Best grab and go combination

[Nyctimene]

On 6.3.2017 at 18:27, Alien_Photons said:

Grab and go for me it has to be light. This implies a light tripod/mount. My own EQ5 is more drag and go with the weights and scope on it. There is nothing wrong with a simple small refractor permanently mounted and something better in doors to swap with it for when the conditions are good and time is on your side.

Sums it up for me. My set - 80/400 Vixen FH frac (vintage) on a Manfrotto fluid head plus Baader SkySurfer III RDF, Seben 8-24 Zoom, RACI prism and tripod -  weighs 4,5 kg, is always set up and I can take it out in 2 minutes. No hassle; and not too expensive: perhaps you are somewhat sleep drunk at 2 am, or there are rests of Lagavulin circulating in your veins (or both), or the outdoor cat on duty caresses your legs - reasons enough to stumble and knock over the scope. I wouldn't want to ruin a  2k $ Takahashi frac that way.

Stephan

 

 

[JG777]

If you go down the goto route an Evolution 8 would be perfect. Light enough to pick up and very portable. Built in battery, excellent tracking and decent aperture and performance on planets and DSO. You might just have enough left over to plonk a starsense on it so you can have a pint whilst it is aligning.