Gear. I like the new Newtonian Dobs with push-to computer locators. You get aperture per dollar like no other scope design can give you. Orion has a 10" version that fits in your car, sets up including 2 star alignment in under 3 minutes in the dark and the cold, hardly ever needs collimation, the finder scope clips on and still doesn't need alignment, and did i mention it's 10"? And it's $700.

How could you possibly want a 76 mm doublet acromat for $1700 that still needs a mount? For $1600, you can get a Vixen 140 mm 4 element neo-acromat. It's cheaper and nearly twice the aperture! And in no case will your mount fit in carry on.

And yet there is a 10" Newtonian dob that does fit in carry on. I'm not sure the Johnsonian is still made, however. And Sky & Tel ran an article about a home made 8" that fits in carry on. These scopes include the mount, in carry on.

But i'm having lots of fun with my laser pointer. Outreach has never been so easy. I know a guy who uses his laser pointer as his finder. He's got it mount on the scope, and just moves the scope until the pointer is where the object is on the chart. I just got my scope mount and haven't had a chance to try it out.