Thanks for that, I was in the shop last week, and your excellent staff were very helpful and have given extra advise over the phone, if your in tomorrow at the shop, I will pop in would like to see the difference
-- Edited by Paul Heaton on Monday 15th of May 2017 08:41:42 AM
Paul, I obviously sell lots & get to look through them on a daily basis at Focalpoint so can comment as having looked through alll of them and all the other competitors too! I also have an STX 95 (the straight version of the ATX for anyone who isn't familiar with Swarovski terminology) as a demo loan scope from Swarovski which I frequently use in the field.
The 95 model is our best seller of all the top end scopes and in my opinion, having tested all scopes side by side, is the best scope ever produced. It is brighter and has the top end 70x on the zoom giving it the edge over the others. However it is a big, weighty scope, so if weight is a main consideration then the 85 may be a better choice, being very close in performance to the 85. The 85 is cheaper too, but if you're buying for life and shelling out the cost of either of these then the difference is probably not a significant one. In some situations the lower zoom range of the 85 may be better but undoubtably for seawatching and distance work the 95 has the edge. Surf Scoters off the N.Wales coast are a doddle with it!!
Both are fabulous pieces of kit so I would say look at weight (and bulk) and your main uses of your scope in your normal birding (is there such a thing?!!). Neither is the wrong choice. Hope this is of some help. The other thing to do is pop & have a look through both side by side, my STX is always available too if you want to check out straight versus angled as well
Pop in anytime for a brew mate, no purchase necessary 
