I have been using this mount for just over a year now, permanently set up in my observatory, and have mixed feelings about it.

Anyone used to using Skywatcher's other EQ mounts will right at home with the CQ350 as, for the most part, it operates in just the same way. The main differences are the polar alignment controls, which are vastly superior to other SW mounts, and the clutches for RA and Dec, which have a two part locking procedure and works much more reliably than the slipping clutches on an EQ6.

The mount head is only a little bit heavier than that of an EQ6 but has a substantially greater load carrying capacity. It will carry a 20Kg scope and accessories with ease and is rock solid with such a load. The tripod, however, is substantially larger and heavier than the EQ6 ones.

Tracking and autoguiding performance is very good but here some issues creep in. On the mount that I have there is quite a large amount of backlash in both RA and Dec in spite of having sprung loaded worm assemblies. This doesn't affect tracking and guiding but does affect GoTo accuracy, and after a meridian flip the errors are so great that I virtually have to realign the mount. Also, starting from park, the first GoTo is usually about 5 degrees off. On all of these counts my EQ6 AZ is far superior.

The next issues are more to do with this being a centre balanced mount rather than deficiencies in the mount itself. In this design the scope tube sits lower down, rather than being opposite the Dec shaft. Thus the risk of tube hitting tripod legs is far greater than with a conventional GEM. I have never had so many tube/leg crashes ever. Newtonians are not too bad, but an SCT with a long imaging train hanging off the back is a real challenge, and a 6" F/8 refractor is a total no go. I have partially resolved this by constructing raising blocks to offset the scope tube 150mm further out from the mounting plate, which somewhat defeats the point of having a centre balanced mount in the first place !

Next issue is that the mount will only track about 5 degrees past the meridian before it hits the hard stops, and when it does you get no warning, just a horrible clicking noise as the worms lift off the worm wheels under spring pressure and mount alignment is lost. This, in combination with the problems mentioned above, makes imaging near the meridian (when targets are at their highest point in the sky) a very frustrating task at best, and impossible at worst.

So, would I buy this mount again ? The real question is, would I buy a centre balanced mount again, and the answer is a very emphatic no.

Now if Skywatcher were to make and EQ7 .....

The pulley belt was broken after a year of purchase. I'm so unhappy with the overseas delivery, so I can't send it and get it repaired even if the warranty period is 2 years I have to buy a belt separately and repair it myself

The moment I unscrewed the screw to disassemble, the volt crosshead was crushed. poor Perhaps because of that, the guide popped up noticeably periodically during the 1 year

Had the Cq350 a few weeks but needed to raise the pillar and the weather has been awful. Anyway, this is a beefy mount but manageable I would imagine if you were setting up each night/day. Mine is observatory mounted so no problem. This is used for solar observations and imaging. The dec hub works well powering my focuser's and zwo cameras. I have double mounted lunt HA, DS and bresser Cak. I'll add the triple scope in the spring. This mount is spot on even unguided for several minutes. This is long enough for solar as I don't need to guide. It's responsive in both dec and ra and from what I can tell, no backlash. I would even dare to say it's slightly better than my Eq8 R Pro that I use for night time in my other observatory. Highly recommend this mount and of course FLO.

The mount is excellent, guiding is great for the most part around 0.6-0.8rms though it’s been as low as 0.2-0.4. Amazing service from First Light Optics. They are the benchmark to what all online retailers should be. You can buy with confidence. I had considered returning this mount because it’s a monster but I stuck with it.