New model observing stool on the market

[bomberbaz]

Thanks Steve  @Second Time Around. I have just checked Amazon and it's made by Alevmoom and supplied by Locyop, both chinese. It seems ok and only time will tell. Cost was £28.99 which seems reasonable.

I only use the Ironing chair once the eyepiece drops a few inches below my natural eye height to a level where it is no longer comfortable. I have grown quite accustomed to standing viewing with the dob and can do so in a relaxed and easy fashion when it is at or around standing viewing.

I actually carry a small step (white, plastic and folding) for the odd bit of zenith viewing but it is rarely used.

Cheers, Steve

[Second Time Around]

Thanks, Steve.

It's interesting that it's made by Alevmoom.  It seems as though they make at least 2 designs.  This good one, and also the taller, narrow one that's unstable.

[markse68]

Steve, have you seen this one with internal lighting? 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/OOTO-Telescopic-Lightweight-Adjustable-Collapsible/dp/B09YYFSMJW/ref=m_pd_aw_day0_sccl_10/258-0390942-1684367?pd_rd_w=kNfQP&content-id=amzn1.sym.f2da26c4-d5c8-46f3-89a2-39d309ec6db2&pf_rd_p=f2da26c4-d5c8-46f3-89a2-39d309ec6db2&pf_rd_r=FQA4QW4DNVAAVNWK58V2&pd_rd_wg=HaTZg&pd_rd_r=b9ca15c6-a812-4bbc-b544-2364db5a70a0&pd_rd_i=B09YYFSMJW&psc=1

Mark

[Second Time Around]

Thanks Mark, I did consider it.  However, it seems to be made of the brittle plastic I found wasn't as strong and didn't always collapse fully.

[markse68]

Well I guess i’ll find out soon- ordered one 🤣

Mark

[markse68]

So it has arrived- seems fairly durable but only time will tell… It is a different design to the others- solid rings with internal channels for the locking nubs. Without the domed heads i guess the nubs could slip out of the channels but works ok for now. I’ll modify the lighting as the solid on light is white- needs to be dim red for meets. Opens and closes fine though sometimes needs a second attempt to fully close.  It’s a perfect height for my scope i think 

Mark

[wookie1965]

For someone who is over 20st would anyone recommend one of these.

[markse68]

6 hours ago, wookie1965 said:

For someone who is over 20st would anyone recommend one of these.

They claim 200kg Wookie but they are made from interlocking plastic pieces- if the force is perfectly vertical then the load is shared between many little plastic “pins” and is probably quite strong but the moment you lean a little , you reduce the number of pins taking the load and they might fail. This one i bought seems to be made from nylon which is a pretty tough plastic- I don’t think it will be brittle but it’s still plastic.

I need to work on the brightness level 😳😬🤣

Mark

[markse68]

It’s actually quite nicely made for £16.99. There are ten of the little lugs that support the weight on each ring and they do have flanges to prevent them from popping out of their slots. Very thin flanges so will have to see how  they last. For the translucency i think it is nylon so pretty tough.

The illumination is by this quite nice pcb.

It has 3 modes- solid on with the 2 middle yellow/white LEDs, pulsating between the red white and blue (marked G!) leds, then flashing between the outer 2 leds.

I modified it by removing all the blue leds, moving one of the reds over to one of the vacant  blue footprints, and putting a far red (730nm) led onto one of the vacant white led footprints.

This gives me a very much dimmer deep red subtle glow in the solid on position. If i accidentally switch to the other modes they are now not quite so dimmer red too. Much better  (phone cam can’t do the deepness of the red justice- it’s quite evilly red)

My new Astro-Stool. It's the perfect height too for my current scope setup  

Mark

Edited September 6, 2022 by markse68

[wookie1965]

8 hours ago, markse68 said:

It’s actually quite nicely made for £16.99. There are ten of the little lugs that support the weight on each ring and they do have flanges to prevent them from popping out of their slots. Very thin flanges so will have to see how  they last. For the translucency i think it is nylon so pretty tough.

The illumination is by this quite nice pcb.

It has 3 modes- solid on with the 2 middle yellow/white LEDs, pulsating between the red white and blue (marked G!) leds, then flashing between the outer 2 leds.

I modified it by removing all the blue leds, moving one of the reds over to one of the vacant  blue footprints, and putting a far red (730nm) led onto one of the vacant white led footprints.

This gives me a very much dimmer deep red subtle glow in the solid on position. If i accidentally switch to the other modes they are now not quite so dimmer red too. Much better  (phone cam can’t do the deepness of the red justice- it’s quite evilly red)

My new Astro-Stool. It's the perfect height too for my current scope setup  

Mark

Have you got a link to yours Mark please.

Paul

[markse68]

4 hours ago, wookie1965 said:

Have you got a link to yours Mark please.

Paul

Hi Paul, i think they must have read my “review” as they have put the price up to £23! There are versions with coloured seats for a few quid more. Looking at the reviews there are some negatives from users who don’t understand how it works but none saying it broke which is hopefully a good sign! Hope it works for you if you decide to get one 

Mark

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B09YYFSMJW?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title

Edited September 7, 2022 by markse68

[wookie1965]

1 hour ago, markse68 said:

Hi Paul, i think they must have read my “review” as they have put the price up to £23! There are versions with coloured seats for a few quid more. Looking at the reviews there are some negatives from users who don’t understand how it works but none saying it broke which is hopefully a good sign! Hope it works for you if you decide to get one 

Mark

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B09YYFSMJW?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title

Just sent for one going to take a punt on it for £23 cannot complain thanks for the link.

Paul

[Guest]

Ok, i will be "that guy" and ask the stupid question.  Why go with plastic?  Here, the mid west weather would kill a plastic stool by the end of summer, let alone what winter would do to it.  I will be the first to admit finding the perfect observation chair isn't easy, but surely there has to be a better option then plastic. 

[markse68]

6 hours ago, Mike Q said:

Ok, i will be "that guy" and ask the stupid question.  Why go with plastic?  Here, the mid west weather would kill a plastic stool by the end of summer, let alone what winter would do to it.  I will be the first to admit finding the perfect observation chair isn't easy, but surely there has to be a better option then plastic. 

it folds up very easily so you wouldn’t leave it outside- I’ll use it when i go to meet-ups etc as it takes very little boot space. It’s also finely adjustable in height from 42cm max to a few cm above the ground.  With my 6” newt on alt-az it is high enough to comfortably reach zenith and dropped down one or 2 rings, comfortable at horizon. It’s light weight and cheap. It wouldn’t be much use with a 20” dob though 🤣

Mark

[Guest]

1 hour ago, markse68 said:

it folds up very easily so you wouldn’t leave it outside- I’ll use it when i go to meet-ups etc as it takes very little boot space. It’s also finely adjustable in height from 42cm max to a few cm above the ground.  With my 6” newt on alt-az it is high enough to comfortably reach zenith and dropped down one or 2 rings, comfortable at horizon. It’s light weight and cheap. It wouldn’t be much use with a 20” dob though 🤣

Mark

I really do get it.  I am looking for something myself, but have not seen anything that will work well.   Either its foot print is too narrow or its not rated to hold fat boy here.  I do have a stool i have been meaning to try, but i always seem to forget about it until i am done 

[Wiu-Wiu]

One of my fellow travelers on our latest trip had a chair just like this. It is indeed small and transportable, but you need to take extreme caution when repositioning. He didn’t, and when ‘hopping’ from one position to the next, the entire chair came crashing down in itself, breaking the internal structure and sending him tumbling to the ground. 
 

luckily with no physical damage or damage to his setup, but ending the use of the chair right there. 

[cajen2]

Yes, some of them don't take to uneven loads well - I broke my first one this way. Leaning or hopping them can cause this. My second seems a bit sturdier, so go for the one with the highest weight rating.

I also use two round cushions as they can get a bit uncomfortable after a while.

 

[cajen2]

Update: I've found an upgraded one (supposed to hold 485lbs) which, importantly for me, has a wider seat. I always found the small round seat uncomfortable over a long session.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Upgraded-Portable-Telescopic-Stool-Larger/dp/B09D9372R9/ref=sxin_19_pa_sp_phone_search_thematic_sspa?content-id=amzn1.sym.cfee513d-3639-4d62-a8b4-88d5c811b9b9%3Aamzn1.sym.cfee513d-3639-4d62-a8b4-88d5c811b9b9&crid=3FH0WIXHCE1LG&cv_ct_cx=fiemach+portable+telescopic+stool&keywords=fiemach+portable+telescopic+stool&pd_rd_i=B09D9372R9&pd_rd_r=50939e5c-56a5-44df-b3fb-9fd0ac8550d8&pd_rd_w=RMecJ&pd_rd_wg=TkBEr&pf_rd_p=cfee513d-3639-4d62-a8b4-88d5c811b9b9&pf_rd_r=QXA1FMFB8KQY5D8KVHZJ&qid=1662637247&sprefix=fiemach%2Caps%2C156&sr=1-5-b75715df-0cbd-4312-a971-de5362256967-spons&psc=1

I'll let you know how I get on with it.

 

Edited September 8, 2022 by cajen2

[markse68]

A few breakages in the reviews on that one 😬

[cajen2]

11 minutes ago, markse68 said:

A few breakages in the reviews on that one 😬

Yes, that's what happened to the first one I bought when I tilted it. I found it much safer to move it than tilt. The second one was fine (no tilting!) except not very comfortable as the seat was so small. So I'm hoping the new one will solve this.

Edited September 8, 2022 by cajen2

[markse68]

2 minutes ago, cajen2 said:

Yes, that's what happened to the first one I bought when I tilted it. I found it much safer to move it than tilt. The second one was fine (no tilting!) except not very comfortable as the seat was so small. So I'm hoping the new one will solve this.

I’m hoping that the light up one really is nylon. Nylon has a far higher tensile strength than ABS which it looks like a lot of these are made from, but it did come with a warning on the box not to tilt it whilst sat on it as there’s limits to everything… Time will tell

Mark

[Second Time Around]

On 08/09/2022 at 13:01, cajen2 said:

Update: I've found an upgraded one (supposed to hold 485lbs) which, importantly for me, has a wider seat. I always found the small round seat uncomfortable over a long session.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Upgraded-Portable-Telescopic-Stool-Larger/dp/B09D9372R9/ref=sxin_19_pa_sp_phone_search_thematic_sspa?content-id=amzn1.sym.cfee513d-3639-4d62-a8b4-88d5c811b9b9%3Aamzn1.sym.cfee513d-3639-4d62-a8b4-88d5c811b9b9&crid=3FH0WIXHCE1LG&cv_ct_cx=fiemach+portable+telescopic+stool&keywords=fiemach+portable+telescopic+stool&pd_rd_i=B09D9372R9&pd_rd_r=50939e5c-56a5-44df-b3fb-9fd0ac8550d8&pd_rd_w=RMecJ&pd_rd_wg=TkBEr&pf_rd_p=cfee513d-3639-4d62-a8b4-88d5c811b9b9&pf_rd_r=QXA1FMFB8KQY5D8KVHZJ&qid=1662637247&sprefix=fiemach%2Caps%2C156&sr=1-5-b75715df-0cbd-4312-a971-de5362256967-spons&psc=1

I'll let you know how I get on with it.

 

I suspect that the breakages might be down to the shape/size of the seat with buyers leaning forward.  Presumably there'd be greater leverage compared with a smaller, round seat.

I have 2 what look like identical stools apart from the bigger seats and they've been absolutely perfect.

[wookie1965]

On 06/09/2022 at 22:42, markse68 said:

It’s actually quite nicely made for £16.99. There are ten of the little lugs that support the weight on each ring and they do have flanges to prevent them from popping out of their slots. Very thin flanges so will have to see how  they last. For the translucency i think it is nylon so pretty tough.

The illumination is by this quite nice pcb.

It has 3 modes- solid on with the 2 middle yellow/white LEDs, pulsating between the red white and blue (marked G!) leds, then flashing between the outer 2 leds.

I modified it by removing all the blue leds, moving one of the reds over to one of the vacant  blue footprints, and putting a far red (730nm) led onto one of the vacant white led footprints.

This gives me a very much dimmer deep red subtle glow in the solid on position. If i accidentally switch to the other modes they are now not quite so dimmer red too. Much better  (phone cam can’t do the deepness of the red justice- it’s quite evilly red)

My new Astro-Stool. It's the perfect height too for my current scope setup  

Mark

How did you get that apart I want to do the same as you with the Leds please. 

Paul 

[markse68]

21 minutes ago, wookie1965 said:

How did you get that apart I want to do the same as you with the Leds please. 

Paul 

Hi Paul, if you press the bottom edge of the top ring while pulling it at an angle and working your way round you can disconnect it from the second ring down. Be careful to align the locking tabs when putting it back together. The LEDs are surface mount- i used 2 soldering irons- one on either end, to remove them. The LEDs are made from plastic which melts readily so you need to be quick if you want to re-use them. I disconnected the big long spring inside to make working on it easier.

Good luck,

Mark