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Lee,
You have made an excellent choice and I am sure you will be very happy. I own 4 Pentax XW's and have used most of the other top grade eyepieces running around. AS I mentioned in another recent post not all focal lengths in an eyepiece series perform to the same standard. eg Not all pentax XW's are equal, just as not all Panoptics are equal and not all Meade UWA are equal. However the 10mm Pentax XW is one of the best as are the 7mm and the 5mm. It has a wonderfully flat field right to the edge in an F6 scope with very high light transmission and contrast. It is also very sharp, as good as any premium plossl. It is at least as good if not a tad better than the equivalent focal length Nagler's and Radians IMO although there is little between them and they are all outstanding. The Pentax is very comfortable to use for long periods due to its eyecup design and long eye relief.
In terms of a good barlow I own both the Orion Shorty Plus and the Televue 2.5X Powermate in 1.25" format and also a 2" 1.6X Antares APO barlow. I have also previously owned a Televue 1.8X barlow. I have also used a lot of other barlows over the years.
The Orion Shorty Plus/Celestron Ultima is a very good barlow, with simple eyepieces like orthoscopics and plossls the 2.5X powermate is a little better but not by much. With my Pentax XW's the performance gain (not just the amplification factor) of the 2.5X TV Powermate over the shorty plus is noticeable. With the shorty plus you always have the feeling that "something else is in there" with the powermate its just like using a native eyepiece. I haven't used the Shorty Plus since I bought the 2.5X Powermate as its just that little bit better with the Pentax's. Is it worth spending an extra $160 on ? That depends on how fat your wallet is but if you plan an accumulating 3 or 4 premium eyepieces over time I think it worth spending the extra on the best barlow if you can afford it.
CS-John B
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