First telescope... I'm stuck...

[umadog]

It's somewhat over your budget, but since you're after a portable telescope you might as well consider these: www.sumerianoptics.com I think the 10" will set you back around 1200 Euros. It weighs only 10 kg and fits in a backpack. The downside is that the setup time is longer than a regular Dob. Maybe about 10 or 15 minutes from a completely colapsed state. They may also make an 8", which would obviously be ligher and cheaper. I'd guess about 1000 Euros, but you'd need to check.

[umadog]

I don't know, but the Dobsons look actually pretty heavy. From what I've seen the Boxes alone are around 11kg.

Well... yes and no. If a Dobsonian is well designed then it's easily the lightest option. Particularly so for the larger sizes. I know it's not what you're in the market for but consider this striking comparison: Meade's 20" SCT weighs 320 kg. A well-designed 20" Dobsonian will weigh in at around 50 kg. That's a heck of a difference! The Dob is one-person car-portable. The SCT will need 3 people to set it up and isn't portable in any realistic sense. A lot of the Chinese-made Dobsonians are heavier than they need to be because center of gravity of the tube is quite high. That means the rocker box needs to be tall and so it's heavy. Also, they make the rockers out of chipboard which contains a lot of heavy glue. Plywood is stronger and lighter but it costs more so they don't use it. A lot of the tubes are rolled steel, which is obviously heavier. So that's why I suggested that more expensive option in my previous post. There's a guy in the US who will build lighter versions and he's cheaper than Sumerian although the instruments don't fold up as small: http://www.dobstuff.com/pricing.htm He will sell kits too. There may well be outfits in Europe which provide a similar service.

[CFC]

Mmmmmmmmmmm those sumerians are juicy fruit!

[Groucho Ben]

What about this lovely looking portable 6" dob? It's well within your budget and weighs in at 10kgs.

http://www.astrobuysell.com/uk/propview.php?view=57198

I really can't see you getting a better solution to your needs for the price... If I hadn't just bought an ed80/porta II setup I think I would have gone for it myself...

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

Suitcase dobs are a neat idea. They do take longer to set up than a small short frac or mak, what with assembly and collimation. Aperture-wise, they are clear winners. Also good rich field scopes. I am very tempted to build one myself.

[Saleratus]

That travel scope looks like a really nice piece of gear.

[kitsune]

I think I will go with an AZ4 mount.

The Skywatcher Explorer 150P or 150PDS look very interesting. They weigh around 5kg and seem to be rather short.

I might go for the 150PDS because I could potentially use it for astro-photography with another mount in the future.

Thank you all for helping me out!

[kitsune]

I have decided to order the following:

AZ-4 mount with steel tripod

Skywatcher Explorer 150PDS (Comes with a 25mm eyepiece)

TeleVue 2x 1.25" barlow

BST Explorer 8mm eyepiece

Laser collimator

Any throughts on this?

Can I mount the 150pds to the AZ-4? The 150pds ota comes with a prism rail...

[kitsune]

AZ-4 mount with steel tripod

Skywatcher Explorer 150PDS (Comes with a 25mm eyepiece)

TeleVue 2x 1.25" barlow

BST Explorer 8mm eyepiece

Laser collimator

After a couple of annoying back and forths with UPS my order has finally arrived. I tried to set it up at over my lunch break, but I think I first have to read up on the AZ4 mount. At the moment I can't attach the OTA to the mount head with the supplied L-Bracket because the mount's handle is in the way. It clashes with the tube rings. I'm pretty sure I just set it up incorrectly.

First impression: The mount is rather bulky... but all in all, the entire set up looks and feels portable.

Thanks again to everyone for their invaluable input.

[farunj]

Congrats on your new scope. You will get some excellent views with a 6" scope!! Hope you enjoy!!