looking for good wipers for snow & frost on windshield

Any winter blade, at any auto store.

 

Wrong don't just buy any.

Buy the bosche the ones that are about 25 each

 

For winter driving, I'd stay away from the Bosch IKON wipers that are generally recommended.

We have a set on our Prius, and I am Not Impressed. Too much smearing, and there is a constant streak line from some minute flaw on the edge of the driver's side wiper.

 

I'd recommend staying AWAY from the RainX Latitude wiper blades as well. They look similar to the Bosch with a flexible plastic frame, and they are pre-contoured. I put them on one of our vehicles about 2 weeks ago and they are absolutely terrible. These flexible plastic wipers hang on to ice and snow, and I have to clean my windshield perfectly every morning because these new blades will only clean about half the windshield (of course the lower half where I can't see). And for whatever reason, ice/snow seems to stick to the plastic frames much better, and it's harder to get off. I will be returning them today and exchanging them for a standard set of Anco's or Michelin's with the typical metal frames. I would much rather pay $8 per wiper blade and just replace them every year (or add refills) than pay $18 each for these pieces of garbage. I'm glad I saved the boxes. My crusty hardened old wiper blades were better than these fancy RainX blades. I've been a devoted RainX windshield repellent fan for many years, but this wiper blade is awful.

 

I'll chime in and STRONGLY recommend the Bosch Icon's. We put about 35K a year on our Prius (and live in the 2nd snowiest city to boot) and have found that they last at least 2 years. Of course, I should also mention that I use RainX windshield treatment as well - and that helps the wipers to work perfectly.

 

Bosche still the way to go FYI. U can't expect wipers to work on crappy windows. U need to clean and polish with z12 and consider other factors if ur windows has been subjected to a lot compared to others. Or if u have special coating. I have them on all my cars.. with Aquapel and z12 applied before putting on the aquapel.

 

Ha. I'm going to FIRMLY sit on the fence and say that pretty much any fresh blade should work fine. I have used cheap refills, they work. I currently have the expensive Rain-X blades, and they work too. I have used dedicated winter blades in the past (with the red caps on the ends, usually) and they are probably the best to maintain plasticity if temperatures are far below freezing most of the time.

Something to remember: your washer fluid is just as important as the wipers. Not enough antifreeze and it will either freeze in the tank or instantly ice-up your windshield the first time you use it. Make sure its fresh, and make sure it's rated for temperatures well below those that you actually anticipate for your area. I have had good results with 'de-icing' washer fluid (Rain-X and Prestone to name two brands).

And since I hate ruining windshields with ice scrapers on really bad days, I now keep a can of spray de-icer in the glove box as well. That stuff is probably toxic but the results are fantastic.

 

Hi All,

I had some trouble with the Bosch Icon wipers. In misting weather, they had a deposit on the blade, that would smear across the window. Only after allot of rain would the deposit be sufficienctly cleaned away, just in time for me to arrive at my destination. It was quite dangerous.

I switched to the Trico aerodynamic blades (no gaps in the blade for snow or ice to clog up the works), and they did not have the smearing gunk on the blade....

 

I'm in the market for new wipers now. I installed my Icons in Dec 2009 and now they're starting to streak and smear noticeably. The original wipers lasted nearly three years before degrading to the point of annoying, the Icons only a year. The Icons were great when new.

That being said, I am now a fan of the beam or frameless wipers. Regular frame wipers would ice up on me every winter, causing the rubber to lose contact with the windshield. I'd have to pinch the frame to break up the ice. The Icons never iced up and never lost contact with the glass. Now it's a matter of trying to find a wiper with the right combination of cost and durability. I spent about $28 on my Icons after a $15 rebate. Would I buy them again? Maybe, but I'm reading reviews to see if I can find a beam-type wiper with longer-lasting rubber for less than $43.

 

We just picked up a set of Goodyear wipers at Costco.

The Bosch Ikons were not "all that" for us, either. Yes, after a year, they started really showing wear.

We'll let you know how the Costco ones work out.

 

I started with the spray can then graduated to the spritz bottle. Since it is basically alcohol I buy a quart of the highest concentration of rubbing alcohol on the shelf to refill the bottle. Spritzing the windows at night helps prevent frost.