iOptron HAZ31 Alt-Azimuth Strain Wave Mount with Hand Controller — image 1
iOptron

iOptron HAZ31 Alt-Azimuth Strain Wave Mount with Hand Controller

Strain-wave gearing applied to an alt-azimuth mount: 31 lb of capacity from an 8 lb head with no counterweight at all. The most telescope you can put on the least mount, provided you are looking rather than photographing.

83/ 100
Polaris Score
Performance · ease · portability · upgrade path
See the breakdown ↓
GoTo
Yes
Head Weight
3.7 kg
Imaging Payload
7.0 kg
Mount Type
Alt-azimuth strain wave
Payload Capacity
14.1 kg
Tracking
Yes
From$2,299

Lowest in 90 daysLowest ever tracked

Price tracked by PolarisObserved 21 timesTracking since Mar 2026

Where to buy

Verified yesterday · prices tracked daily

01What it's good at

What it's best at — and the trade-offs.

Carries 14.1 kg from a 3.7 kg head with no counterweight, which no conventional design comes close to
Best at
✓Carries 14.1 kg from a 3.7 kg head with no counterweight, which no conventional design comes close to
✓Alt-azimuth operation means no polar alignment, so a large telescope is observing within minutes
✓A dual Vixen and Losmandy saddle accepts heavy tubes without an adapter
✓Harmonic gearing holds position without power, so the telescope does not slump when you switch off
Trade-offs
!No tripod is included, which is a real cost to add.
!Field rotation limits exposures to the tens of seconds regardless of the mount's accuracy, so this is a visual and electronically assisted instrument rather than an imaging one.
!Strain-wave gearing shows more periodic error than a premium equatorial, which matters only if you were going to guide it.
02In plain English

The numbers, in plain English.

14.1kg payload
Payload capacityRemarkable for the weight
14.1 kg (31 lb)
Thirty one pounds from an eight pound head is the strain-wave advantage stated plainly. Harmonic gearing has enormous reduction and holding torque in a small package, which removes both the counterweight and most of the metal a conventional mount needs. A 9.25 inch SCT on this is a genuinely comfortable pairing.
Field rotationRead this first
Inherent, no EQ mode
This is the specification that decides whether you should buy this mount. Tracking in altitude and azimuth means the field slowly rotates, so long exposures smear at the frame edges. Unlike the AZ-GTi there is no equatorial firmware and no wedge option here. Buy it to look at things and to stack short exposures, and buy something else to photograph them.
CounterweightThe daily benefit
None required
Counterweights are half the mass and most of the awkwardness of a large equatorial mount, and balancing them is the ritual people quietly dread. Harmonic gears hold the load without an opposing weight, which means setup is placing the head, placing the telescope and switching on. Over a season this changes how often a heavy telescope actually gets used.
SaddleTakes heavy tubes
Dual Vixen and Losmandy
A saddle that accepts both the narrow Vixen rail and the wide Losmandy plate matters at this payload, because telescopes heavy enough to need 31 lb of capacity usually arrive on the wider plate. Accepting both means no adapter, and no adapter means one fewer joint to flex under a 9 inch tube.
TripodBudget for it
Not included
This is a mount head only, so the price on the page is not the price of a working setup. A head rated to 31 lb deserves legs that will not undo it, which in practice means a substantial tripod or a pier and a meaningful additional spend. Factor it in before comparing this against mounts that arrive complete.
03The Polaris Score

How it scores, and why.

83/100
83/ 100
iOptron HAZ31 Alt-Azimuth Strain Wave Mount with Hand Controller

Outstanding on payload per kilogram and on setup speed, which is what an alt-azimuth GoTo mount is bought for. Performance is scored for visual use; as an imaging platform it is deliberately not rated highly because the geometry rules it out.

Performance
78
Ease of use
90
Portability
92
Upgrade potential
68

Polaris weighs tracking and payload capability, how easy the mount is to live with, how portable it is, and how far it takes you before you outgrow it — not list price or brand.

04Who it's for

An honest fit check.

Visual observers with a large SCT, Maksutov or refractor who want GoTo without…
Buy it if you
✓Visual observers with a large SCT, Maksutov or refractor who want GoTo without counterweights or polar alignment.
✓Outreach and public observing, where setup speed matters more than anything.
✓Anyone who owns a heavy tube and a bad back.
Look elsewhere if you
!Deep-sky photographers.
!Field rotation is inherent to alt-azimuth tracking and this mount does not offer an equatorial mode, so no payload figure changes that.
!Budget buyers, since at this price an equatorial mount would carry more and image as well.
05The numbers

Full specifications.

7 measured and stated values
Mount & drive
Payload Capacity14.1 kg
More
GoToYes
Finds objects from a built-in database and points the mount at them automatically, then tracks.
Head Weight3.7 kg
Imaging Payload7.0 kg
Mount TypeAlt-azimuth strain wave
TrackingYes
A motor turns the mount at the sky’s speed, holding your target still for long exposures. You still aim it yourself.
weight lbs8.2lbs
Editor’s Take

There is a quiet assumption in this hobby that a serious mount is a heavy mount, and that assumption comes from equatorial design rather than from physics. Take away the counterweight and the polar axis and you can hold a 9 inch SCT steady with eight pounds of metal. If you never intend to photograph, that is a remarkable amount of freedom to buy.

— The Skynocular verdict
06Pairings

Pairs well with.

3 scopes we would actually put on this mount

The scopes we’d actually put on this mount — chosen for payload, balance and intended use. Comfortable means room to spare; near the limit still works, with care.

Celestron EdgeHD 925 OTA - 9.25" f/10 HD Aplanatic Optical Tube Assembly - CGE Dovetail
Comfortable
Celestron
Celestron EdgeHD 925 OTA - 9.25" f/10 HD Aplanatic Optical Tube Assembly - CGE Dovetail

A 9.5 kg SCT on an 8 lb head with no counterweight. This is the pairing that explains why an alt-azimuth strain wave mount exists.

Celestron C9.25 Schmidt-Cassegrain OTA
Comfortable
Celestron
Celestron C9.25 Schmidt-Cassegrain OTA

Nine and a half kilograms held comfortably, set up in a minute. Visually superb, and field rotation still rules out long exposures.

Sky-Watcher Skymax 180 mm Maksutov-Cassegrain Telescope OTA
Comfortable
Sky-Watcher
Sky-Watcher Skymax 180 mm Maksutov-Cassegrain Telescope OTA

An 8.5 kg Maksutov is a heavy tube for its aperture, and this carries it without a counterweight in sight.

Harmonic mounts hold value well and this design has no obvious successor. As a visual mount it is likely to outlast several telescopes.