Telescope review
An instrument that’s built to last, this spotting scope is ideal for the casual astronomer and serious wildlife watcher
Is the Meade 20-60x80 Wilderness spotting scope right for you?
If you can’t quite commit to a full-blown hobby in astronomy but enjoy watching nature at play, then a spotting scope in the Meade Wilderness range could be the instrument for you. The 20-60x80 is an excellent specimen, featuring rugged, rubber armour to protect the optics from moisture, and it is finished to a high standard. The spotting scope is supplied with a high-quality 20-60x zoom eyepiece, a soft case and camera adapter, but unfortunately it doesn’t come with a tripod – something that this spotting scope requires for stable observations. For this reason we think that the Meade Wilderness is suitable for those interested in casual astronomy and with a medium budget. If your budget is low, then we recommend taking the plunge and buying a telescope that’s much more geared towards observing the night sky and comes equipped with accessories and a tripod. We can certainly recommend any spotting scope tripods from the Meade range, however.
Combined with its waterproof design, which allows nature lovers to watch wildlife in a variety of weather conditions with its added protection, the Meade Wilderness also features a nitrogen fog proofing inside the armour – something that observers of the night sky will appreciate. Astronomers know all too well about the condensation that a change in temperature can bring – from moving an observing instrument from the warm indoors to the much colder outdoors – which ultimately can cause damage to the objective lens’ coating and the optical system in general.
The Meade Wilderness ensures that condensation isn’t a problem, allowing the sky-watcher to enjoy a selection of targets with little fuss. While the Meade Wilderness is coated in a generous amount of protective armour, this doesn’t hinder the exquisite lightness of the instrument that makes it ideal as a ‘grab-and-go’ scope for travel.
Spotting scopes are often overlooked – even for the most basic of astronomical observations – but the Meade Wilderness certainly got our attention since it was particularly useful when it came to observing the Moon, star clusters and the brighter naked-eye planets. The skies of March offered a good selection of targets to test the Wilderness’ mettle. Mars and Saturn in the east got our immediate attention. The spotting scope was easy to use, with no need for a finderscope to guide us to specific targets. Mars was an easy target to locate, a red-orange star that appeared as a salmon-pink disc through the Meade Wilderness. Small views of the Red Planet were achieved through this spotting scope, even using the 20-60x zoom eyepiece. We couldn’t see any detail on Mars’ surface, but the Meade Wilderness did provide clear and crisp views – particularly of Saturn in the constellation of Capricornus. Despite the small views of the gas