Are winter wiper blades really necessary?

snipped-for-privacy@privacy.net wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:

The only advantage to winter blades is that the various pivoting parts that hold the blade are encased in an enclosed rubber sheath. This keeps them from freezing up so the blade can continue to conform to the curvature of the windshield glass as the wiper arm moves up and down the glass.

I'm in Canada and never use winter blades on account of how they tend to squeak. I'd rather just work the ice off the blade holders and flex the pivots to free them up. Only takes a minute to do, and anything stubborn usually falls off if you pull the blade away from the glass then let it slap home again (and no this will not cause the glass to crack...).

winter blade do the job fine.. They are covered in rubber so ice & snow don't stick to them so they'll keep working.

I've never had problems with them squeaking either. Sure you can shake the snow & ice off the regular blades when you clean off the car, but while driving down the road they'll build back up with ice causing the blade to not work properly.

My father used to keep the winter blades on year round.

m6onz5a wrote in news:ba8a760d-69af-4ef6-b9d0- snipped-for-privacy@v39g2000pro.googlegroups.com:

Can't remember the last time this happened to me. Once they're free they tend to stay free the rest of the drive unless the temperature is like

-20F.

Repeated buildup is usually the wet, sticky stuff you get during heavy snows when the temperature is near freezing; winter blades can't help with that.

I know people like that too. Doesn't seem to hurt a thing, except they're bulkier than the OEM blades.

Interesting

Well would the newer curve blade designs work just as well as winter blades since they don't have linkages to freeze up?

snipped-for-privacy@privacy.net wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:

In my opinion they should, yes.

The ONLY problem with the usual type of wiper blade holder is all those little pivots with all that ice-catching space in between and inside them. The single-unit curved ones don't have any of that.

I live in Minnesota and love them. They are more ice resistant. Even though there may not be as many ice storms here as further south, the use of the "defrost" and just the heat from the interior often melts the snow on the windshield. If it freezes on the blades, the pivots and springs do not work as well and the blade streaks. The rubber covered winter blades are much less prone to that.

OK

So what brands and models do you recommend?

I've had excellent luck with the Anco blades.

winter wiper blades? I have heard everything now.I have seen the Elephant! cuhulin