This is the 8x42 S9
Next up in the new binocular brand review series is the Stryka S9. This is their top of the line model. They can be purchased at around the $980 mark. Styrka is pronounced Steer-ka. Supposedly a Norse word for strength. Not being a Norse speaker, I’ll have to take their word for it.
Styrka was formed in 2014 and binoculars have been available for about a year. They are a company closely affiliated with Celestron. Most current Stryka people came directly from Celestron. Some of those people have previous employment experience at Kowa. Celestron provides engineering assistance and functions as the OEM. Evidently Celestron is happy with their position as an Astronomy company. The evidently decided it was worth expanding into a broader market, but decided to use a different brand name. They are an independent entity from Celestron, in spite of close affiliation
They have a pretty simple, straightforward warranty; They call it Styrka Pride. From the website:
“That’s why the Styrka Pride Warranty is so simple. In the event of damage or malfunction, we will repair or replace your Stryka product free of charge. No questions asked. No registration required. No receipt needed. No matter who bought it. The only caveat? The warranty doesn’t cover theft, loss or intentional damage. Send us your Stryka product and we’ll clean and tune it up once per year. Regular maintenance helps keep your Stryka performing like the day you bought it.”
Styrka offices are in Egan, Minnesota. They have a service facility there, where the bulk of the warranty and service work will occur. More difficult repairs will go to Celestron. They tell me they inspect every binocular before it leaves their possession. The test includes a spin over a collimator.
Out of the box comes a sturdy, somewhat chunky, well armored dual hinge binocular with a pleasing, solid feel. There are a good selection of accessories. There is a zippered case that comes with a harness designed to allow the user to carry the binocular on their chest, a padded neck strap, a cleaning cloth, and straps for the case if you opt not to go the chest harness route. It has very good standard ocular and objective covers.
Focus action: Focus is counterclockwise to infinity (yes I know that will offend some). There is a total of one and a half turns. From the close focus distance of 6 feet, a full turn of the wheel gets to a focus of distance of 75 feet. The next one quarter turn gets to infinity, with an additional one quarter travel past infinity, The focus is soft and smooth with no side to side play as direction is changed.
The eye cups are pretty typical click stop affairs. Down, halfway, and fully extended. All the way down you can get to within 1 mm of the ocular lens surface. Full extension is 12 mm. Eye relief is listed as 18 mm. They are solid enough, but they have some tendency to retract a stop on their own in use.
The weak point in this binocular is the eye cups. Not to pick on Styrka, but this is a pet peeve of mine with binoculars as a whole. The problem is that they may need more extension for some users to match the eye relief specifications. The S9 shares this feature, the eye cup extends out 12 mm above the surface of the ocular lens. You can get to within 1 mm of the surface of the lens with the eye cups all the way down. The eye cups are quite comfortable and I have no problem getting full field with extended eye cups with reading glasses.
Image performance: The S9 has a listed 7.5* fov (394’). This checks out under actual measurement. There is no field flattener technology used. There is a typical classic edge with minimal distortions at the edge. The sweet spot is wide and the edge is not particularly distracting. This binocular happens to have a distinct brightness strong point in dark, dreary, gray day usage.
There is a very slight yellow bias, but the colors in the image appear pretty neutral. The S9 is possessed of a very sharp image and very good contrast. Edges of objects are very well defined, and things like feather detail are easily observed. Apparent sharpness is top notch. Overall we have a very clean, sharp, colorful image that is pretty easy on the eyes. This is a top notch image and should be considered well above good enough.
This is a superb binocular for CA and glare control. I can’t induce either one in any condition.
Ergonomics and construction: This is a solid and substantial feeling binocular. It has ample grippy armoring. It has a somewhat chunky feel compared to other dual hinge binoculars, but is rather typical in handling characteristics.
With cell phones there is the iFixit site which does complete tear downs of various phones. They are checked for ease of repair,, for construction, and the cost of the total of the parts is evaluated. We likely need a similar site for binoculars, somebody to tear down the instrument and evaluate its construction. Lacking that, I will offer the comment that this looks to be a very solid, well made instrument.
Summary: We can wonder why we see an influx of new companies into what seems like a crowded binocular market. The thing they seem to have in common is they are founded by people with considerable optical experience. That seems to me to indicate they have all seen something they can use to do better. I don’t know, but in any case I welcome the competition. We all benefit from that.
The Styrka S9 is a superb binocular and seems worth every penny of its asking price. It has a great image, sharp with good contrast, is particularly bright in gloomy gray days, and has excellent focus action (yeah I know some will complain about either focus direction). The S9 has superior glare resistance and CA control. It may be a bit chunky for some, the big white STYRKA across the case will be visible from quite a ways off (curable with a sharpie marker), and the eye cups may lack some extension. But if something is out there to be found, you will be able to find it with this.
Yes it is new. It is also very good. I will let you make your own decision on where you stand on the new issue.
EDIT: For those who already read this, forgive the senior moment. It is Styrka. I have changed the original mis-spelling. Can't seem to get into the bolded title to change that.
