Lightbridge 8 vs Skywatcher Flex Dob 8

[jason_kelly (Jason)]

Hi everyone, this is my first post ever as I only recently joined Iceinspace a couple of months ago. First of all I want to say a great thanks to all of the members as your advice, through reading the forums, has been invaluable and helped me narrow my choice down to these two scopes.

I have been using a 114mm reflector for the past 7 years but finally decided to upgrade. I have read everything on Cloudynights and Iceinspae regarding dobs and have decided to go for the 8" just for portabilities sake. I live in South Korea and will be moving home to Canada eventually, so I thought an 8" would be managable to tarnsport( even thoug I really want the 10") but when i move home the 8" will go to my daughter and I'll get a 12 or 16incher.

Here in Korea the LB8 is about $800US and the Flex dob is $560US. IS the LB that much better? Seems to me they are quite similar and the flex dob might even have the edge as it has two eyepieces and less black areas on and inside the OTA. It doens't have a fan but I thought the open design would help with faster cooling anyway. BTW, the 8 inch GSO is $580US here 10" $680( both comne with a barlow, moon filter, and laser collimator), but seems to be alot harder to take back to Canada.

Anyway not to go on and on. Any advice from people who have used both scopes , or people who won these scopes would be greatly appreciated.
Cheers
Jason

[Brian W (Brian)]

Hi Jason, sounds like we have traveled a similar path. My first scope was an Orion 4.5" reflector and I just bought an 8" LB. you will find my review in the review files.

A serious plus to the 8 LB is that disassembled it is NOT oversize baggage on any airline. I have not used the Flex dob. If it will fit into the airline baggage requirements then your decision is tougher but if it doesn't... The shipping costs are astronomical on oversize baggage these days.

Brian

[jason_kelly (Jason)]

Thanks Brian, I Read You Review Several Times And You Have Made Me Think Alot About The Lb8, But The Price Difference And The Xtra Eyepiece With The Flex Is Tempting. I Think I Could Get The Flex Ota In The Overhead Compartment And Put He Base Under The Plane Disassembled. But If Not I Might Have To Go For The Lb. Really Need To Get Up To Seoul And See Both Scopes To Truly Make My Decision.
Thanks For Your Review, Great Job

[Irish stargazer (John)]

Originally Posted by Brian W

Hi Jason,

A serious plus to the 8 LB is that disassembled it is NOT oversize baggage on any airline. I have not used the Flex dob. If it will fit into the airline baggage requirements then your decision is tougher but if it doesn't... The shipping costs are astronomical on oversize baggage these days.

Brian

The oversize baggage charges are extortionate. I was hit for being 3 Kg over the limit (between two of us) on a flight from Seoul to Amsterdam last year. It might be worth looking at shipping it as a package. The shipping charges from Korea aren't that high from what I remember.