Horizon 8115

[Nexus 6]

Anyone recently bought this tripod? I ask as I have bought one along with 2 sets of Celestron 15x70 bins, one set are mine, don't need the tripod as I have a Manfrotto 475B.

Thing is I recieved the Horizon today, it and the other 15x70 are for a friend, we were both a bit surprised that the tripod came with no instruction booklet and it also gave me the impression of being not "as new" with a few marks on the legs and around the head area, really poor finish.

How do you rate yours?

[AstroNinja]

I have had one for 2 or 3 years now and am very happy with it. No instructions either, but no loss really. Finish is fine on mine - maybe yours was ex demo or ex review? That ought to have been made clear of course.

Jon

[Nexus 6]

Hi Jon, thankyou, its reallly for the benefit of the gentleman who I bought it for, he may have got a bit perplexed in how to set it up with the bins but is not that much of a problem as you have said. I'm only 2 minutes away anyhow.

I will take a couple of pics to show what I mean as regards the poor finish.

[meteoriot]

I received mine a few weeks ago and mine too was a bit rough round the edges. It had a few scratch marks and chips in the paint but it functions fine. It too had no instructions.

[meteoriot]

hi again, one thing i have noticed with mine is where the head pivots left and right there are two circular bits, one with many marker lines and one with just one marker line. As you turn the head on mine BOTH pieces turn together. I figure this is wrong... as the bottom bit that has many marker lines and the top has one marker point I assume its for you to line it up so i suspect that the bottom bit is meant to be 'stationary' allowing the top bit to move freely above it. (i hope im making sense lol)

My bottom bit (with all the markers on) MOVES around WITH the top bit. This to me seems a bit pointless. How do yours work please? Do you have the same problem? Thank you

Richard

[Nexus 6]

hi again, one thing i have noticed with mine is where the head pivots left and right there are two circular bits, one with many marker lines and one with just one marker line. As you turn the head on mine BOTH pieces turn together. I figure this is wrong... as the bottom bit that has many marker lines and the top has one marker point I assume its for you to line it up so i suspect that the bottom bit is meant to be 'stationary' allowing the top bit to move freely above it. (i hope im making sense lol)

My bottom bit (with all the markers on) MOVES around WITH the top bit. This to me seems a bit pointless. How do yours work please? Do you have the same problem? Thank you

Richard

Hi Richard

I will have to check on that tomorrow, as you say its a bit rough round the edge's but I guess it will do the job, I also got a metal bracket to fix to the bins rather than the plastic one that comes with them, that should help him too

[meteoriot]

Hi Richard

I will have to check on that tomorrow, as you say its a bit rough round the edge's but I guess it will do the job, I also got a metal bracket to fix to the bins rather than the plastic one that comes with them, that should help him too

I don't think I got a bracket with mine but I do have a metal L bracket. I would really appreciate if you can let me know about the 'spinny bit' (technical term lol)

Thanks

Richard

[G0JVK]

My bottom bit (with all the markers on) MOVES around WITH the top bit. This to me seems a bit pointless. How do yours work please? Do you have the same problem? Thank you

Richard

Hey chaps. i too just bought the same Horizon tripod from FLO as it happens just last week and mine too is exactly like this also, at first i thought it was just me or something so am relieved to know i am not the only one this happened to,

for what it's worth i dont think these tripods are all they are cracked up to be, a total waste of money in my opinion i think it's just the head that's at fault really but the actual tripod it's self is fine no problem with that just the head it's total JUNK i reckon, wish i had never bothered with it to be honest, so we live and learn i suppose once bitten and all that if you know what i mean? my advice is to BIN the head {i did that actually } and buy a decent head for it. i just bought myself a Manfrotto 475B tripod and 808RC4 head instead much better i should have done that in the first place methinks.

[meteoriot]

My bottom bit (with all the markers on) MOVES around WITH the top bit. This to me seems a bit pointless. How do yours work please? Do you have the same problem? Thank you

Richard

Hey chaps. i too just bought the same Horizon tripod from FLO as it happens just last week and mine too is exactly like this also, at first i thought it was just me or something so am relieved to know i am not the only one this happened to,

for what it's worth i dont think these tripods are all they are cracked up to be, a total waste of money in my opinion i think it's just the head that's at fault really but the actual tripod it's self is fine no problem with that just the head it's total JUNK i reckon, wish i had never bothered with it to be honest, so we live and learn i suppose once bitten and all that if you know what i mean? my advice is to BIN the head {i did that actually } and buy a decent head for it. i just bought myself a Manfrotto 475B tripod and 808RC4 head instead much better i should have done that in the first place methinks.

Thanks. I am happy with mine and the head. It's certainly much better than my old one and others I have tried but perhaps we all have different expectations. Apart from it's little 'fault' I find mine very easy to manoeuvre and it holds it's position fine too. I'm not sure if there is anything else to expect of it really?

[scogyrd]

Apart from it's little 'fault' I find mine very easy to manoeuvre and it holds it's position fine too. I'm not sure if there is anything else to expect of it really?

For the money it costs I would expect it to have no "little faults" and no scratches on it either, that's not really too much to ask for is it?

I don't own a horizon tripod btw. I have a redsnapper tripod that I'm more than happy with.

[nicnac]

no instruction with the 8115, dont see the need to be honest

the spinny things are tension control, i found that out while dabling around on a cloud filled evening.

the 8115 is a most stable, sturdy tripod and a fantastic buy, maybe a little A5 instruction sheet should be included as a just in case type thing.

all in all, the 8115 is a fantastic tripod for the money and worth it too

[scogyrd]

no instruction with the 8115, dont see the need to be honest

If nothing else it might explain what the spinny things are for and stop people buying a new tripod and head because they think it's rubbish.

[meteoriot]

For the money it costs I would expect it to have no "little faults" and no scratches on it either, that's not really too much to ask for is it?

I don't own a horizon tripod btw. I have a redsnapper tripod that I'm more than happy with.

Yes the scratches are a disappointment but it's a very good tripod and head. maybe small instructions wouldn't be unwelcome. (even if not needed) I prefer the horizon to the redsnapper myself as it extends much higher meaning I don't have to put my back and neck out of position to view when standing. The redsnapper head is inferior too in my opinion unless you spend £50 on an upgrade. I suppose it's all down to personal preference but I would recommend the horizon even with the minor scratches and I would agree with the sky at night magazine when they reviewed it and gave it 90%.

[Hobbes]

I had a similar experience with my Camlink tripod. It arrived with no Instructions. I did have to partially dismantle the head and mount as there looked to be gaps where there should not be and things not located properly into their sockets etc. However 30 mins with some allen keys and screw drivers sorted the whole thing out and it now works a treat. As I use it more I find tensioning screws that should be tight/loose and need to be adjusted to suit the way I use it. and clips that release the legs to allow them to spead further apart.

As I quite enjoy tinkering I don't find this a problem although in common with others a small manual would have been nice.

[Nexus 6]

Looks as if it is a case of what you pay is what you get with this Horizon, for 15x70's it will be fine but I would suspect for bins any heavier it would be a bit to much weight.

Yes there are tension controls for more pricise movement, just as with my 475B which is a far superior tripod, then again its holding 3.6kgs so I had to take that into account when looking to buy for my 20x90's.

Instructions, as I said, would help some who may not have any experience in using such kit but of course are not essential to most of us.

I have taken some snaps but do not see the need to post them, the gentleman in question is happy to keep it so I will leave it at that.

Clear and sunny here at the moment, hope it holds for tonight

thanks to all who posted on this thread

[nicnac]

Hi Alan,

clear here too, fingers crossed it will last through the next few nights as i am having withdrawl symptoms

just to add to the 8115 comments, i have had my mak90 and a DSLR attached on this tripod and it remained stable

i dont think your friend will be disappointed with the gear

[scogyrd]

Yes the scratches are a disappointment but it's a very good tripod and head. maybe small instructions wouldn't be unwelcome. (even if not needed) I prefer the horizon to the redsnapper myself as it extends much higher meaning I don't have to put my back and neck out of position to view when standing. The redsnapper head is inferior too in my opinion unless you spend £50 on an upgrade. I suppose it's all down to personal preference but I would recommend the horizon even with the minor scratches and I would agree with the sky at night magazine when they reviewed it and gave it 90%.

I spent the extra £30 and bought the more expensive redsnapper tripod so it's about the same height as the horizon, if not bigger. Depending in whether the height of the horizon includes the head or not.

I do agree the redsnapper's head isn't the best though, but what can you expect for £25? My only complaint with it would be that it wobbled a bit if the azimuth wasn't locked completely though, but that didn't really bother me, even with my old 20x80s.

It wasn't quite up to the job of securely mounting a parallelogram mount I've just built though, so I bought one of these instead.

FeisolUK - PB-70 - Panning Base

I now mount my head straight onto that and use it for turning in azimuth so it's fixed the wobble completely, and at £43 was probably cheaper than buying a new head. Plus it raised the head by a couple of cm to make it even easier to stand under.

All in all I don't think my redsnapper is a bad tripod for he money and can see it lasting me quite a while, and I'm not trying to slate the horizon either.

[meteoriot]

I spent the extra £30 and bought the more expensive redsnapper tripod so it's about the same height as the horizon, if not bigger. Depending in whether the height of the horizon includes the head or not.

I do agree the redsnapper's head isn't the best though, but what can you expect for £25? My only complaint with it would be that it wobbled a bit if the azimuth wasn't locked completely though, but that didn't really bother me, even with my old 20x80s.

It wasn't quite up to the job of securely mounting a parallelogram mount I've just built though, so I bought one of these instead.

FeisolUK - PB-70 - Panning Base

I now mount my head straight onto that and use it for turning in azimuth so it's fixed the wobble completely, and at £43 was probably cheaper than buying a new head. Plus it raised the head by a couple of cm to make it even easier to stand under.

All in all I don't think my redsnapper is a bad tripod for he money and can see it lasting me quite a while, and I'm not trying to slate the horizon either.

Cool. Must be different to the one I nearly bought. At the time of looking they only had two tripods and the height difference and the sky at night review swung me towards the horizon. I haven't tried any different heads but for now I think mine is enough for me. Maybe this will change as I gain experience and try other equipment.

[navydave]

just received this one too - no instructions but in good condition.

[johninderby]

I thought the 8115 was good until I put it next to a Manfrotto 475 tripod. All the parts on the 475 were about twice the size of those on the 8115 which made the 8115 seem very lightweight and flimsy in comparison. Still the 475 is a lot more expensive so I would expect it to be better made.

BTW you can fit the Skytee 2 Alt-Az mount to a Manfrotto 475 if you use a Berlebach adaptor.

John

[John]

This has been a very useful thread for me as I'm looking for a tripod for my 20x80 and 25x100 binos. I was considering the Horizon 8115 and I'm taking from the comments here that it would be OK for the 20x80's (which are not too heavy) but might be overwhelmed by the 5kg 25x100's.

I'll have to investigate other options as well I think.

[meteoriot]

This has been a very useful thread for me as I'm looking for a tripod for my 20x80 and 25x100 binos. I was considering the Horizon 8115 and I'm taking from the comments here that it would be OK for the 20x80's (which are not too heavy) but might be overwhelmed by the 5kg 25x100's.

I'll have to investigate other options as well I think.

I can't remember the exact max weight that the horizon can take but it was considerably more than what I needed it for. Good luck whatever you choose.

[pleiades]

Hi! Anyone knows what is the max Kg load for this tripod? Curiously they not mention it at specification, isn't it?

Thanks