Explore Scientific 115 mm f/5.5 FPL-53 ED APO Refractor - 3" HEX Focuser - FPL53-115CF-01

Name: Explore Scientific 115 mm f/5.5 FPL-53 ED APO Refractor - 3" HEX Focuser - FPL53-115CF-01
Brand: Explore Scientific
SKU: EXPL-FPL53-115CF-01
Price: 2274.99 USD
Availability: InStock
Rating: 4.6 (5 reviews)

$Explore Scientific 115 mm f/5.5 FPL-53 ED APO Refractor - 3" HEX Focuser - - Main image$

$Explore Scientific 115 mm f/5.5 FPL-53 ED APO Refractor - 3" HEX Focuser - - View 2$ $Explore Scientific 115 mm f/5.5 FPL-53 ED APO Refractor - 3" HEX Focuser - - View 3$ $Explore Scientific 115 mm f/5.5 FPL-53 ED APO Refractor - 3" HEX Focuser - - View 4$ $Explore Scientific 115 mm f/5.5 FPL-53 ED APO Refractor - 3" HEX Focuser - - View 5$

$2274.99 ~~$3499.99~~ In stock

Category: Telescopes

Explore Scientific 115 mm FPL-53 ED APO Triplet Refractor

The Explore Scientific 165 mm FPL-53 Apochromatic Triplet Refractor will reveal the night sky in stunning new ways. Also included is a 3" Hexagonal focuser that supports a gear load of up to 10 lbs.

Explore Scientific has modernized this refractor with high-quality Ohara optics. Using Ohara FPL-53 glass, the refractor gains similar characteristics to the Hoya FCD-100. High refractive index glass, along with the aforementioned optical quality, give Explore Scientific the ability to attain extraordinary advanced chromatic aberration correction. FPL-53 glass is thought to be the best glass ever produced by Ohara. This is a true diffraction-limited APO refractor that is also compact enough to be an ideal grab-and-go viewing instrument.

With an air-spaced triplet optical design that all but eradicates chromatic aberrations, this telescope produces stunning high contrast images using the combination of true Ohara FPL-53 extra-low dispersion (ED) glass and Explore Scientific's EMD enhanced multi-layer coatings on each optical surface.

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Customer Reviews (4.6 / 5 · 5 reviews)

Joshua O. ★★★★★ Oct 21, 2026

The 3" HEX focuser is rock solid, no slippage even with my heavy camera gear attached. I'm amazed at how sharp the views are right out of the box, especially on Jupiter's cloud bands.

Riley B. ★★★★★ Oct 20, 2026

I’ve spent three nights with this scope and the FPL-53 triplet glass just eats up false color on Jupiter, even at 250x. The 3-inch HEX focuser holds a heavy eyepiece without a hint of sag, and I’m still amazed at how sharp the stars stay right out to the edge.

Eva V. ★★★★★ Oct 19, 2026

The 3-inch HEX focuser glides so smoothly that fine-tuning Jupiter at high power feels effortless, and the FPL-53 glass delivers pin-sharp stars even before the scope fully cools down. I've owned refractors half this price that fought me all night; this one just works.