Review on Experience The Stars With The Orion StarBlast II 4.5 EQ Reflector Telescope Kit by Kevin Silver

Some 25 years ago, when I was growing up, I’d be glad to have this telescope. Times change though :). I used to equatorial mounts, so I picked it over tabletop version. But after several uses the mount and telescope itself became a limiting factor for me. Mount is too flimsy and inaccurate. Tripod and counterweight make it not very portable. Focuser on the telescope is wobbly. Viewfinder is somewhat OK. Included eyepieces are good for this scope. Barlow is useless, since it pushes beyond abilities of this scope. Surprisingly, I liked the book. It’s must have for beginners. Very easy to use, and covers manageable sky objects. In the end, I decided to return this scope. For kids and beginners I’d recommend it’s tabletop version for portability and ease of use or go with 6” or bigger dobsonian for better performance. If money an issue, look for used scopes on Facebook Marketplace. Personally I went with the new 10” SkyWatcher folding dobsonian. The difference is mind-blowing.