Hopefully Caladan sees this. I found a distributor who sells Stryka binos. I haven't heard anything about Stryka so I was hoping to get some knowledge from the experts.

I was planning to get some Vortex Viper HD 10x42s soon but it looks like they can get me a pair of Stryka S9 for slightly more than the Vipers. Does anyone have any insight or experience?

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Hopefully Caladan sees this. I found a distributor who sells Stryka binos. I haven't heard anything about Stryka so I was hoping to get some knowledge from the experts.

I was planning to get some Vortex Viper HD 10x42s soon but it looks like they can get me a pair of Stryka S9 for slightly more than the Vipers. Does anyone have any insight or experience?

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Styrka is another one of a group of optics companies that source a large group of binoculars from a small group of manufacturers in Asia. Mavin, Athlon, Theron, Intrepid (Eagle Optics house brand), Sig Sauer are a few others. Some models from these makes can be a good value, some not. I think that they aren't going to sell a lot of $900 binos when you can buy a bino from a company that will stand the test of time for the same price, such as a Leica Trinovid. Brunton is a good example of a company that failed because they charged way too much for the optics they imported from Asia, and hardly anyone purchased them. As Styrka is so new, I have not read much in the way of user reviews.

I haven't tried a Styrka, and don't have any plans on buying one until they show that they are in the market to stay. An S9 for the price of a Viper is probably a good deal. However, you might look at a Leupold Mojave HD or a Zen-Ray ED3 before you buy. IMO the Viper, although a very good bino, is overpriced. A "slightly more than the Vipers" price would put you near $600. If that is the case, then that would be a good price for the S9. Personally though, I would have a hard time spending that much when I could buy a bino from the likes of Nikon, or Leupold, or Meopta.

The S9 retails for around &900. Did you know you can buy a new Leica 10x42 for that price?

Slightly is a relative term and I should have been more specific. They are selling the S9 for $800. I didn't realize the vipers could be had for $600. I was led to believe that vortex provided a better value than Lieca at that price range which is why I was leaning towards the vipers. What would you say is the best bang for my buck in that price range?

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Slightly is a relative term and I should have been more specific. They are selling the S9 for $800. I didn't realize the vipers could be had for $600. I was led to believe that vortex provided a better value than Lieca at that price range which is why I was leaning towards the vipers. What would you say is the best bang for my buck in that price range?

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You should be able to get a Viper HD for around $550. The S9 might be a bit better, but I doubt that it will provide $250 more performance than would the Viper. I'm not a great fan of Vortex binoculars, but at this moment in time, I would prefer a Vortex product over something from a company with virtually no track record. Not because of build quality, but instead from the standpoint of potential warranty/service issues.

As for your price point - there isn't a lot around $800. I think that if you do not want to spend $899 for a Leica Trinovid (an excellent bino, by the way), then I would recommend staying with a Leupold or Z-R or Vortex. A Viper or ED3 or Mojave HD will provide excellent performance, and you can put away the money you saved towards an alpha bino, where the upgrade will be significant enough to make a noticeable and usable difference.

Whether or not a Vortex bino provides a better value than a Leica is personal to everyone. Certainly many will not be able to discern or use the increased performance that a Leica provides, and certainly the good binos in the $450 to $600 range provide more performance for the dollar than any other price category. But when you add things such as build quality, resale ability, etc. to the equation, I think that an $899 Leica would provide a better value than a $550 Viper, or even a $1000 Vortex Razor.