Both okna and vytex are much better brands than simonton. Home depot sell the simonton vantage point which is just a regular simonton 5500. Not sure if this is what you saw, its still just a basic window.
Aside from Simonton having a very bulky frame, the simonton does have some design flaws and LACKS in performance such as Ufactor and it has a high air leakage rate.
Okna has superior energy efficiency numbers and is designed extremely well. Their numbers will be somewhat better than the vytex.

This post was edited by mmarse1 on Thu, Sep 12, 13 at 12:07

I agree. Two apples and an orange here. Pricing may be a tad high though, possibly shop around.

+3.
I'd rank them :
Okna
Vytex Fortis
and Simonton in a distant 3rd.

Do you have some details on the installations that are proposed?

Are they quoting the same thing across the board?

If so, that is a bit more of a price spread than you typically see between the Okna and Vytex vs. the Simonton.

Simonton is distributed via supply houses so they tend to get a higher percentage of folks that will do windows as a result of just trying to add to what they are doing vs. people that just do windows and are true craftsman at it.

In order to really give poignant feedback though, we are going to need to know a bit more.

The Vytex does comes standard with a better U value than Okna.
If all is equal on installation I'd have no problem taking the Simonton at 70% less. It is a nice window but is a little behind in performance numbers. The U value can be boosted a little with some spacer and glass upgrades.

Todd, the Okna 500dx has a .25 u value. I don't believe that the Vytex beats that. In fact, I don't know of any window that beats that in double pane without using a gimmicky surface 4 low e coating that severely degrades condensation resistance.
Please correct me if I'm wrong.

I do know what the u-values are. The op was asking materials only and did not include or mention any upgraded packages.
Are there problems with the addition low e coatings? They do have excellent u-values for dual pane.

I agree with karate guy, dont know of any company that gets a total
Ufactor of .25 in double pane without using hard coat lowE / on the inside surface of the house which is a gimmick..it causes big time condensation issues and thats why most companies refuse to utilize it.
Whenever you see a Ufactor of .22 on double pane glass it has a hard coat lowE coating on the inside surface where it can scratch, collect dust, and cause alot of condensation. You also cannot clean that particular glass with a normal paper towel, it will scratch..
Back to simonton, they have a high air leakage rate ( .17 ) and some design flaws such as weep holes in the sill due to water draining through the frame, we all know thats a horrible design issue.

The apples to apples comparison as WoW alluded to is the Fortis vs Okna 500DX, and as mentioned above, the Okna gets a .25 vs the Fortis .26. I realize that the "DX" is technically not the standard/baseline package, but many dealers sell it that way at its very low cost to upgrade.
@ML987, if your quote does not include the DX package, I'd ask for it.... .25 and .26 are both excellent ratings.

Regarding the best value: Obviously the Simonton presents the best value on the surface. That said, one needs to make sure that options, installation quality, and the soundness of the company offering the product are apples to apples as well... I suspect that this is not the case with such a discrepancy.

I know you know what the U-Factors are Todd.

I was pointing out the comparison for future readers who many not know what you know.

Saying that window "X" is better than window "Y" in non-comparable formats is like saying a car with a V8 as a standard makes more horsepower than the V6 variant of another car where a V8 option is available.

The interior Low-e are coming a long way mmarse. The newer ones are not hard coats in the classic sense so none of the issues with cleaning and scratches are really there.

The Condensation Resistance drop is certainly a by product though.

I agree with WoW on the scratching issue. That said, the condensation issue cannot be emphasized enough IMO. Just wait until next year, with the tightening of Energy Star guidelines, we are going to see junk products coming out with u-values in the low to mid .2's that sound great, until the homeowners windows look like a shower door all winter. This forum is going to be chock full of condensation complaints at that time, mark my words... BUYER BEWARE!

The standard hard coat lowE that AGC uses does scratch. Unfortunately, most use AGC , at least by me. The newer versions by cardnial and guardian are actually hybrids and although i am still not completely sold due to the potential condensation issue, they are somewhat interesting,

All three come with Low-e, argon, double-pane, internal grids, white vinyl, half screens. no hardware upgrade.

Okna is the DH500dx with foam fill. .25 u-rating.
Vytex Fortis is foam fill. .27 u-rating
Simonton 5500--haven't received quote yet, but don't believe it includes the foam fill option.

no-out-of-ordinary installation. All three are independent dealers, with the Okna and Vytex sold by clearly larger outfits than that of the Simonton.

Also have a quote for Vytex Georgetown at $720/window.

Thank you, all, for your feedback. But, based on the low u-factor for the Okna window, are you indicating we will have a condensation problem?

The Vytex would be .026
Don't assume the install is the same unless you went over all the details, even with the same details the quality can differ as well.
The condensation problems were more geared towards the Vytex with the 0.22 U-value in dual pane. Doesn't mean much here since they have not had that glass package for a couple of years is not a available on the other 2.

Where does the air infiltration number of 0.17 come from for the Simonton? When you go to there web site they list several different sizes and they all have different numbers from 0.08 to 0.26. Only the 37x76 comes in at 0.17. Do they list it that rate somewhere or?

You will not have condensation with the okna. That is what everyone has been saying, that it has the best u value that you can get WITHOUT needing to resort to the surface 4 low e coating that most of us would not recommend.
You can just look at the CR ratings to verify that.
Your comments on the company size relating to price are what I would have expected. I would not say that you have to deal with a large company, but you do at least want to find someone that is established, has a brick and mortar store that you can visit, certifications, etc if you want security in your purchase.

Todd, click on this link from simonton..it is the structural data for the 5500.
Look at the 36 x 63 which is a very common size that is tested for air leakage and you will see the high air leakage rate of .17 .

http://simonton.com/sites/Simonton/Files/Simonton%20Reflections%205500%20Double%20Hung.pdf

I agree a brick and mortar store are a must. As we all know you can still have condensation even with an Okna, at least that is what everyone is telling me.
I am very familiar with the Simonton's performance data on their website.Those performance numbers are outdated though.The updated numbers for a 36x63 are either 0.19 and 0.21.I have seen other sizes used by different companies, Soft-Lite use a 44x63 in some and Gerkin uses a 48x72 and a 44x60.Okna is vague and does post the size and states that actual values may vary depending on installation, size of window and other conditions. To say the least, air infiltration claims seem to have no set standards. Would be interesting to see test results posted by others the way Simonton does.

I should correct my comment above: as toddinmen mentioned, condensation is possible on any product. It just happens that while lower u value and higher condensation resistance typically go hand, the surface 4 coating throws a wrench into that. On air infiltration ratings, I always suggest asking for the structural data test report. This will list the exact size tested and the results with no vagueary.

Okna list a 40" by 63" window in both test reports. Just FYI.

In the pursuit of eliminating vagarious air infiltration numbers based upon random window sizes , can any one post or link to the Okna or Vytex report ?

Okna/HiMark actually publishes the size right next to the rating in their literature. See the last page of the brochure...
Can't get much more straightforward than that... Tried to upload the file but its too large.

I could not locate it. Are they listing one size as a test sample for all or are they listing multiple sizes test the way Simonton does?

See the attached pic. They provide the rating and the size of the product that was tested. Its a size that is within the range of those commonly tested as "standard" by manufacturers, and keeps things clean and straightforward. Most other manufacturers that quote AI numbers use a similar procedure. Those that publish 20 different sizes lead to confusion IMO. Yes, more info can be better, but it can also be confusing and some may even say misleading in some cases.