tent design. Joe sketched out what would eventually become the world’s first purpose-built stargazing camping tent.
In just this year alone, our Gen1 Sky View Tent would go on to redefine what immersive nighttime camping could be. The response from astronomers, astrophotographers, families, and outdoor enthusiasts confirmed we were onto something special.
By the time 2025 began, Sky View Tents was no longer just an idea—it was a part of the Dark Sky movement.
January: A Storefront and a Celebration
We kicked off the year with a moment we’ll never forget: the grand opening of the Sky View Tents store in Buena Vista, Colorado.
What started as a soft opening quickly turned into a community celebration. Locals, travelers, customers, and friends filled the space. For the first time, people could walk in, see the tents in person, ask questions, and talk directly with the people who built them.
It was a grounding moment. A reminder that Sky View Tents wasn’t just an online store anymore—it had a home.
February: Our First Employee
In February, we hired our first employee.
It might sound small, but for us, it was huge. It marked the transition from “doing everything ourselves” to building a team. It forced us to formalize systems, communicate better, and think longer-term about how we wanted to grow.
Sky View Tents was officially becoming a company.
March: Backpacker Pre-Orders and Our First Radio Interview
March was all about momentum.
We officially opened pre-orders for the Sky View Backpacker, a lighter, more packable take on our stargazing camping tent designed for hikers and backcountry explorers. The response validated months of design work and late-night debates about weight, durability, and pack size.
That same month, we did our first radio interview with The Peak 92.3. Hearing Sky View Tents discussed on air—by someone else—was surreal. It felt like the outside world was starting to pay attention.
April: Backpacker Production Begins
April was heads-down execution.
We began Backpacker production, translating designs into reality at scale. This phase always brings stress—manufacturing does that—but it also brings pride. Seeing the Backpacker move from prototype to production confirmed that Sky View Tents could build more than one great product.
May: Media Breakthroughs
May was the month everything accelerated.
We were featured in Gear Junkie’s “Emerging Gear” roundup. Shortly after, Sky View Tents appeared in a Wall Street Journal article. Then came our first podcast interview with Dark Sky Tourist and its host, Vicky Derksen, who has been one our earliest and most vocal supporters.
By the way, Vicky’s podcast is one of the best sources of astronomy, dark sky activities and star-inspired storytelling there is. We highly recommend following her Night Sky Tourist podcast and visiting the Night Sky Tourist website.
We were also featured in DIYPhotography, a photography publication, for our appeal to astrophotography enthusiasts.
Each mention brought new customers, new credibility, and a growing sense that Sky View Tents had entered the broader outdoor conversation.
June: New Atlas and Our First Vendor Event
In June, an unexpected New Atlas article drove a massive spike in orders. It was one of those moments where you refresh analytics just to make sure it’s real. Core77, a site that extols the virtues of great design, lauded our stargazing tent design that includes the world’s first patent-pending internal rainfly. Two other popular sites, Yanko Design and Trend Hunter, followed up the New Atlas article by covering our innovative stargazing tent design.
That same month, we attended our first vendor event at the Rocky Mountain Star Stare, one of the most popular gatherings of night-sky enthusiasts in the U.S. The event is held annually in Gardner, Colorado and organized by the Colorado Springs Astronomical Society. Meeting customers face-to-face—watching them experience a stargazing camping tent for the first time—not only reinforced why we do this, it was pure cosmic fun!
July: Investors and Dark Sky International
July marked a shift toward the future.
We began building our investor pitch deck and initiating conversations with potential angel investors. For the first time, we were thinking seriously about how to scale Sky View Tents towards an ambitious goal of growth and continued innovation for fellow fans of stargazing camping.
We also announced our collaboration with Dark Sky International, sponsoring their Capture the Dark event by giving away one of our Backpacking tents to the winner. Aligning with an organization dedicated to protecting night skies felt deeply right. Stargazing means nothing if the stars disappear from view.
August: Space.com Reviews the Backpacker
August brought another major milestone: Space.com published a review of the Sky View Backpacker!
For a company built around astronomy and night-sky experiences, that recognition meant everything. It felt like validation from the very community that inspired Sky View Tents in the first place.
September: Sold Out of Gen1
On September 29, we officially sold out of all our Gen1 tents.
That moment was bittersweet. Gen1 defined who we were and proved that we didn’t just have an interesting concept with appeal to a handful of people. We found an audience of followers ranging from astronomy buffs and astrophotographers to serious outdoor adventurers and backyard family campers.
More importantly, selling out also signaled it was time to evolve.
October: All-In on Gen2—and a Big Win
October was transformative.
Joe shifted his attention to Gen2 R&D, rethinking every seam, pocket, pole, vestibule and air vent. Joe dove deep into different materials to improve weather resistance, durability, and long-term performance.
That same month, we won West Slope Startup Week’s pitch competition! This brought even more visibility, confidence, and momentum at exactly the right time.
Tree Line Review also published their Backpacker review, further cementing the product’s reputation – and hinting at our new line of tents coming next year.
November: Funding and the Future
In November, we completed our first round of funding!
That capital allowed us to accelerate Gen2 development, increase production capacity, and invest in marketing. More importantly, it bought us time—time to do things right and plan for future growth.
Joe finalized the Gen2 XL and Backpacker designs, incorporating lessons learned from customer feedback and real-world use.
December: Proving Gen2 in the Elements
We closed the year the way Sky View Tents began: by testing gear where it counts.
Joe traveled from Colorado to the rain-soaked Oregon Coast, deliberately camping through four straight days of heavy rain to test the Gen2 XL’s waterproof design. Back home in Colorado, the tent also endured relentless winds during a rare week-long windstorm.
The result? Confirmation that Gen2 wasn’t just an upgrade—it was a leap forward!
Closing Thoughts: An Odyssey of Stars, Snow, and Rain
Looking back, 2025 feels like an odyssey.
From snowy drives to Denver, rain-lashed nights on the Oregon Coast, a storefront opening in Buena Vista, and global media attention, this year tested us in every way. It also confirmed our purpose.
Sky View Tents exists to build the ultimate stargazing camping tent—one that brings people closer to nature and the cosmos without asking them to sacrifice comfort or protection.
If 2025 proved anything, it’s that the dream is working.
And we’re just getting started.
