Yep. As long as there's a wall or railing or whatever you can get away without a tripod or monopod, at least for a quick look. What I don't like is the Swarovski marketing that seems to imply you can use the ATC without
any support. That's plain nonsense. The Gitzo GT1545 is IMO the best lightweight tripod on the market, and an excellent match for the ATC (or most scopes up to ~1,5 kg).
Agreed on the Kowa. I still stick to the Nikon ED50 at present, but I don't use it with the zoom eyepieces (too narrow for general use, not really suitable if you use glasses). I use the WA or DS eyepieces. Less convenient than a zoom, sure. But very, very comfortable for long scans.
And I think you're right - the ATC isn't designed as scope for travelling or long hikes, it's designed for everyday use. That is a very astute observation. Thank you.
And if you really
need more than 40x, you can easily use a Zeiss 3x12 as a booster for a quick ID.
Once again interesting observations. Maybe I'll have to rethink my scope line-up after all those years. At present I use an EDIIIA (over 20 years old) most of the time, an ED82 at estuaries and gull roosts (I still do gull roosts ...
) and an ED50 for hiking in the mountains and so on.
Thanks again for your helpful post.
Hermann