Celestron 21035-ADS Travel Scope 70 Refractor Telescope Kit with Backpack, Black (Amazon Exclusive Including Additional 4mm Eyepiece and 3x Barlow Lens)

"The best telescope is the one you use the most" so they say. I have searched the internet, read hundreds of articles, read magazines, toyed with the idea of getting a 'proper' telescope (such as the Celestron Astromaster 114 reflector or the refractor 70AZ) but had a moment of clarity: apart from the first few weeks, when am I REALLY likely to go to the effort of setting up a big scope? I mean they're really big and unless you keep it by the back door it means lugging it down stairs, plonking it in the yard and wrestling with the various knobs and bits to, finally, get a view of the moon or a nebula. Sure, they'll look good but to be honest, like my rice-cooker or the sandwich toaster it'll sit there gathering dust and eventually end up broken or in the loft...Now, I thought of binoculars but, I have some of those and they're 10x mag. They're fine if you like to see streaks of light as the stars zip about your vision like fireworks. Get a tripod? Well, for the money, big (I say big when actually the biggest are only 15x) binos are not all that great and like someone on already said Amazon saide you'll need to be Data from Star Trek if you plan on holding them - forget it. No really, forget it - bins are a big disappointment for the stars. Only German soldiers in my WW2 picture books and bird watchers have them.The Celestron travel scope is like one half of a MASSIVE pair of binos. From 20 to 40x mag they walk all over binos in terms of brightness and magnification.I have packed it in its little bag (very useful believe me) and carry it up the Malvern Hills. Try doing that with a reflector.. In the perfect 360 view up their I've seen the heavens explode into life. I can get it outside, set up and marvelling at the moon or a nebula in 2 mins. Gaze and Go. Every night I have a quick scan at the heavens then get back to putting bath sealant around taps or whatever grown-ups do at night. Great.Build quality is absolutely great. Sure, you have to be delicate with the controls and not heavy-handed but it's a telescope - what did you expect? If you're too rough to handle it then take up judo instead. I am careful with my lovely little scope and it opens up the skys for me and my little daughter every clear night. I can't believe how brilliant it is. My daughter saw a hot air balloon in the sky today - so small it was barely visible. In 45seconds we'd found it on the Travelscope and could count the occupants in the basket and watch the flames light up the red envelope - completely perfect.Maybe you could get a better stargazer... maybe you could get a better bird watcher... but could you get a lovely little instrument that could do both for 70 quid? (2 million US dollars)if I drop it and smash it I'll be sad but get onto Amazon and get another. It should be 160 quid (85 million dollars).. but don't let Celestron know they've mis-priced it!Want a cheap but perfectly useable scope for looking at the moon and birds and ships at sea? Want to use it every day? Are you not a Wall Street banker? Get this little beauty. If you really get hooked with astronomy then in a year get a reflector. You'll still only use the travel scope mind you!Hope my review gets you looking up and going "Wow!"

I dithered for ages looking at binoculars, telescopes and the like. I wanted a cheap something to look at the moon, test my astronomy interest to see if in the future it's worth investing in bigger and better.This package has reviews on you tube and I suggest you watch them. Overall the reviews are good but all say the tripod is a waste of time. They are right. However I knew that and still bought it.When you think the 70mm scope comes with two eye pieces, effectively 20x and 40x mag. To get 20 x70 binos you will have to pay more than this. So all in all I think you got to accept that these are good for the price. Get a better tripod if you need to, but the scope seems half decent.Oh and the bundled software (Sky x) is not really worth loading. Get the free Stellarium on line, much better.Of course this scope is very useful for wildlife and with it's back pack means you can pop it in the boot of the car, or sling it over your back, and go spotting. It's nice and light and you could use it by hand if you lean on a tree or wall.

When reviewing this 'scope you have to bear in mind what you are paying for it. At £53 you aren't going to get a Meade but you do get a servciceable 70mm compact refractor, a tripod, eyepieces,barlow lens, software and a back pack to keep it all in. Back in my youth I had a "proper" 3" astronomical refractor and I think this scope is comparable to it in terms of magnification, focus, image sharpness etc. The main problem you'll have with this scope is that its on a camera tripod (a rather flimsy one at that but more on that later) and its a fairly jerky transport system if you're used to an equitorial mount or even an altazimuth. That said I managed to lock on to Jupiter (not seen its moons for 30 years till tonight), Betelgeuse and a binary star (no moon tonight).The tripod supplied is a bit rickety and on full extension and the bottom legs extension are quite thin and bendy but you can't expect miracles - I'd rather have a reasonable scope and a rubbish tripod as that's easily remedied - you can get a sturdier tripod fairly cheaply (although it might not fit in the pack).The kit had expanded from that described on Celestron's website to include a X3 Barlow Lens and a 4mm eyepiece (X100) in addition to the 20mm (X20) and 10mm (X40) giving you magnification options of between x20 and x300 (although I wouldn't push it that far - it would be impossible to hold the image).You might move on to bigger and better things but that's the beauty of this scope - it will always have a use because it packs away so small - great to take camping, on walks, on holiday etc (you're not going to lug around an 8" reflector!).For the money you get a decent scope and lots of extras. If you look for the "firstscope accessory kit" you can pick up a moon filter, 6 and 12mm eyepieces (for more magnification options) and a spare spotting scope for about a tenner (only a few quid more than getting a moon filter on its own).