My stargazing adventure began with the Celestron 80mm Travel Scope, a portable refractor telescope that opened my eyes to the wonders of the night sky. It delivered impressive images (for its small size and metrics) of celestial objects such as the Moon, Saturn, and Jupiter and its moons, and really gave me a taste of something that I wanted more of while still maintaining the convenience of travel – this was important because during the summer I discovered that when you rock up to a garden party with a telescope, suddenly EVERYONE wants to see the moon and planets!

Enter the Sky-Watcher Startravel 102 (AZ3). I recently took the plunge and ordered this remarkable telescope on a Sunday, and to my delight, it arrived on a Tuesday afternoon! Setting it up was a breeze, and its aesthetic appeal was an instant bonus. During my relentless research, one YouTuber described it as “the sort of scope you keep forever, leave in your will and pass it onto your grandkids”. Not usually one for such statements, I have to say, he’s not wrong. If feels and looks like a solid piece of equipment, and it’s a real eye catcher when its set up indoors waiting to be used or when it’s outside.

Last night, I had the privilege of clear skies (when does that ever happen when you have a new scope to play with?), and I must say that the Startravel 102 exceeded my expectations and is exactly what I was aiming at when I said, “I want the next step up from my little 80mm”.

Compared to my trusty 80mm scope, I could immediately notice the improvements. The increased aperture of the Startravel 102 allows for more detailed observations. During my two-hour stargazing session on that chilly evening, I marvelled at the ability to clearly discern the bands of Jupiter, and saw her moons very easily dotted around her, explored the intricate craters on the Moon's surface, and unmistakably identified Saturn with its iconic rings. The slow-motion controls felt like upgrading from a car with no power steering to one with power steering, that’s the easiest way I can describe it and my 80mm was on a really good quality photography tripod! They made it effortless to keep celestial objects centred in my field of view, and I quickly adapted to using them to bring objects back into view.

The finder scope again, without much adjustment put me pretty much on the mark every time. Today during the day, I have lined it up properly, so out of the box it was pretty impressive.

The included lenses with the Startravel 102 are impressive given they are the “in the box” variety, and while I've heard that upgrading them can enhance the experience, I'm perfectly content with the performance they deliver for now. I complemented my setup with a x2 Barlow and a moon filter, to match the set up I have with my 80mm scope, and the scope is more than happy with 2x Barlow’s magnification power, and it added an extra dimension to my observations.

Using the offered recommendations and options listed to me by the friendly folks at FLO (First Light Optics), I opted for a more affordable 90-degree diagonal. Although I acknowledge that a pricier model might be a step up, when upgrading the eye pieces in the future - the budget-friendly option suited my current needs, and I look forward to potentially upgrading in the future, especially as we’re in that time of year where you’re making Christmas wish lists!

I must commend FLO's customer support, which has been exceptional. They patiently addressed all my queries and played an integral role in helping me decide on my next stargazing gear. Their prompt responses and knowledge solidified my loyalty as a long-term customer. If you have any doubts about FLO, I urge you to put them aside – my experience has been nothing short of fantastic, and receiving my new telescope so quickly was a delightful surprise.

While it's worth noting that there is some chromatic aberration when observing the Moon, the use of a moon filter effectively mitigates this issue, this was something I had come across in the research into this scope, so I wasn’t surprised. Personally, I find the slight chromatic aberration to be a minor drawback when compared to the breath-taking beauty of the lunar landscape that this scope brings. The advantages of the Startravel 102 far outweigh this one small imperfection in my eyes.

In conclusion, my journey into stargazing has been elevated to a new level with the Sky-Watcher Startravel 102 (AZ3) which is exactly what I was looking for. Whilst I’m sure there are probably bigger and better out on the market, to give clearer better images that are “the next step up” from my little 80mm with still the ability to throw it all easily in the back of the car this telescope not only met but exceeded my expectations! It offers an incredible stargazing experience that combines ease of use with remarkable clarity and detail. I look forward to countless more nights of exploring the cosmos with this exceptional telescope, and I can wholeheartedly recommend it to fellow enthusiasts who might be looking for the next step up or have a bit more money in their pocket for a starter scope. Happy stargazing!

I'm really pleased I went with this light OTA and mount set up for my first scope (rather than a big 8 or 10 inch Dobsonian as I also fancied).
It's really easy to move this mount around and you can do a lot of observing from your bedroom window if you're lucky enough to have a good view of the sky from it. What's more, the setup as included means the picture is right way up so you can do some terrestrial observations of your local sheep and birds in your tree which is brilliant.

The mount is a little bit stiff to wrestle around by hand and not easy to finely adjust without using the worm gear controls (which are good to be fair), but it's a fairly simple and cheap mount so probably not fair to expect much better.

Overall, very very pleased!

This is my first scope and I'm very happy with it. The quality of the scope is very good. It's very solid and well finished and feels like a quality product. The optics seem good. There is chromic abberation on very bright objects, but I don't mind and can be reduced by only removing the smaller lens cap. Came with instructions and was fine to setup. The tripod is pretty stable, which I was surprised at. Any shake settles in literally a couple of seconds. I find it very easy to grab and go, just. I'm a beginner, but satisfied with my decision to get this over other scopes in the under £250. Service from FLO was great.

My telescope journey has been a long one. I originally owned an Orion 8” dobsonian and a Skywatcher 150i. Both amazing bits of kit and I loved them. Fate took a twist and I now have to use a wheelchair for the majority of the day making my two scopes pretty obsolete for me.
Fortunately I found the Startravel. It’s absolutely perfect to use with my wheelchair. The tripod allows me to sit wherever I want to reach the eyepiece and the slow motion controls are fantastic, I’ve never used these before and was very impressed. Putting the scope together took about twenty minutes and that’s only because I was taking my time and checking everything five times. Even on these summer nights there’s plenty to see and can’t wait for the cold nights and clear skies.
From the time of order to receiving the telescope was Sunday to Tuesday morning, so brilliant service from First Light, and many thanks.

Received Telescope boxed and packaged well. Instruction Manual, self assembly, good assembly instructions, showing diagrams. Very pleased with the service from First light Optics. Great first telescope and good quality.

Excellent short tube scope at the price! Almost no CA - and photoshop can fix it if it is. Waiting for a clear sky!