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The lightest and smallest I have is actually a Galileoscope on a cheap tripod with ball head. It's cheap & expendable yet for my astro needs beats 50mm binoculars by a big margin. Next, there is the FS-60/FC-76. For that, I use the Manfrotto 055 tripod and 410 geared head when travelling. Not everyone's cup of tea as the controls can be a bit stiff, but a rock-solid undercarriage for the light refractor(s), and the "setting circles" are great for locating stuff that's not readily seen. I've been a happy user for almost 10 years now. If tracking is needed (almost exclusively for wide-angle photos), I put the Sightron Nano Tracker on top. The complete kit, plus a DSLR, travelled with me by plane just this month trying to escape the weather down here for a look at Venus when it was near the sun. I did not check any bags, the whole thing went as carry-on. To go a bit bigger, but still portable of sorts, I have a C6 that rides on a Vixen Porta and a surveyor's tripod. The C6 in a padded bag still fits hand luggage dimensions, the rest has to be checked of course.
The Z61 would make a fine travel scope I expect. I wouldn't worry about a few more mm of aperture when portability is key.
Last edited by N1; 16-06-2020 at 08:08 AM.
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