Best travel scope bar none?

[Ags]

I saw this on FLO and I think I am in love.

The OTA has decent aperture and weighs less than three kilos, the tube breaks down for transport, the focuser looks good, only drawback (especially for a travel scope) is the freakish price.

Does anyone know next week's lottery numbers?

[Astro Noodles]

I'm not sure that the best travel scope is one which costs more than the holiday you are going on. 😂

[Knighty2112]

Yes, but not sharing! Hehe!  

[Oldfort]

I've not had the chance to take mine anywhere yet, but it is quite compact.

 

[Tiny Clanger]

18 minutes ago, Ags said:

I saw this on FLO and I think I am in love.

 

The OTA has decent aperture and weighs less than three kilos, the tube breaks down for transport, the focuser looks good, only drawback (especially for a travel scope) is the freakish price.

Does anyone know next week's lottery numbers?

You are going to have to sell a lot of books to fund that  ! 🙂

Heather

[Space Hopper]

I'd have to go for the Feathertouch option myself !! 😉

In for a penny, in for a pound....

[Ags]

3 minutes ago, Space Hopper said:

In for a penny, in for a pound....

Isn't that the NASA motto?

[Space Hopper]

Haha, who knows ?  I thought that was     "for the benefit of all"

@Oldfort its a lovely looking scope.

Interestingly, the 90mm version is 'only' £600 or so less than the 107mm

And £600 is quite a modest increase for 17mm extra aperture in the refractor world.

I wonder how they perform optically ? Its a Canon designed optic isn't it ??

[Louis D]

A bit smaller objective, but the old AP Traveler was a popular 4" scope that met carry-on requirements.  Has anyone ever done a head to head comparison between it and the Borg?

Edited August 8, 2021 by Louis D

[Oldfort]

45 minutes ago, Space Hopper said:

Haha, who knows ?  I thought that was     "for the benefit of all"

@Oldfort its a lovely looking scope.

Interestingly, the 90mm version is 'only' £600 or so less than the 107mm

And £600 is quite a modest increase for 17mm extra aperture in the refractor world.

I wonder how they perform optically ? Its a Canon designed optic isn't it ??

The lens unit says "Fluorite Lens by Canon Optron Inc".  Canon Optron is a specialist subsidiary of Canon Inc.

I agree with your point about the price differential with the 90mm.  Barring the lens, I think the only difference between the 90 and the 107 is the bigger lens housing for the latter. The tube components, focusser, rings and dovetail are the same.

[John]

13 minutes ago, Oldfort said:

The lens unit says "Fluorite Lens by Canon Optron Inc".  Canon Optron is a specialist subsidiary of Canon Inc.

I agree with your point about the price differential with the 90mm.  Barring the lens, I think the only difference between the 90 and the 107 is the bigger lens housing for the latter. The tube components, focusser, rings and dovetail are the same.

Canon Optron makes the objective lenses for the Vixen and Takahashi fluorite refractors.

 

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

Lovely looking scope, pitty about the price. I will stick to the little APM 80 mm F/6 triplet for now (although the big Celestron C8 has travelled with me quite a bit as well).

[Victor Boesen]

At this price the Baader travel companion is also looking very good in my opinion!

In my case though, I can only dream about owning such scope

Edited August 8, 2021 by Victor Boesen

[Alien 13]

I do like the Borg but best travel scope bar-none has to be this....

 

Alan

[Astro Noodles]

What is the definition of a travel scope?

Are we talking about something you can fit in a car boot, or something you can fit in a backpack?

[Astro Noodles]

16 minutes ago, Alien 13 said:

I do like the Borg but best travel scope bar-none has to be this....

 

Alan

Is that the C90 ?

[Alien 13]

2 minutes ago, Astro Noodles said:

Is that the C90 ?

Yes and admit I do love mine.

Alan

[Astro Noodles]

I imagine it makes a good travel scope with all that focal length packed into a short tube. And as it's £3000 less than the Borg, you will actually be able to afford to go on holiday. 😁

[Nik271]

I always thought that a travel scope is one that you are prepared to risk losing  in transit without breaking the bank. If I had it  I will need to keep this Borg in a safe in a bunker somewhere  

[Tiny Clanger]

1 hour ago, Astro Noodles said:

What is the definition of a travel scope?

Are we talking about something you can fit in a car boot, or something you can fit in a backpack?

Well, I'm not sure ... I've seen John Dobson quoted as saying "If you can't sleep in it , it's not a telescope" , which suggests a whole different take on the travel idea 🙂

 

 

 

[johninderby]

Some people have their own concept of a travel telescope. 😁

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

1 hour ago, Alien 13 said:

I do like the Borg but best travel scope bar-none has to be this....

 

Alan

I will see your C90 and raise you a Vixen VMC-110L (not that I have one, but I am tempted)). It has 20mm more aperture, a shorter focal length, so a bit wider FOV, and weighs about the same.

[John]

I had a C90 for a few months last year for a holiday in darkest Wales. It was on an AZ-3 mount. Certainly very light and compact.

I did like my Tele Vue Ranger 70mm though. Good optics and very easy to carry in one piece with one hand. The scope moved on to Roger Vine of the "Scopeviews" website who did a review of it. I think he liked it as well

http://www.scopeviews.co.uk/TVRanger.htm

This was how I had it setup:

 

[Stu]

I personally think of a travel scope as one which can go with you anywhere, including as carry on baggage on a plane. I’ve had quite a few small apo refractors which fit the bill, from Tak FS60c, through TV76 and 85 59 FC100DC.

The most capable that I’ve used is certainly the FC100DC but it takes effort to pack up for travel and then assemble ready use once you get there. Probably the best compromise in terms of capability and portability was my TS72. This was very easy to transport yet gave great images from widefield through to lunar and planetary.

I do agree the Baader Travel Companion looks to have a superb spec and would love to try one. Obviously the AP Traveller is supposedly the ultimate in this category, but very hard to obtain these days.

[Grotemobile]

This is my latest scope.  Very easy to set up  & use.  Optics on this are first class. Got it in the offers section in FLO.