Mec Opera House 2 User manual



This booklet tells you how to prepare, assemble, and maintain your
new tent; please keep it for future reference. Set up your tent at
home before your rst trip. This will allow you to inspect it for any
manufacturing defects, check that all parts are present, and learn the
assembly procedure with minimal stress on the tent, and on you.


Tent body
Tent y
1 aluminum pole assembly
Tent pegs and guylines
Aluminum pole repair sleeve
Tent sack and pole sack
OPERA HOUSE 2 Height inside 0.94m / 0.6m
1.02m
2.18m
.83m
1.01m
1.33m



The seams of your tent have been waterproof taped on all exposed
seams. However, for extremely wet and windy conditions, you may want
to re-seal selected parts of your tent with the sealant supplied. These
include parts of the inner tent where condensation or windblown rain
could potentially wick through such as the Velcro® patches, which are
hard to tape completely.

Remove sharp objects that might puncture the tent oor.
A ground sheet beneath the tent is not necessary for waterproofness, but
it will reduce long-term wear on the tent oor. The ground sheet should
be cut or folded smaller than the tent oor to prevent water pooling
between the oor and the ground sheet. Another light and convenient
option is MEC’s custom-made, coated nylon Footprint.
In winter conditions, we recommend digging out a platform with
surrounding walls. To avoid melting depressions in the snow under the
tent, solidly pack the snow down by ski or foot.


Shockcord (bungee cord) is meant to keep pole sections in the proper
order — not to serve as an automatic assembly mechanism for poles.
Do not hold one section while whipping the rest of the pole back and
forth, and do not toss the poles into the air. These excessively stress the
pole joints and shockcord. Instead, t poles together section by section,
making sure that each piece slides completely into the next. Forcing an
improperly assembled pole into place can damage the pole and/or the
tent body and y.



 As described earlier, carefully t the pole sections into one another and
into the two pole junctions. The completed assembly will be an A-frame
outline, taller at one end.
 Lay the tent body out at. In windy conditions, peg out all the oor
corners before proceeding.
 Lay the frame down on the tent body with the taller “A” at the door end
of the tent body. Carefully insert the pole ends of the “A”s into the corner
grommets.
 Connect all the clips to the appropriate poles. Hang the hooks at the top
of each end on the outside of the pole junctions.
 Spread the y over the tent. The end of the y with the guyline
attachment tab goes over the door end of the tent.
 Insert the pole tips into their pockets at the back and front of the y.
Do the back of the tent rst. This allows you to use the hook-and-loop
opening on the front pocket to slide the pole tip in sideways. This way, you
avoid having to pull the y tightly and stressing the fabric and seams.
 On the underside of the y are several hook-and-loop wrap attachments.
Fasten these attachments to the upright poles.
 Fit all of the grommetted webbing tabs on the y over the appropriate
pole ends, folding the grommet tabs under the tent body as shown in
gures A and B.
 Peg out the corners and sides of the tent as required.
The y straps at the tent corners and sides adjust so you can take up
slack as the y fabric stretches in rain or damp air, and loosen it as the
fabric contracts in warm, dry weather. If you’re leaving the tent alone
for the day, it’s a good idea to loosen the straps a bit. This will prevent
excessive strain on the fabric and stitching if the weather turns hotter
and drier.
gure A gure B



The Opera House has three guyline attachment points so you can rig it
increasingly securely in response to actual or anticipated winds.
• Guylines should counter-balance one another for maximum stability
and minimum stress on the tent. The wall guyline attachment points
are angled toward the back of the tent to offset the forward pull of the
guyline attached to the front roof peak.
• As with any tent, a little shelter provided by trees, rock, or snow walls
will make for a quieter night’s sleep under windy conditions.

The #7001-T6 aluminum stakes included with the tent are suitable for
general use on relatively soft ground. However, in very hard-packed
ground you will need stronger (and heavier!) stakes that can withstand
the force needed to drive them in. On snow, sand, or other loosely packed
surfaces, wider T-Stakes or aluminum snow stakes will hold better; these
stakes hold best buried horizontally. You can also improvise with other
“stakes” (hiking staffs, ice axes, branches, rocks, trees), using the tent’s
stake loops or cord as required.
When packing for your trip, consider the conditions you’ll likely encounter
and what sort of anchors you’ll require. You can often leave several of
the supplied pegs at home and replace them with improvised anchors,
thereby saving weight and space in your pack.

Proper ventilation is the key to minimizing condensation in any tent. Keep
fabric doors open as widely as the prevailing weather permits. If bugs or
drafts aren’t a problem, leave mesh doors open as well. Crack each door
open from the top down; warm, moist air rises and will escape through
high openings. If the design of your tent allows for it, have openings at
both ends or both sides of the tent to allow air to ow through for best
ventilation. On very hot nights, when you are condent there will be no
rain or dewfall, you can leave the ysheet off and use the inner tent alone
as a “bug tent.”



When taking down a tent, it’s important to avoid stressing the poles and
fabrics. First, disconnect guylines and release the tension from the tent.
Next, release all the poles. If your tent has pole sleeves, push the poles
out of the sleeves instead of pulling them. To minimize the stress on the
bungee cord in the poles and to speed disassembly, fold each pole in half
rst, then fold down towards the outside, two sections at a time.

If possible, fold and roll the tent rather than stufng it into its sack. Rolling
makes a smaller package, and causes fewer creases in the polyurethane
coating. The tent and poles may be carried separately for easier packing
or load sharing. There are two drawcords on the tent sack. Use the lower
one when carrying the tent separately from the poles; this makes a
shorter package that ts sideways into a pack. If carrying the pole sack
on the outside of a pack, securely attach the drawcord to the pack to
avoid loss.


Ultraviolet damage is the single largest hazard your tent faces in its
lifetime. Fabrics should not be exposed to sunlight for extended periods
of time; this will eventually result in colour fading and fabric failure. The
uncoated fabrics of the tent canopy are most susceptible to damage from
UV and should be covered by the more durable y. If extended exposure
is unavoidable, cover the tent with a tarp or sheet of nylon.

Using a candle lantern in a tent carries denite risks. Never leave a
candle lantern burning unattended; always watch for re hazards from
overheating fabrics or spilling wax. Spilling wax can be dangerous,
particularly to eyes and other sensitive areas. It is your responsibility to
use candle lanterns wisely and with extreme caution: we do not endorse
the use of any ame or heat source in a tent. Cooking in a tent is strongly
discouraged because of re hazards and carbon monoxide inhalation risks.
Unlike campre smoke and other fumes, which cause you to gasp for air,




Promptly mop up spills with water. Many foods, particularly acidic ones
like fruit or juices, can weaken synthetic fabrics over time. In any case,
to avoid attracting animals, it is best to eat and store food away from
a tent.

Clean the tent by hand while it is set up, using a sponge, a mild non-
detergent soap, and warm water. Rinse thoroughly. Do not dry clean,
machine wash, or machine dry. Stubborn stains like tar can be left in place
and dusted with talcum powder to prevent transfer to other areas of the
tent in storage. After cleaning, a spray-on water repellent designed for
synthetic fabrics may be applied to the ysheet if surface water repellency
is weakening. (This is apparent when water droplets no longer bead up
on the fabric.)
If the poles are exposed to salt or salt water, rinse them in fresh water and
allow them to dry before storing. (While aluminum does not rust, it can
become brittle through unseen corrosion over time.)

Occasionally apply a light coating of a silicone-based lubricant like 303TM
protectant to the tent pole connections. If the poles are used extensively
in marine environments, treat them more frequently.

Dry the tent and poles completely before storage to avoid mildew or
hidden pole corrosion. Store in a cool, dry place out of direct light.
Mildewed tents can be cleaned as described above, but there is no way to
remove the dark stains without damaging the fabric. Mildew will probably
take some time to affect the waterproof coatings, so the tent should still
be usable.