ToupTek T-Forty Carbon Fibre Tripod

The T-Forty is a carbon fibre tripod for harmonic drive mounts and small equatorial mounts. It weighs 1.89 kg (2.38 kg with its accessories), carries 50 kg and folds to 515 mm, so it fits in a suitcase for trips to dark sites.

The legs are 39 mm, 12-layer carbon fibre tubes with 1.2 mm walls, on a machined aluminium frame. A triangular centre brace stiffens the legs and stops them folding by accident, and a stone bag under the legs adds weight on windy nights. Stainless steel spikes grip grass, soil and gravel.

Mount fitting

The quick-release plate has three M6 holes and a 3/8″ centre thread, and the centre bolt takes either a 3/8″ or an M6 fixing. ToupTek list these mounts as fitting:

• Three M6 screws: ZWO AM3, AM5, AM5N and AM7; Sky-Watcher Wave 100i and 150i; WarpAstron WD-17, WD-20 and WD-20P; Proxisky Ragdoll and UMI ranges; ClearSky ST-14, ST-17 and ST-20; MLAstro SAL-33.
• 3/8″ centre bolt: as above, plus iOptron HAE16, HAE18, HEM15, HAZ31, HAZ46 and HAZ71, Sky-Watcher AZ-GTi and SA-GTi, RainbowAstro RST-135, RST-135E and RST-150, and AstroFrog FG-17 and FT-17.
• Direct to the frame: iOptron HAE43, CEM40 and GEM45.

Check the screw depth your mount allows: Proxisky mounts need M6 screws to go in less than 8 mm.

ToupTek also sells the T-Forty as a package with its own ATLAS SH20 strain wave mount.