Binocular chairs?

[Tempusfugit]

Does anyone have a suggestion for a comfortable and very portable (folding) chair suitable for basic binocular-gazing? (Australian sources only, preferably southeast Queensland):). I'll try a few camping equipment stores, but thought I'd post the question anyway. High armrests (relative to the bottom of the seat) and pretty much a full recline would be the go...

[beren]

I have a nice Coleman folding chair, extends to almost horizontal and nicely padded and comfy. I've seen them at most camping stores.

[IanL]

I bought one of these from BCF for about $160 http://www.caribee.com/cat.asp?CatID=27#

SUNDECK RECLINING CHAIR 5608

Top quality very very good. Fell asleep on it a few times only to be woken up with the wife. Still clutching my binos snoring :)

PS
It folds up to about 3 feet high

Ian

[BalderAsir]

slap a lazy boy under that sucker :)

[Tempusfugit]

Thanks everyone. I will visit a few stores. For some reason, I thought there might be 'special binocular chairs' but, I'm extremely new to astronomy so still in a learning phase....

[snowyskiesau]

There used to be a product call Starchair that was made for use with binoculars.
Seems to have disappeared which is a pity as despite it's expense, it would have been a really cool toy to have
I get by with one of the cheap folding camper seats and a Bintel binocular mount (https://www.bintelshop.com.au/Images/Stock/6624X.jpg).

[acropolite]

Ian is on the money for the chair, but you can't go past the K-mart Zero Gravity recliner chair, I don't believe you'll find anything better, we bought one prior to Astrofest last year, there were a couple of others with them there. Sit down and you can lay back, the chair just slides in to the reclined position with gentle pressure on the footrest. If you get tired of observing you could even sleep... I believe they're on special for $49 ATM, others have them for up to 3 times that amount (it's the same as the caribee item mentioned above), they are basically the same chair with different colour fabric etc. Look on page 21 of the catalog here. (http://www.kmart.com.au/Catalogue/Catalogue.aspx?CatalogueID=13&WT.mc_id=cat|Dad_Rocks!|20080828) I'm going to buy another one for HRH to use.

[Tempusfugit]

Went shopping, stopped in at TentWorld (Brisbane) and bought a "King Goanna Chair" (yes, that's really what it's called !! Made by OzTent, cost $70. It's a very comfortable camping chair made out of very heavy padded nylon with adjustable armrests, lumbar support and a pair of drink holders (will only fit new, improved you beaut 'less is more' 335ml stubbies).It's actually a very nice chair, and quickly folds into a good quality carry bag. Just what I wanted, more or less. Thanks again for all your inputs.

[meliux]

hey, nice thread - i'm contemplating buying or building tripod/parallelogram rig with some sort of reclining chair on a lazy boy to go with a pair of 25x100 binos I want to get... subscribed! :D

Hey beren, where did you buy that "Oberwerk" tripod from in your photo? Apart from that and the Bintel one, does anyone have or can recommend any other form of binocular mount? I'm after the most affordable one (without it being a cheap and nasty thing that shakes uncontrolably if a butterfly flaps its wings in africa)

if the fates conspire nicely then hopefully i'll be able to come along to iisac08 with this equipment :)

[IanL]

Dan have a look at the projects section.
http://www.iceinspace.com.au/63-383-0-0-1-0.html

That may be of intrest to you.

Ian

[meliux]

oh yeah absolutely, great info there... I read that a few weeks ago and even compiled a few more resources on DIY bino mounts; i'm seriously thinking of building one with my dad, and thankfully he's a bit of a woodworking fanatic (while I failed shop at school :lol:)

Was wondering about the viability of alternative commercial products though, as with the DIY stuff above there is also the cost of time and materials, so I'm wondering which would be more economical in the end.

[chrioni]

It is a shame there is no local australian sources for a good binocular
mount/chair. They can hold big binoculars up to 12 lbs (or 5.5 kg).
I found two US sources in the internet :
1. It is called couch potato telescope binocular chair (US$ 260 without beach chair) plus shipping
http://www.geocities.com/lwraif/SimP/

2. The other one is called Ez Gazer (US$ 350 without the beach chair) plus shipping
http://www.astrogizmos.com/Chair.htm

It is not that difficult to construct with the kit and using local materials from a local hardware store. But, I am no handyman, and the shipping cost for a ready made bino chair costs nearly the binocular chair itself. And the low australian dollar doesn't help.

I wish there is someone out there locally who makes such a product.

[Gargoyle_Steve]

I've used one of the best versions of the camping "recliner" available these days on top of my own rotating platform to create an Alt/Az base for my 20x80 bino's that provides ease of use and great comfort.

I looked into these chairs for quite a while, there are at least 5 different versions that look very similar, but there ARE important differences: how far back they recline, how easily they will come up again, how heavy a person thay can support, how well made they are, etc. Mine is a Caribee, rated to 130kg load, and as those who have taken her for a test drive will agree it makes for a sweet binocular experience.

Follow this link, 4th image down on RHS shows the chair and base mechanism - bino's not attached at this point, they normally attach to a slide mechanism that attaches to the side "rail" frame visible being held in balance by the 4 bungee cords.

http://www.darkskycamp.org.au/photos.shtml

Another image here:
http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/attachment_browse.php?a=48299

I can't locate an on-line image of the complete setup to link to at present, and I can't access any images from my own camera here at present. I'll upload something when I can.

I have taken lots of photos during the course of this project with the aim of eventually submitting it as an article for the IIS projects pages. I've decided to go ahead and fully motorise the azimuth rotation mechanism now as opposed to the manual (hand-cranked) mechanism I've been trying to use so far, so the article probably won't get completed or uploaded until then.

[chrioni]

Thank you for sharing your creativity with an australian made version of the couch potato binocular mount/chair.

I have a recliner - the lafuma zero gravity recliner (made in france) - similar to the picture in your links.

I also have a vixen (made in japan) 20x100 mm big bino (discontinued - I paid easily five times more - weak aussie dollar then - what you can get these days with a similar spec big bino) which I hardly use cos it is a pain in the neck to use a manfrotto tripod with the big bino (which weights a mere 3.3 kilos).

I need a binocular mount/chair in order to enjoy visual binocular astronomy - easy and comfortable to use. The couch potato binocular mount/chair seems to be the answer. It is easy and comfortable to use and ... a space saver (collapsible - easy to store when not in use).

How much does it cost you to built that couch potato binocular mount/chair? What weight of the big bino can it take? 5 kgs?

[Ian Robinson]

I hand hold the binos (even the 20x80s) and either park the bottom on a camp chair or have a towel on the ground and sit or lay on it. Works for me (though spiders of the bitey and nasty kind are something that worries when on the ground at night in summer (never seen a trapdoor , mouse spider or funnel web in my yard (or evidence of them - plenty of redbacks and orb spiders and huntsmen though) too many local cats and magpies, and resident lizards frequent my yard (I believe blue tongue and striped skinks make tasty meals of them , so do the magpies and cats immune to the vemon.)