Best Portable Telescope Reviews 2023 – Reviews & Buyer’s Guide
It is commonly said of cameras, “The greatest one is the one you have with you.” For a telescope, that means wherever you’re the one that is little enough to keep with you.
Whether you are on a safari in the outback or camped out in a studio apartment in the city, little is beautiful so long as your view through the eyepiece is exciting.
You stand an increased possibility of seeing the deep sights of the universe by choosing a tiny telescope to a very dark-sky location than by keeping a not-really-portable scope that is bigger at home under light-polluted skies.
Whether you travel or are just storage space-challenged or both, our editors have chosen the best portable telescopes for you. Let’s see what they are-
Comparison Chart
| Product name | Short description |
| Celestron 21035 70mm Travel Scope | It is one of the exclusive refractor scopes that comes with 70 mm focal length, 20mm and 10mm two eyepieces. It also has day-to-night erect image optics for viewing land-based targeted objects. |
| Celestron 21038 50mm Travel Scope | Its 50mm Altazimuth mount is easy to rotate and pinpoint the desired object for a clyster clear view. The 1.25″ two eyepieces and the 3x Barlow lens are excellent for exploring wildlife. |
| Orion 09007 SpaceProbe 130ST | The Orion telescope comes with a 24 inches optical tube, Plossl eyepiece Lens, and 130mm objective lens. And the manual focus is great to aim your preferred objects. |
| MaxUSee Travel Telescope | It is a 70 mm Refractor Telescope with 10X50 HD Binoculars for a wide viewing field. And its 20X to 132X magnifications are very powerful for brighter images. |
| Celestron NexStar 6SE Portable Telescope | The Celestron computerized gadget is easy to use and quickly locates all existing celestial objects. It is a good fit for advanced users. |
| Gskyer 70mm Astronomical Telescope | The 3x Barlow and two eyepieces are great to offer you a nice view of the wildlife. It is a combination of high-quality telescopes at a reasonable price. |
| OYS Beginner Telescopes | The bigger aperture of this telescope ensures a brighter, wider sightline and clear image. It is great to choose for viewing the moon, birds, animals, scenery, and outdoors. |
| Orion 10034 GoScope Travel Telescope | The first attraction of this tool is it’s incredibly lightweight. It is only 3.5 pounds with a 400 mm focal length, and the moon map is available as your milky way guide. |
| Meade Instruments Refracting Telescope | Its two-sided mount thumbscrews make it more portable than any other telescope. And the yoke-style mount is excellent for slow motion control. |
| Sky-Watcher EvoStar 100 Telescope | The optical tube of this Telescope is compact, portable, and flexible to use for visual astronomy and astrophotography. |
Top 10 Best Portable Telescope Reviews
Here are the top 10 most excellent portable telescopes for the cash. These catch-and-go scopes are perfect for city dwellers and travelers.
1. Editor’s Choice: Celestron 21035 70mm Travel Scope
It is just 3 lbs. and comes with a stylish backpack. You can actually catch it and run to the closest observation point. You can take your range with this telescope on your excursions beside you or during your vacation.
It is an excellent tool when you’re on the run. It is a 70mm refractor telescope with a 2.76-inch aperture. The pack contains two eyepieces of 10mm and 20mm, giving a magnification of 40x and 20x.
As a plus, this scope includes full-color, comprehensive directions, and heavens X applications which allows you to find out more about stars and planets. The aluminum tripod and a cushioned backpack case make it possible to keep everything. What an easy and pleasant method to begin your astronomer profession, with this mobile yet fairly technical scope.
This telescope version makes an excellent present for grownups and kids, as it can certainly be taken through the learning period and even after.
What Do We Like About It?
You don’t need to fly to the Moon when you have this Celestron Travel telescope. Its backpack is excellent to take it everywhere with you. Plus, the tripod helps you stand it anywhere, and it’s a 70mm aperture to focus on the beauty of the planet. So you can undoubtedly choose this best portable telescope for beginners within your limited budget.
What Don’t We Like?
The tripod is not durable, so it sometimes won’t stand on uneven surfaces. But, when comparing its quality with price, you’ll be the winner.
2. Best For Beginners: Meade Instruments Refracting Telescope
Are you looking for premium quality and small sized refracting telescopes within your budget? Then Meade Instruments S102mm brings a Beginner-friendly Refracting Telescope only for you. It is consciously designed for you who loves to go on astronomy. It can be an excellent choice to enjoy the astronomical view and capture the images of the planet.
The larger aperture of this device ensures sharper and brighter images. It has a red dot finder by which you can easily navigate the sky and stars. However, the yoke-style and Altazimuth mount help you control it in slow motion. It is also easy to assemble, that’s you can easily use it though you don’t have prior experience using a telescope.
The 1.25″ high and low eyepieces, 2x power Barlow, and the universal smartphone adapter make it a combo package for a travel telescope. The sturdy and decent tripod is collapsible and lightweight, so you can pack the Telescope with no effort to transport it.
What Do We Like About It?
Once you use this high-quality and efficient Telescope, you will be impressed with its excellent performance. Fast shipping and friendly customer service will also surprise you.
What Don’t We Like?
The mount will move quickly, so you have to be careful to fix it in a place to aim the object.
3. Best For Versatility: Orion 09007 SpaceProbe 130ST
We choose the Orion 09007 SpaceProbe 130ST telescope as a versatile tool to view the night sky and wildlife. It comes with a fast and portable f/5 focal length to enjoy your every tour. Moreover, its 5.1″ aperture reflector can gather brighter light to easily view Jupiter, nebulas, Moon, and star clusters.
You can consider this telescope as a bundle of enjoyment, as this package includes every single thing that you need to innovate the sky stars. For example, 25mm and 10mm and 1.25″ Sirius Plossl eyepieces, collimation cap, tripod accessory tray, 1.25inch rack, pinion focuser, Starry Night astronomy software, and so many things. So, if you are a beginner telescope user, you will not face any challenges in using it to view the planet.
You can adjust the telescoping height according to your requirements as it brings an adjustable tripod. However, the 6×30 finder helps you aim the object ideally that you want to see. So no matter if you want to use it for your children, your other family members, or yourself. Everybody can use it with full satisfaction.
What Do We Like About It?
First, we love the 78% positive reviews with the recommendation of this telescope. Every user said it helps them experience the best sky time during their tour. It is also highly durable, solid, and more than their expectations.
What Don’t We Like?
The frame construction mechanism is not satisfactory, and if you don’t use a telescope earlier, you have to watch YouTube videos to learn its using tactics.
4. Best For Budget: MaxUSee Travel Telescope
Our next choice is MaxUSee Travel Telescope to explore the world and galaxy. It is one of the best portable telescopes for stargazing and viewing nature and land. To observe the objects, you can adjust the K20mm and K9mm eyepieces with a 45-degree diagonal prism.
If the sky is cloudy, you can use the 70mm large-aperture lens to make the images clearer and brighter. It also comes with a 3X Barlow lens to enjoy 20X to 132X magnifications. There is also a smartphone adapter to use your smartphone to capture images or record videos of the planet. And the 10X50 Full-size HD Binocular is excellent for viewing the vast field.
In addition, the Bak4 Prism is fully coated and ideal for watching birds, sightseeing, and hunting. Its aluminum tripod is sturdy to use, and all other accessories make the telescope an ideal choice to be a part of your family tour.
What Do We Like About It?
The backpack is well designed and dedicated to carrying the telescope and all accessories. It’s also easy to install and needs a few minutes to prepare for planet observation. We can say the quality of this scope is worth your investment.
What Don’t We Like?
To be honest, we won’t recommend it if you want the perfect and more accurate images. But for kids (Here you can make an internal link on the best telescope for kids) learning purpose or world exploration, it will be a great choice.
5. Best For Computerized: Celestron NexStar 6SE Portable Telescope
Celestron brings different telescope models to the market by considering the users’ requirements. This time we pick the Celestron NexStar 6SE Portable Telescope, which is designed for computerized technology. That means it is one of the most updated versions of astronomy telescopes.
Its 6″ aperture is excellent to focus the same solar system objects to enjoy the night sky intrigue and beauty. It is computerized and comes with a 40000 celestial objects database for the full automated go-to mount. On top-notch, you can control your telescope remotely through your PC. So, you can automatically track the galaxies, nebulae, stars, and star clusters.
However, it is fast and easy to assemble. Not only that, its sturdy tripod and single fork arm design are worth it as the best traveling telescope. It also offers free downloadable starry night software for the interactive sky simulation.
Though it is a little bit pricey, you’ll get your every buck with its outstanding performance. It also comes with a 2 years warranty that secures your investment and unlimited US expert technical customer support for your convenience.
What Do We Like About It?
This telescope offers advanced features to smart astronomy, and it is an intelligent choice for those who love to personalize sky tours. The 150mm objective lens diameter is great to closely view the galaxy.
What Don’t We Like?
It requires too many resets, and no easy manual aim and look features are available. Even some users find it complicated to use.
6. Best for Astrophotography: Gskyer 70mm Astronomical Telescope
Gskyer 70mm Astronomical Telescope is one of the best tools to offer you high-quality images to showcase your stargazing arts. Its optical capabilities and visual resolutions are excellent for viewing the nighttime sky.
It brings a 400mm focal length with an f/5.7 ratio 70 mm aperture, and its glass lens is fully coated. It also comes with 25mm and 10 mm eyepieces with 16X and 40X magnifications. The 3x Barlow lens is outstanding to clearly view the sky and galaxy. The 5×24 finderscope will help you target the objects that you want to see.
The adjustable tripod is made with aluminum alloy steel so that it is durable and decent to use. However, you don’t have to think about its carrying bag, as it has a travel bag to store the telescope and carry it with you. The smartphone adapter is convenient to take all the fantastic images of the planet.
What Do We Like About It?
It is inexpensive, lightweight needs only 15-30 minutes to set up, and is easy to use. This compact telescope offers you 2 years warranty and 24-hour technical support.
What Don’t We Like?
The phone holder is a little bit small for the iPhone, so you may have to face trouble taking a shot with it. And the zoom lens is not better.
7. Best For GoTo: Orion 10034 GoScope Travel Telescope
You can utilize it for various functions because of its 40mm focal length. You can also use it for seeing the Moon, bright planets, globular star clusters, and yet the Andromeda Galaxy. Not only that, you can use the telescope for bird watching, for seeing wildlife during the daytime. The pictures are also decently bright; you have to thank the 70mm aperture that is nicely sized.
The Orion 10034 measures 20 x 11 x 14.5 inches, and only 6.45 lbs. It’s pretty simple to manage and travel from one place to another. That makes it perfect for beginners and children.
You get a scope that functions as a perfect introduction to astronomy, is immensely mobile, and includes a few decent eyepieces being simple to use.
The overall consensus of this GoScope 70mm can be an excellent starting point for astronomy. It might not be the most feature-packed or the most effective scope, but it supplies everything to someone new to this stargazing hobby.
What Do We Like About It?
The best part of this telescope is watching the Moon closely though the sky is cloudy. It is well made, colorful, beginner-friendly, easy to assemble and use, and lightweight to carry. So what more do you want from your little sky gazer tool.
What Don’t We Like?
The tripod is slightly flimsy, and it doesn’t bring any eyepieces. But, if you carefully set up the tripod, you will find the tripod stable to view the galaxy.
8. Best For Double Reflector: Sky-Watcher EvoStar 100
Our final choice is the Sky-Watcher EvoStar 100 Telescope for those who want to level up their night astronomy skills. It comes with a double reflector to ensure excellent color correction and minimal aberrations of your images. That’s why you can capture crisp and precise images with this Telescope.
It came with foam-lined cast aluminum mounting rings and an anodized matched V-Style dovetail plate. There are two eyepieces, which are 5 mm and 25 mm, and both of them are beneficial for wide viewing. However, its 10:1 dual-speed Crayford-style focuser helps you find the focus without any advanced phone or camera.
It is only 8.4 pounds with 41″ height, 12″ width, and 15″ length. So that you can carry it with you to your destination. Besides all those superb features, it will reach your door within a reasonable time. That means you don’t need to wait for so many days after ordering it. And lastly, friendly customer care is appreciated for sales after service.
What Do We Like About It?
To maintain a quick view and quality image, you can quickly push its magnification up to 50-60% higher than its stated limits. So after using it, you must like its overall performance and simple design. We can say for this telescope satisfaction is guaranteed.
What Don’t We Like?
Some people found it overpriced. But when you don’t compromise with one product’s quality, you have to pay a high amount to own that.
9. Best For Adults: OYS Beginner Telescopes
You can also start your astronomy journey with this OYS Beginner Telescope. It is designed to be compact and ready to pack up and carry everywhere with its travel bag. For versatile needs, you can use it for everything including nighttime stargazing, daytime terrestrial viewing, and planet observation.
It comes with every stargazing accessory to achieve your aim with its fabulous performance. The K10mm and K25mm eyepieces with 16X to 120X powerful magnification will enhance the ranges of your viewing objects. The Altazimuth mount makes it easy to rotate to aim the targeted objects.
Its optical glass lens is fully coated. That’s why it can protect your eyes 99% from light transmission. The smartphone adapter of this telescope is excellent to boost up your smartphone photography skills. The aluminum tripod is adjustable, and you can adjust its height from 21.6 to 48 inches. However, the telescope and the tripod will fit inside the bag for smooth storage and travel. The lightweight design makes it ideal for a travel telescope or as a birthday gift.
What Do We Like About It?
It is the right choice for a quick view of the sky, wildlife, nature, milky way, and many things. Its lightweight, portable design, and reasonable price are the reasons to take it as your travel partner.
What Don’t We Like?
The materials which are used to make this telescope are not too durable. It is also not suitable for a professional stargazer.
10. Best For Value: Celestron 21038 50mm Travel Scope
The Celestron 21038 50 Portable Telescope was intended for traveling, which is also appropriate for celestial and terrestrial observation. It brings more enjoyment when set out on a journey.
The mobile layout and the high-quality optical make it ideal for the perfect observation. The scope has a black color finish, and its size streamlined.
Celestron 50mm Altazimuth Telescope has been designed with the refractor kind of engineering, which uses a lens for magnification. It is only 1 kg, so you don’t feel any shoulder pain when carrying it with its backpack.
It has two 1.25″ eyepieces and a 3x Barlow lens to adapt to various seeing scenarios. An erect-picture 45deg diagonal supplies angled seeing, and it also corrects the picture laterally for ordinary terrestrial screening. The compact and mobile form factor of the Travel Scope 50 permits it to be kept and transported easily in its custom-appropriate backpack case.
It signifies an efficient foray into the world of telescopes, traveling in mind. In addition, it is a 2-year guarantee for this particular product which brings more happiness to the consumers.
What Do We Like About It?
You will love this 50 mm Celestron telescope because of its budget-friendly price and clyster clear view. However, its lightweight design, backpack, and flexible tripod make it the best portable telescope for camping. So we must recommend it for watching the Moon, and observing the sky or land
What Don’t We Like?
The users’ manual instructions are not well described. That’s why some users found it confusing to follow. Otherwise, it is a great telescope
What To Look For Choosing The Best Portable Telescopes – Buying Guide
By birth, humans love to know the unknown and see the unseen. Now, science and technology bring the compact and advanced telescope that you can take with you when traveling to quench your stargazing thirst. But, you have to consider some crucial factors to choose the right telescope as your traveling partner.
In this part of our discussion, we’ll discuss some features that you must have in your telescope. Let’s see what they are-
1. Essential Accessories
A telescope is not just a tool; basically, it is a package of accessories. There are lots of things in this package, including focal length, aperture, extra eyepieces, mount, finder scope, Barlow lens, tripod, etc.
Having all those accessories is not enough. There are also so many sizes and ratios of them. For example
Focal length
The focal length ratio from f/3 to f/5 is fast and less powerful but suitable for profound space photography and full-field observation.
On the other hand, The focal length ratio from f/6 to f/10 is slow and powerful. This ratio is suitable for narrow field view, Moon, binary stars, and planets photography.
Aperture
You will need a wider aperture for a less focal ratio, and it can offer you more transparent and brighter images. We’ll suggest you choose a 6-inch (150 mm) aperture for the refractor telescope.
Eyepieces
After considering focal length and aperture, it’s time to talk about eyepieces. The eyepieces from 5 mm to 35 mm ranges are suitable for portable telescopes. Keep in mind that the larger the eyepiece size will be, the lower the magnification and vice versa.
Mounts
You can track your desired object with the mount. There are two types of mount: one is the Equatorial mount which can rotate from one axis to follow the object for tracking. If you love astrophotography, you should select a telescope with an equatorial mount.
Another mount is altazimuth, and it is used for following the object from two axes. It can move vertically and horizontally.
When you compare both of the mounts, you’ll find the altazimuth easy to use, more flexible, portable, and cheaper than the Equatorial mount.
2. Assembly
Easy assembly is vital for all telescopes—no matter who uses the telescope, kids or adults. But, when you are willing to take it as your travel partner, you have to focus on it more because easy installation and putting together is essential for a travel telescope. It dramatically improves your telescope using experience.
However, you must check the assembly procedure of the gadget. You should choose the telescope which takes less time to assemble and doesn’t require any tool for assembly.
3. Travel Bag
A travel bag is another important factor while choosing a portable telescope. Because the telescope itself and all the accessories are the most sensitive gadgets, they need more care when transportation.
You may purchase a travel bag from the market to carry your telescope, but that will not be dedicated to carrying the scope. So, there is a high chance of damaging any accessories.
But, if the telescope package brings the travel bag, that will be made from durable materials and has separate pockets and compartments by considering the telescope accessories size and shape. As a result, you can easily keep the entire telescope in the bag and carry it to your desired destination.
4. Easy To Use
If you don’t have prior knowledge and experience in handling telescopes, you must need a gadget that is easy to use and control.
Moreover, which telescope comes with easy to understand user manual and digital star maps that are great to choose. However, you can also choose a computerized telescope to control it remotely.
5. Lightweight
You have to carry the Telescope with you while you travel around the world. It will be tough to carry a bulky gadget. That’s why you should choose a scope whose weight ranges between 3-7 pounds. The lighter the weight, the easier it is to transport.
6. Warranty And Technical Support
Who doesn’t love to get a high-quality device with a worthy warranty? Everybody wants it. No matter how expensive or cheap your product is, the warranty ensures its durability and performance. So you can consider a telescope that comes with at least one year to a two-year warranty.
As a beginner Telescope user, you may need technical support from experts. So it will be better to get instant support from the company experts in case any problem arises.
7. Cost
In the market, you’ll find different telescope ranges below $100 to $2000. But as a beginner, it won’t be wise to invest a vast amount for a telescope. But that doesn’t mean you can get a better quality telescope at lower prices. You have to keep at least 200 (here you can make an internal link on the best telescope under 200) to 500 bucks to get a high-quality device. And the more accessories, the higher the price will be.
FAQs
What can you see with a portable telescope?
You can see the Moon, Jupiter, Saturn, the star clusters, and the wildlife with a portable telescope. Even all the telescopes are designed to use both at nighttime and daytime.
What magnification telescope do I need to see planets?
You will need 20x to 30x inches aperture to see planets in detail. If you like double star observing, you can go with a higher aperture up to 50x per inch. To get a great view, you have to balance the focal length ratio with the aperture.
Are portable telescopes powerful enough to view the rings of Saturn?
Absolutely yes. Which telescope comes with 25x or more magnification power can offer you a perfect view of Saturn rings. The more magnification power means, the more accurate image it can produce. So if you choose a portable telescope with 25X+ magnification power, you can easily view the Saturn rings.
Conclusion
The best portable telescope is worth buying to enjoy your every adventure tour and hold the experience as a memory. And as it needs a sufficient investment, you have to carefully choose a telescope that can meet your expectations.
However, are you in a dilemma about what to choose? In that case, our experts can help you.
If you have a tight budget but want a heavy-duty telescope, the MaxUSee Travel Telescope will be the best match for you. But the Celestron NexStar 6SE Portable Telescope is the right option for you if you want a computerized and dedicated 2 years warranty telescope.
Hi, Daniel Here! When I’m not busy working at my own startup, you may find me roaming around the Univers and whats beyond our sky, telescope is a must.
