ezerasurfr

The Meade Lightbridges need counterweighting at the bottom end of the tube if you start using 2" eyepieces and add a 50mm optical finder.

Agreed. With my Celestron 5mm, I need some counter weight to view objects low in the sky. There is no real need if the objects you're looking at are at their zenith.

I have the 10" Lightbridge. I'm only about 2 weeks into owning it as well, and I'm about the same age (34). I've hauled the scope outside on every clear night. While the base on mine is not nearly as heavy as the 16"; Lugging it around I can see will get tedious. But I'm still young and don't mind. That being said, I really like not only the truss design on the Meade, but I also like how the altitude bearing sits on the base. The design of the base is simple, but very smooth. From what I hear, unless you are quite proficient with the GOTO system, you can end up spending a substantial amount of time getting the system ready to be used, instead of just using your scope. This was one of my reasons for going to a manual system. I also wanted to learn the sky, as I'm still green at this - which I feel I may not get with an automated system. I know my 2 pence isn't much, as I don't have much experience in this hobby, but I just wanted to share.