3. M002CS Complete Mount System - Stainless steel tripod

This tripod has a strong solid feel with weight enough to support and stabilize your OTA safely and securely. Made of heavy gauged stainless steel yet light enough at 20 lbs to set up by yourself. It's their newest model. I attached my 130 mm telescope the close to the maximum size and weight(approx 20 lbs) for this tripod to a 13" D-rail sold separately. The mount included is of wonderful craftmanship of strong machine work of excellent quality steel fabrication,smooth operation with oversized knobs of quality steel using large ball bearings for smooth operation to point your scope accurately. There's no cheesy construction here whatsoever. This is what you'd expect. Made to last.

Received the M002CS Complete Mount System with Stainless steel tripod in perfect shape. Received the mount about a week after I ordered it, fast service. The mount is rock steady and very smooth. I mounted my 4.53-inch 18-pound triplet refractor on the mount to test the M002CS. I was very impressed with how steady the M002CS carries my 18-pound refractor, and the movement was very steady and smooth in both axes. This mount will be a pleasure to use. I also mounted my 6-inch 16-pound reflector on the M002CS. Again, the mount was rock steady with very smooth movement in both axes. I cannot find anything negative about the M002CS Complete Mount System with Stainless steel tripod. I would recommend the M002CS to anyone looking for a high-quality alt-azimuth steady mount. 5 stars all the way.

This is a great grab and go setup that is rock solid. Visual observing is so smooth with this mount and the tripod works very well.

I was looking for a AZ Mount system for my newly acquired C8 Edge SCT and ordered this upon the countless great reviews found online. The Mount, extension tube and tripod fit seamlessly together and scream quality! My C8 has a 2” diagonal with 21oz eyepiece and the Mount holds firm yet is easy to slew around tracking/locating objects. If I tap scope image settles in <1second. I had a previous Vixen 2 with Manfrotto tripod and that setup was barely acceptable for the C8 with no wind. In summary buy the best for your sub 20# setup as you will end up being frustrated with most other options available currently.

This is holding my first refractor, a Televue Pronto. Sure the mount is overkill for that tiny scope but I was looking for the best, smoothest combination out there and Stellarvue delivered! The movement glides so easily and the build quality is over the top good. Made in the USA, made to last. Phenomenal

Super smooth movement. Lightweight. I bought this to travel. I can carryon the mount and scope but the legs are too big. I’m not complaining.The tripod is heavy duty. Might be too big for a checked bag even.

I expected something well made, but this is better. A joy to use, handles my 20lb mak newt easily. Tension screws are perfect for the right movement. Well packaged. Thank!

I'm very happy with the mount as it is solid, well built, and moves with ease. The tension knobs work well at adjusting the amount of friction to your liking. I can say that the entire setup with the tripod holds my 10 lb F7 102mm with ease and there is almost no vibration if bumped. If there is one thing I think could be better, it would be a better eyepiece tray and support slightly lower to allow for bigger 2" eyepieces. Stellarvue support(live chat) was top notch too.

Ken: I am sorry the Denali Tripod required washers! This should not have gotten through our QC without being able to tighten. I think I know what happened (we had some bolts that were 1/4" too long) but not testing it after assembly is not up to our standards. So I apologize for this and I will make sure to review this with assembly staff. The other comment regarding the tray is interesting. I come from a biased perspective since I use 2" eyepieces so I can see it would not work as well for you. I prefer eyepieces anchored through holes as wooden trays with the small side walls will stop eyepieces from rolling off but when bumped everything hits the ground. So you have me thinking of making a triangular tray with the short side walls as an option. Thanks for your comments and again, I apologize for the hassle with the legs. That should not have happened. Vic Maris President Stellarvue Inc. This is my third or fourth SV "box-style" alt/az mount. I had an original M3 as well as the successor M1 mount (the box shaped one, not the V model). I ordered the M2 and metal tripod combination but found that, while functional, the metal tripod wasn't nearly as nice as the M2 mount head. It just felt cheap compared to the US-made Stellarvue M2. I exchanged the metal tripod for a wooden Denali. The Denali is a much nicer tripod and very solid. I did have to buy extra washers because the leg-top bolts would bottom out before the legs were actually tight against the hub - which made the tripod unusable. Moreover, the spreader/tray is slow to deploy because it requires kneeling under the tripod to align and screw-in the three connecting knobs . Once it's set-up, though, it's great. I don't use the tripod tray as a tray, though. It has no edges and half the holes are drilled for 2" eyepieces, which I don't own. Several items have fallen off the edge or through the holes. For my TV-85 and TV-76 or Pronto, however, I find a Manfrotto 475 tripod to be the best solution for the M2 - compact, steady, fast & well finished. The M2 mount is superb. Smooth, steady, versatile. It easily handles my (heavy duty vintage Stellarvue) 4" f/8 SV-102t triplet refractor. It's quick to adjust and rebalance. The dual-size saddle gets in the way of the focuser on smaller refractors (like an SV70) but this mount was really meant for bigger OTAs and the flexibility is nice. The M2 mount provides a wonderful smooth & steady experience. The handle is a nice accessory but can interfere with pointing to zenith or the OTA's focuser, depending on tripod and OTA. It can be flipped to angle up or down, though. I did eventually buy the Nexus DSC, mounting shelf and encoder kit from Australia. It's a really nice system but does replace some of the solid metal panels of the M2 with plastic panels. Overall, the M2 is a 5 star piece of gear. I'd rate the tripods as 3 or 4 stars. Both tripod options work but neither are quite up to the same level as the M2 mount itself.