Home > Consumer Reviews > Celestron Hard Case for Nexstar 5 Telescope

I had formed a good impression of Celestron based on my experience with the Nexstar5, so I was quite disappointed with the price:quality ratio of this accessory. What you get for the money is a fairly inexpensive plastic case (production cost to Celestron, probably <$10) and several sheets of pre-scored, low-density foam. The idea is you are supposed to "pluck" out pieces of the foam until you've got a cavity that fits the very irregular profile of the scope. I guess that's the idea - there are no instructions in the box as to how to achieve the fit. And after over an hour of very careful plucking, I ended up with a very unsatisfactory result. In order to fit the scope and foam in the box, you have to thin down the foam margins to the point that they fall apart (remember, they are pre-scored right to the edges). The margins are also thin enough so that I doubt they would provide much shock protection. Finally, the multiple floppy sheets have no way to hang together when the scope isn't in the box. Overall, it's a very poor product for the price, and very surprising, as it would have been very cheap for Celestron to supply a pair of pre-formed foam inserts.