Kids' telescopes
A real first telescope, or a telescope to build and learn from?
Both are sold for children from about eight. The Bresser is a complete 70/400 refractor on a tripod, packed in a backpack with eyepieces and a finder. The Kosmos is a lens telescope in a metal tube that the child assembles, with one published figure: 30x.
| Compared on | JUNIOR 70/400 (backpack set) | Fernrohr |
|---|---|---|
| Aperture | 70 mm (2.76 in), stated | Not published by the maker. |
| Focal length | 400 mm (15.7 in) · f/5.7 · 20x to 100x, stated | Not published · 30x magnification, stated |
| Finder type | 5x24 finder scope | None mentioned |
| Tripod height | Height-adjustable aluminum tripod · range not published | Not published by the maker. |
| Assembly effort | Not published · instructions included | Experiment kit: the child builds and adjusts the telescope |
| Listed on amazon.com | Yes | Yes |
A tick means one listing published something the other did not, or published a better figure. It does not mean the product is better, and the column is not a score out of anything: a maker who says less loses lines here without losing a comparison. The two verdicts below are where the page is settled.
The telescope. A 70 mm lens, three eyepieces, an erecting lens, a finder, a phone holder and a tripod, all in a backpack. It shows the Moon in detail, Jupiter’s moons and Saturn’s rings. About $179 from a third-party seller on November 7, 2026.
The lesson. A child builds a working refractor and learns how lenses form an image, then uses it on the Moon and on birds by day at 30x. Its Amazon.com listing is in German and gives no aperture. About $44.
The Bresser, at its higher powers. At a fixed 30x with an unpublished aperture, the Kosmos is a Moon-and-landscape instrument.
It is a learning kit. Its value is in building it; as an observing instrument it is limited.
Bresser sells it for children from eight; a first setup with an adult is sensible, then most children manage alone.
70 mm (2.76 in) lens · 400 mm (15.7 in) focal length · 20x to 100x · alt-azimuth tripod · backpack · from age 8
Bresser's JUNIOR 70/400 backpack set: a 70/400 refractor on an azimuthal mount and height-adjustable aluminum tripod, with H20, H12 and H6 eyepieces, a zenith prism, a 1.5x erecting lens, a 5x24 finder and a phone holder.
Best for: A child from about eight who will carry and set up the telescope with little help
≈ $179
30x fixed magnification · metal tube · experiment kit · from age 8
Kosmos's Fernrohr: a 30x lens telescope in a metal tube, sold as a children's experiment kit for the Moon, birds and squirrels, listed on Amazon.com with a German-language description.
Best for: A child who wants something to carry on a walk and look at the Moon with
≈ $44
Any figure written into the body of this page was true on the day it was written. The amount shown next to each instrument is requested from the retailer as the page loads, and it is that amount, not the text, that stands.
