Soft Lite Windows vs Hayfield / Richlin

[brian6464]

Any recent experiences with Soft-Lite? I need to replace all my 3-season porch windows (live in MN) and have soft-lite in the rest of my house. Contractor that installed the soft-lite windows 8 years ago said they do not use them anymore because quality went down during Covid.

Second, I have two quotes for Richlin and Hayfield windows. Richlin is owned by Hayfield...so wondering if anyone can comment on quality of Richlin vs Hayfield? Is Richlin an inferior window to Hayfield....or is that situation like Carrier / Bryant in HVAC...where Carrier and Bryant unit as basically the same but Bryant is branded at a lower price point?

Thanks in advance for any insight.

[Windows on Washington]

Everyone suffered during Covid on the manufacturing front. They are still a brand that I would recommend.

[HomeSealed]

+1 regarding soft lite.

As far as richlin and hayfield, as you've stated, same company. I know that the Hayfield brand is the one sold in Menards stores, I believe that those are more budget oriented models.
The Richlin window isn't bad (higher models), I just don't like the Silver label certification, which essentially means that their structural test numbers aren't independently certified as accurate. The vast majority of windows have third party, gold label certification.