Skywatcher AZ4 alt-az mount

Hi

Just received my new AZ4 alt-az mount that I bought from Wide-screen in London (£139). I needed a portable mount that would fit into my luggage for travelling on an airplane-long haul.

www.widescreen-centre.co.uk/Products/AZ4...imuth_Mount_on_.html

I have yet to assemble the mount but my first impression is that it is pretty solid (especially the head). I'll post a review once I have had a chance to use it a bit.
I tried to get a Vixen portamount or AT Voyager but could not find one anywhere. They are also outrageously priced for what they are (£249).

The mount assembles in seconds without any tools.The head is attached by a single knob on the base of the tripod. The friction is controlled by two plastic knobs both in altitude and azimuth. There are teflon bearings on the altitude and teflon / ebony star on the azimuth bearings. The total weight is about 5Kg and can be carried out with scope attached comfortably in one hand. A vixen style dovetail adapter clamps the scope to the mount. There is also an L-bracket included, useful for mounting a camera or in this case a pair of 15x70 binos. The binos are perfectly balanced in this arrangement with hardly any tension on the knobs required.
I mounted my Megrez 72 onto the mount. With a heavy 27mm panoptic it is hopelessly unbalanced on the scopes L-dovetail but by increasing the tension I can get it to stay where it is- even near the zenith-but it is getting close to the maximum tension setting on the altitude knob.
With the tripod legs removed from the head (tools supplied in the package), the mount should fit comfortably in a standard airline bag (5Kg)

With the scope

binos