[morls (Stephen)]

FWIW I had an 8" collapsible dob, and it was easier to lug around than a solid tube, took up less room in storage and the struts were useful when nudging/pulling the scope to track objects in the eyepiece. No problems with holding collimation either...

The mirror in this scope was probably about average, but I had a set of Catseye collimation tools that I'm certain enabled me to get the most out of it. This is pretty expensive kit, but it allows you to set up the secondary and primary mirrors with a high degree of precision. I also had a Nagler 13mm eyepiece, and the views with this (also expensive!) were just stunning.

These accessories might have cost a lot to get together, but I was really happy with the views. The overall improvement in my scope's performance due to improvements in collimation (compared to before the catseye gear) was somewhere around 15-20%. Using the nagler blew my socks off, and it really took things into another league compared to using my previous eyepieces (GSO and the like). I won't put a percentage on it, because it became a much more immersive and engaging experience...

I tend towards the philosophy of "buy once, buy well" as much as possible, but it does make things expensive initially. However, you get what you pay for, and the pleasure of using well engineered gear is something I really appreciate.