Pick your telescope up — move it — set it down and start observing again.  Take it out the door in one assembled unit.  Walk a quarter mile with your scope to a dark clearing with no headlights to interfere.  That's grab 'n go astronomy.  Not just portable astronomy — instantaneous astronomy!

Why do grab and go astronomy?  To look around trees or avoid lights.  To get a quick look from the backyard.  To observe while standing in line at a star party.  To take a scope on a trip when there is little room to spare.  To show the neighbors a lunar eclipse or a comet.  To involve your kids.  To easily travel to a dark site in a fuel-efficient vehicle.  To observe more often.  Because it's fun and elegant and can be combined with other activities.

The sturdy 7.5-pound (complete) Half Hitch alt-az telescope mount has the versatility to carry any grab and go telescope as well as many larger scopes.  Most telescope and accessory loads weighing up to about 22 pounds will perform admirably on the Half Hitch when coupled to a tripod that is also adequate for the load.

The greatest increment of observing power comes with the first few inches of aperture.  Galileo changed the world with a telescope feeble in comparison to a modern two-inch refractor.  Charles Messier cataloged most of the best deep-sky objects with a telescope that wouldn't match a modern three-inch refractor.  Even if you have a much larger telescope, a true grab and go scope will expand your pursuit of astronomy.

Going to a dark-sky site can often reveal more than getting a bigger telescope!  It's amazing what scopes of modest aperture will show under inky-black skies.

The Grace To Go Small — The Brawn To Go Bigger

The Half Hitch alt-az telescope mount possesses uncanny ability to gracefully adapt to an 80 mm refractor and lightweight tripod while having the strength to tame a 115 mm refractor on a heavier tripod.  Most mounts actually capable of carrying 4-inch refractors will not lend themselves to a well proportioned grab 'n go setup, simply overwhelming smaller scopes and tripods.

What allows the Half Hitch to transition so effortlessly?

• High stiffness-to-weight ratio afforded by its CNC machined structure, preloaded bearings, and rigid cross-braced design

• Centerline load positioning resulting in greater stability and lower stress

• Excellent tripod clearance without needing a tripod extension column

• Two-axis balancing for easy pointing

• Motion controls for fingertip panning, centering, and tracking

While the ability to carry a 5-inch refractor or 8-inch SCT is a great asset for a small mount, so is the ability to elegantly scale downward for true grab 'n go application.  The Half Hitch is unrivaled at it's ability to do both.

DON'T BE FOOLED:  The Half Hitch alt-az telescope mount is more rigid than many mounts claiming larger capacities!