Niko, there's little contest here, go for the Pentax. I have right now a Pentax XW 7mm and Orion Stratus 8mm - which would not be too far from the Pentax XL 7mm and Hyperion 8mm for comparison. Couldn't put it more better than John B said already, the Pentax is 'far superior' (esp in fast scopes) in terms of contrast, edge correction and light throughput. But hey, the Pentax is what - about 3 to 4 times the price of the Orion! - so you get what you pay for.
Now, to be fair, for the beginner/less critical observer on a budget, IMHO the Hyperions and Stratus line are a nice eyepiece for what they offer - 65 deg FOV, long eye relief, large eye lens, and comfortable viewing. I have three close friends who each started out with a Skywatcher SWED80 refractor, and they love their Orion Stratus EP's. I didn't want them starting out with 50 deg bottom rung Plossls. I reckon if they want something better and more exotic, like ES, Televue, Pentax etc. then that can come later, if/when they can appreciate and justify the costs involved.
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