Would these be of any use in the bay area or places with high population and hence light pollution? I have clear view of my sky from my backyard except for the ambient light pollution in the sky.
There was a guy who regularly brought out his Dob (11" I think) in the Sunset district of San Francisco near Parkside Square as part of Sidewalk Astronomers public outreach. Good views of the moon, saturn, jupiter some nebulae, etc. and the San Francisco Amateur Astronomers often held star parties near at Land's End and Crissy Field pre-pandemic though their main viewing spot is usually Mt. Tam I think. Quite a few of Dobs show up I think.
This is the sort of thing where darker is always better, but John Dobson started a movement around "Sidewalk Astronomy" in the 60s and 70s in San Francisco with this very telescope design. I'm sure the light pollution has gotten worse since then, but the moon, the planets, and perhaps a few brighter Messier objects will still be within reach. It's a big sky and there's a lot to see.
> I'm sure the light pollution has gotten worse since then
Perhaps. In the South Bay they still have many of the sodium street lights because of Lick Observatory in the hills. I'm always amazed at how well you can see the stars from my driveway. I don't recall it being as clear in the midwest when I lived there.
I'm stunned how much I can see even with a bit of cloud cover in my front yard (and we have streetlights close by). But of course, you should probably get a case and go camping with one of these (in a secluded area) for best results)