Telescope Reviews: Re: How portable is G11 mount?

Portable in space consumed? Portable in weight? Portable in terms of standing up to random shocks and abuse?

It's an eminently manageable configuration. In terms of packing the three-hole tripod head is a bit awkward to find a place for. The legs fold up very nicely and are easily removable. The default tripod is probably, strength to price and all considered, the best deal on the amateur market in its price range.

Since the mount head can be used on a Berlebach wood tripod or an ATS pier, etc., I'm not sure how one can ever fully answer this question. I find ease of setup of a Berlebach tripod is better than the default Losmandy tripod. Stability of the Berlebach is excellent, and I prefer the way the whole unit folds up for transport.

The actual equatorial head is a good size and weight.

The durability of the configuration is sweet. The finish is nice. I've been tossing this thing in the trunk for nearly ten years and it still looks impressive and performs well. I generally feel that the G11 "needs less babying" than my 900QMD in order to look pretty.

Here's a picture of an alternate G11 tripod set up just to let you know there are alternatives:

Losmandy on Berelbach tripod

The wood seems to be as stable as the metal tripod. I think that's because wood has superior damping qualities intrinsically, you need to build aluminum more massively to get stability.

Greg N

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"Aperture will get you through times of no money better than money will get you through times of no aperture."

featuring selected astrojunk:

bunch o' widefield eyepieces
bunch o' narrowfield eyepieces
couple o' Barlows
couple o' scopes
couple o' mounts
couple o' tripods
and a pier 'n' stuff

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