Mountain Equipment Co-Op OPEONGO 2 Installation and operation manual

1
0.85m
2.
5m
1.0m
1.
8
1.45m
Height inside 1.1m
OPEONGO 2
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.
Your Opeongo 2 tent package includes:
Tent body
Tent y
One pole system on a centre hub
One separate shorter pole
Aluminum pegs and nylon guylines
Aluminum pole repair sleeve

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SEAM SEALING
The seams of your tent have been waterproof taped wherever possible.
All tents have areas that cannot be properly sealed with a taping
machine, so we include a small tube of “touch-up” sealer. Try your tent
in the rain or under a garden sprinkler to determine if you want to seal
it further; for most users it will not be necessary. Likely areas: “out” side
of door seams where zippers are sewn to fabric; spots where thread or
webbing passes through or around the seam tape, such as the “out” side
of the stitching and seams at the door tiebacks, and the “out” side of the
y where Velcro® loops are sewn to the inside; selected parts of the inner
tent where condensation or windblown rain could wick through, such
as lantern loops or pole clip suspension points; and the “in” side of any
untaped oor seams exposed to ground moisture or rainfall.
Work in a well-ventilated area to avoid inhaling sealant vapours. For
complete sealing, evenly apply only the minimum required amount of
sealant into needle holes, thread, and fabric joints. Allow to dry and cure
overnight. McNett sealants (Seam Grip™ and similar) cure more quickly
in a moist or humid environment. Before packing the tent for the rst
time, dust newly sealed areas with talcum powder or spray them with
303™ Protectant; freshly cured sealer can bond to itself even when dry. If
the tent is used hard and often you may need to reapply seam sealer in
high-wear areas.
If the main panel of the front vestibule is rigged as a roof (see Step 5
of
Attaching The Fly
) water can potentially pool where the panel meets
the main y, along the pole that runs over the door top. For this area at
least, we strongly recommend “touch up” sealing on the outside of the y
where the hook-and-loop wrap-ties and toggle clips are sewn in.
SITE PREPARATION
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. A 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, pack the snow down solidly by ski or foot.
SET-UP
A note about shock-corded poles:
Shockcord (bungee cord) is meant to keep pole sections in the proper
order—not as an automatic assembly mechanism for poles. Do not hold
one section while whipping the rest of the pole back and forth, or toss
the poles into the air; either procedure excessively stresses 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.
Assembling the Tent Body
1
Assemble all poles carefully as described in the previous paragraph.
You will have one pole system with four poles tted into a centre hub, and
one separate shorter pole.
2
Lay the tent body out at.
In windy conditions, you may wish to peg
one or more corners.
3
Lay the hubbed tent poles down on the tent body so that the gold
crooked poles run down either side of the front door, lined up with the
gold-ribboned pole clips.
(Similarly, the two black poles should run down
either side of the back wall, lined up with the black-ribboned pole clips.)
4
Plug the pole ends into the outermost grommets at each corner of
the tent.
Plug in one pole, and then the pole on the diagonally opposite
corner. For example, attach one gold pole and then one black pole. The
poles arch up more easily this way, and have less of a tendency to pull out
of the grommets.
Use the outermost (loosest) grommet on each tab when rst erecting
the tent. You can increase the tautness by moving the pole ends to the
inner grommets. Changes in humidity can cause the fabric to slacken
and tighten.
5
Clip on all of the pole clips.
The second highest gold-ribboned pole
clips on each side should be clipped into the inside of the plastic elbow
on the corresponding gold pole.
6
Insert the shorter pole into the holes on the plastic elbows of the
gold poles.

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5
Attaching the Fly
1
To position the y correctly over the tent, drape the y over the tent and
ensure that the webbing tab colours on the y corners correspond to the
matching tab colours on the tent body corners: gold with gold at the front
of the tent, and black with black at the back.
2
On the underside of the y are several hook-and-loop wrap-ties,
including three for each of the black poles, one for each of the long gold
poles, and three for the shorter pole over the front door.
Attach these
wrap-ties to make the tent its strongest by allowing the poles to reinforce
one another.
Wrap the inner hook-and-loop tab as tightly as possible around the pole,
then secure it by folding the outer hook-and-loop tab over it.
3
Fit all of the grommetted webbing tabs on the y corners over the
appropriate pole ends, folding the grommet tabs under the tent body as
shown in gures a and b.
4
If you have not already done so, peg out the four corners of the tent.
5
Peg out the vestibule. Tie back the vestibule in whatever combination
provides the desired balance of ventilation and weather protection.
Note that the vestibule has peg loops on either side of the door zippers
where they reach the ground. By staking out one loop or the other, you
can make the door side-opening or centre-opening to adapt it to the
prevailing wind or local landscape features.
The centre panel of the vestibule can also be rigged as a porch roof,
using corner poles improvised from trees, deadwood, paddles, or hiking
staffs. The most important thing to bear in mind if rigging this panel as a
rain roof is not to leave at or baggy surfaces where water can pool. You
can rig the panel so that it slopes away from the tent, like a cap brim, or
you can rig it so it slopes towards the tent, allowing water to drain to the
sides. You can rig the panel with one front corner higher than the other
so that water drains down the slope to the lower side. If an overhead
branch is handy, you can run a line to it from the guyline tab at the centre
of the front panel to create a water-shedding peak. Mix and match these
different ideas to adapt the panel to the local landscape and weather.
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If desired, peg out the guyline loop at the bottom middle hem of each
wall.
These can be pegged so that the wall angles out from the tent
toward the peg. This makes the tent more wind resistant and also allows
maximum ventilating air ow.
Rigging the Side Windows
1
Each side wall of the tent has a triangular window ap.
Weather
permitting, you ventilate the tent by rigging a guyline from the loop at the
bottom of the window ap and pegging it out so that the window is open.
2
To lower each window ap, fasten the hook-and-loop patches to hold it
into place, clip the guyline loop into the plastic snap tting on the tent y,
and re-adjust the guyline tension. Note that the plastic snap tting should
be run
through
, not
through, not through
over
, the guyline loop. This will prevent the window
over, the guyline loop. This will prevent the window over
ap from being jammed into the plastic snap tting as the guyline comes
under tension from wind.
Rigging for Bad Weather
We recommend facing the back of the tent into any prevailing winds. This
will present the most streamlined shape to the wind, and also positions the
door where it is downwind and sheltered for entering and exiting the tent.
The Opeongo 2 has a number of guyline attachments so you can rig
it increasingly securely in response to actual or anticipated winds. To
secure the tent:
1
Guy out the four corners of the tent using the attachment points that
are about halfway up each corner of the y. These lines should run out at
about a 45-degree angle from the tent, that is, in about the same direction
as each pole is “pointing.”
2
Guy out the tab from the door window.
3
Guy
out the bottom hem of the vestibule main panel.
4
Guy out the two tabs
at the very top of the tent roof. These guylines should run out at ninety
degrees to the tent sides.
5
Guy out the tab from the roof vent; this will be
most secure if the vent is shut with the hook-and-loop patches.
Only extreme conditions require the use of all guyline points. To save
weight and cost for the average user, the tent is not supplied with pegs
and lines for all the points.
Anchoring the Tent
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 loose-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.
A
A
B
B

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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.
Ventilating the Tent
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 too. 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.”
The Opeongo 2 features a roof peak vent which allows rising, warm, moist
air to escape, while encouraging cooler, drier air to ow in through other
door and window openings. To open the vent, fasten the two hinged
battens together at the centre using their hook-and-loop surfaces: this
will form a prop rod that holds the vent open. You can adjust the length
of this prop rod, and thereby the vent opening size, by fastening the two
battens together at different places along their lengths. To close the vent,
pull the battens apart, fold them at, and seal them down with the hook-
and-loop strip.
Disassembling the Tent
The most important consideration in taking down a tent is not to stress
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 out. To minimize
the stress on the bungee cord in the poles and to speed disassembly,
fold each pole in half rst, and then fold down towards the outsides, two
sections at a time.
Packing the Tent
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.
CARE AND MAINTENANCE
Protecting the Tent
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 a sheet of nylon.
Lighting the Tent
Using a candle lantern in a tent carries de nite risks. Never leave a candle
lantern burning unattended; always watch for re hazard 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,
carbon
monoxide can render you unconscious without any warning.
Food in Tents
Mop up spills promptly with water. Many foods, particularly acidic ones
like fruit or juices, can weaken synthetic fabrics over time. In any case it is
best to eat and store food away from a tent to avoid attracting animals.
Cleaning
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.)
Lubricating the poles
Occasionally apply a light coating of a silicone-based lubricant like 303™
protectant to the tent pole connections. If the poles are used extensively

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in marine environments, treat them more frequently.
Storing the Tent
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.
REPAIRING YOUR TENT
Fabric Tears
Watertight repairs to rips can be made with seam sealant such as McNett
Freesole™, Aquaseal™, or Seam Grip®. For tears shorter than about 1.5cm
(1/2in.), apply duct tape to one side and sealant to the other. On longer
tears, apply duct tape to one side of the tear and, on the other side,
a patch of no-see-um netting that extends about 6-12mm (1/4-1/2in.)
beyond each edge of the tear. Use oval or circular patches (rounded
edges are less likely to peel away than sharp corners). Cover the patch
thoroughly in sealant. Once the sealant is completely dry, the duct tape
can be removed from small and large repairs alike.
For longer trips, we recommend taking an expedition sewing kit and extra
nylon, webbing, a spare pole section, and narrow-diameter (2.5mm) tent
pole shockcord. Coghlan’s Seam Saturant or the like will prevent wicking
through a tent y via seams or webbing.
Fixing a Pole in the Field
Slip the pole repair sleeve over one pole end. Slide the sleeve along
until it is centred over the break in the pole, then wrap it into place with
duct tape. Be careful not to damage the tent fabrics when removing the
damaged pole.
Replacing a Broken Pole Section
The MEC Grip-Tip
™
pole tips are press- tted into place. Carefully tug out
the pole end tip nearest to the broken section. Being mindful of how to
retie it later, untie the end tip. Slide pole sections off the cord until you
reach the damaged section. Remove the broken piece, being careful
not to damage the shockcord. Thread on a new section of appropriate
length and diameter, followed by the other sections, then re-tie the end
tip knot.
Zippers
A worn slider is the cause of most zipper problems. An occasional
application of 303 Protectant or a silicone-based lubricant will help reduce
wear. Grit accelerates slider wear. Keep zippers clean by rinsing them
under water after use in windy/sandy environments. Sometimes, carefully
squeezing the top ends of the slider with a pair of pliers will restore some
life. If an inner door slider fails, run it as far as possible toward one end
of the zipper, and use only the other slider for the duration of the trip. A
sewing repair shop can replace inoperable sliders.
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