Well Alf, I had a 662 for about 18 months and kick myself for selling it. I never realized what a convenience a hi-performance smaller scope was. I bought a PF-80ED after I read Steve Ingram's reivew, and he was right about it's performance...non-pariel. Now the weight of optics usually doesn't make much of a difference to me 'cause I'm pretty good sized and can carry a lot of stuff without much problem. What does make a difference, tho, is the size of the stuff....the Pentax is substantially bigger than the Kowa and won't fit in the hardside case I pack most of my optics in with an eyepiece attached. The Kowa would; with either the 20xWA or the 30x attached, fit nicely and left room for 2 binos, a field guide, small cleaning kit, the other eyepiece and a small portable radio, cell phone, or whatever. The Pentax scope, the 3 monster ep's and one bino is all that fits now. I also had to get a little more substantial tripod, which means more bulk. Now I get great views through the P....but at a cost. The little Kowa 66 was pretty close in terms of resolution and image quality, and I've found that rarely do I need (or can use) the 48x available from the 10.5 XL Pentax. Ingram was right....you really don't gain much by going to the big scopes unless the conditions are such that you can really crank up the magnification or operate in very dim light. And for a scope under 70mm, and especially at the Kowa's price, the 66 is about as good as it gets.....mi dos centavos on that