Isabella Opus
Price £1527 - £2142
Web www.isabella.co.uk
As part of the celebrations to mark its Golden Jubilee, Isabella International Camping Ltd has launched a new full awning – the Opus. As you would expect, it is an awning with a number of major innovations.
It's designed to fit caravans with ground-to-ground measurements of 850-1175cm (27ft 10in-37ft 8in) and the depth as standard at 250cm (8ft 2in). Naturally, the front doors incorporate Isabella's porthole windows. The layout of the remaining windows in the front panels is a unique combination of horizontal and vertical rectangles – all contributing to give the awning its distinctive appearance.
Currently, only one colour combination is available, described by Isabella as tweed/copper/moonlight with pearl. The canvas material is top-quality, comprising coated polyester for the roof, fibre-dyed Isacryl for the sides and front panels, and polyester/PVC for the mudwalls. The side panels are interchangeable, but the front ones are not, as they are profiled to follow the awning's roof line.
Only Isabella's CarbonX frame is available to support the awning but it does incorporate the latest Isafix clamping system – a major improvement over Isabella's original wing nut clamp. FixOn II screwless brackets attach the frame to the caravan.
Two other important items that help to make the Opus look superb once erected are the regulator tabs, which hold the canvas close to the vertical poles, and the IsaFlex pegging elastics – undoubtedly the best pegging elastics available.
Another feature that distinguishes the Opus from any other awning on the market is its curtain system. Isabella has foregone the standard system where the curtains slide on beads stitched to the canvas above the windows. Instead, it has gone for a unique system of concertina blinds running on three vertical cords that attach to the CarbonX poles above the windows and to special feet pegged to the ground below them. The system allows the blinds to be lowered to any desired position or even angled if preferred.
Naturally, the Opus awning can be used with any of Isabella's extensive range of accessories.
As far as price is concerned, the Opus doesn't come cheap, but Isabella awnings are designed and built to last and this one will still be looking good long after the less expensive ones have been binned! So, if you consider £1527 for the 850cm model rising to £2142 for the 1150cm model as a long-term investment, the cost doesn't seem quite so steep as it may at first appear.
When it comes to a warranty for the Opus, Isabella replaced theirs some time ago with a two-year, full-service agreement.