Winter Windshield Wiper Blade Recommendation

[Egg_Head]

My son works in Aspen, CO and needs new blades for the season. Vehicle is 2013 Ford Escape (28" blades). What do you snow shovelers recommend? The car will sometimes stayed parked for days and get dumped on.

 

[edyvw]

My son works in Aspen, CO and needs new blades for the season. Vehicle is 2013 Ford Escape (28" blades). What do you snow shovelers recommend? The car will sometimes stayed parked for days and get dumped on.

I use BOSCH, Rain-X. I cannot speak of Japanese brands, but BMW and VW blades are far superior to any aftermarket, and I found out they last longer.
I spend a lot of time skiing in the Rockies, and the most important thing is to lift blades overnight.

 

[Egg_Head]

Bosch Snow Driver or Bosch Winter?

 

[camrydriver111]

Do you use different blades for summer and winter?

 

[Egg_Head]

no

 

[Sequoiasoon]

I use Bosch Icon year round.

I used to use the Anco or Trico winter blades that had the rubber covering the whole metal frame. They would tend to lift at higher speeds but at least didn't freeze up. I don't even know if they are still made anymore.

Big thing for me and having to go out for fire/ambulance calls is the FrostGuard as I can just pull it across to get me clear quick. It also covers my wipers so I don't need to keep them lifted up.

Like @edyvw I also use Rain-X repellant or Aquapel. Cars also get a coat of wax/sealer before winter to help stuff slide off easier.

 

[edyvw]

I use Bosch Icon year round.

I used to use the Anco or Trico winter blades that had the rubber covering the whole metal frame. They would tend to lift at higher speeds but at least didn't freeze up. I don't even know if they are still made anymore.

Big thing for me and having to go out for fire/ambulance calls is the FrostGuard as I can just pull it across to get me clear quick. It also covers my wipers so I don't need to keep them lifted up.

Like @edyvw I also use Rain-X repellant or Aquapel. Cars also get a coat of wax/sealer before winter to help stuff slide off easier.

I don't use Rain-X repellant. I just use their windshield washer fluid in Toyota, while in VW and especially BMW (has heated tank) I use Wal Mart fluid.
I use Rain-X wipers, expert fit, on Toyota and BMW. On VW I use VW or Bosch.

 

[edyvw]

Bosch Snow Driver or Bosch Winter?

Bosch Icon.

 

[vavavroom]

I prefer silicone blades year-round. They remain flexible at low temperatures. PIAA work well for me.

 

[D60]

Lived in CO all my life (but Purg, not Aspen) and never used winter blades. Clear the windshield, warm the car, snap the wiper arms a few times, and use defrost.

Low humidity and 300+ days of sun....I dunno....just never had a problem myself. Worked most of high school and college at Purg (free season pass)

 

[D60]

Also if he finds defrost doesn't keep the wipers clear once they're cleared (by him), re-index the wipers if at all possible:

D

Post in thread 'What are you working on today?'

Nov 7, 2024

This is a customer's '02 Subaru but this is a little thing I reco anyone in snow country look at. I've NEVER understood why OEMs insist on parking the wipers as low as possible. It puts them below where defrost warms your glass.

I personally re-clock all my wipers and it makes a huge difference on snowy, icy days. In the case of some vehicles like '04-14 F150s there's a key but it's removable. The key is not intended to translate load but only to make assembly at the factory fast and repeatable.

ANYWAY, before:

After:

In my personal experience, that...

• D60

• 

And frantic use of the wipers doesn't help. You want to use intermittent and leave them parked at the bottom to warm (from defrost) as much as possible.

 

[hrv]

On my Honda I just get the wiper blade inserts...They work the best for me...

 

[repairman54]

The ''booted'' style winter blades are availible. RA has them in Trico and Anco. Yes they lift at higher speeds but in real winter areas you are not driving that fast, spring rains on the interstate remind you to swap them out for summer. I've tried the winter beam style but they still load up with ice that a snap drop doesn't shed off as fast as the booted ones. I can get 2-3 winters out of the booted ones, wipers are like clothes, dress for the season.
NYS troopers used to run them in the lake effect zones, haven't eyeballed one of their patrol vehicles lately though.

 

[KrisZ]

When I lived in Canada, I had the best results with these rubber enclosed blades. Never froze and since they have a good frontal area, they wiped light snow off the windshield quite well.

I would usually get two winters out of them and would switch to traditional blades form spring to fall.

 

[D60]

The Western Slope of CO is WAY, way different than east coast or "lake effect" anything. Even when it's dumping snow here the actual humidity of the air is so low you need lip balm.

I fully admit I'd get my posterior kicked by east coast storms, ice storms, lake effect storms etc. By comparison, Colorado winters are easy, especially the Western Slope. Denver and Fort Collins get a little more weird stuff from the Eastern plains, sometimes.

99% of the time the snow is dry and fluffy, and the sun comes out and readily melts anywhere you've shoveled or cleared.

Wonder what @c502cid does/thinks for wipers?

 

[c502cid]

The Western Slope of CO is WAY, way different than east coast or "lake effect" anything. Even when it's dumping snow here the actual humidity of the air is so low you need lip balm.

I fully admit I'd get my posterior kicked by east coast storms, ice storms, lake effect storms etc. By comparison, Colorado winters are easy, especially the Western Slope. Denver and Fort Collins get a little more weird stuff from the Eastern plains, sometimes.

99% of the time the snow is dry and fluffy, and the sun comes out and readily melts anywhere you've shoveled or cleared.

Wonder what @c502cid does/thinks for wipers?

D60, you are so right about the difference in dry and wet snow. We just got 36" last week of all powder, I was using my air hose to clear snow off the cars closest to my garage.

On my plow truck which never leaves the driveway I use the enclosed booted blade, I think Trico calls them the "Chill" series now. They are outstanding for not icing or packing up. That used to be my go to for everything until beam blades came around. However they can lift at speed. On any road going vehicles I have I use whatever beam blade I can find. I tried the Trico Ice beam blade but honestly I couldn't notice any difference with other beam blades.

If I'm parked the wipers are up and off the window. It's probably just as much for what is falling off the trees though.

 

[camrydriver111]

On my Honda I just get the wiper blade inserts...They work the best for me...

I love the concept but found they don't last long.

 

[dubber09]

Bosch Icon here too, after trying many makes and models over years. They work very well and last at least 2 years for me but we don't get too much snow/ice in winter. For me, those Bosch Icons work better after 2 years of use than 1-2 weeks old Costco Michelin or GY.

 

[meep]

I was quite pleased with the oem Ford blades, which i later learned are Valeo.

I’ve had mixed results with Rain-X and Icon lately, either premature streaking or ugly responses to rain-x/griots glass treatment.

 

[hrv]

I love the concept but found they don't last long.

I have had great results with just the inserts....I change them every year...