Although it may sound odd, manufacturing a lightweight counterweight really makes sense - in particular when one has to compress an imaging setup into 20kg checked-in airplane luggage. The idea is simple - the "TraveLight (TM) ultralight" is actually a carrier which allows one to use as counterweight and securely attach to the cw shaft 2 bottles or cans, which can be obtained at the trip destination.

As one can use anything from 2 x 0,3l soda cans to 2 x 0,75l wine bottles (Portuguese wine would work best), the range of obtainable weight is from 0,6 to 2-3kg. I found it sufficient for Canon DSLR and 200mm f/2,8 lens or FS60 scope with lightweight CCD camera like Starlight Express. Together with my TraveLight counterweight shaft, one can reduce the equipment weight by 2-3kg - may not sound much but can help to get within the airline limit.

Construction is very simple - 4 dovels cut from water-resistant 18mm plywood, glued and screwed together. The CW shaft fits nicely in the slot between dovels. All coated with clear polyurethane finish. A long M6 threaded brass rod with a knob attached allows me to secure the counterweight in position after achieving proper balance. Rod threads into a brass socket fitted inside one of the dovels.

A Velcro strap is used to secure bottles to the carrier (actually 2 straps are recommended for heavier bottles).

Maybe 2 hours worth of work :-)

Tested on an astro-imaging trip in Atalya, Portugal.