Portability of SW Virtuoso mount

[oreu]

Does anyone know if it's possible to fit the Skywatcher Virtuoso mount fairly easily in a backpack for portability? The Heritage 130p dob mount is definitely too bulky to do this (unless perhaps you are a big strapping guy with a very big rucksack), but the Vituoso one looks to be smaller. Is it possible to remove the base on it? From the photos I've seen, that appears to be only thing that would give it some slightly awkward bulk.

Also, does anyone have any experience with the Skywatcher/Acuter Merlin tabletop mount? That one looks to be smaller still, and apparently you can remove the base on it.

Thanks for any help.

[happy-kat]

Having both mounts the virtuoso mount is smaller in both height and width, but whether the two bits can be separated easily not going to try it but can say it would need a screwdriver to do it. The virtuoso mount is quite weighty I personally would not say it would be backpack friendly. It feels a heavier mount than the 130p mount. I recall seeing a backpack for trecking holiday with a heritage 76 hanging off the back.

[oreu]

Thanks for the reply, happy-kat. It seems that the Merlin mount might be more the kind of thing I'm looking for then. Googling about a bit, I see that this mount actually came with the (now unavailable) Celestron Backpacker package (not sure if it was ever available in the UK), which included the same 90mm Mak you can get with the Skywatcher Virtuoso: http://www.celestron.com/browse-shop/uncategorized/backpacker-90m-telescope

[happy-kat]

The Merlin mount does look smaller and more economical on space requirement.

The pay load it can take is it high enough for what you want to mount?

If handy with DIY could fabricate a mount using bits from astroboot they have alt/az heads for example