Windshield Wiper Blade 2019 Test: Which Brand Wins?

frameless beam construction with a rubber element (not silicone) and a water-repelling coating activated by running the blades dry for 2 minutes, then applying washer fluid

plastic beam blade construction (not a steel frame), graphite-treated wiping edge

beam frame design, described as sharing the same design as Bosch and looking nearly identical

steel frame construction with a silicone element

traditional steel frame with superstructure and blade claws

steel frame construction, similar to AutoDrive

steel frame construction similar to AutoDrive and ACDelco, with an added flexible plastic cover

steel frame construction with a Duraflex plastic cover, marketed for protection from snow and ice clogging

a couple of water streaks during the sweep to the left, better than the steel frame and covered steel frame blades but not as good as the Michelin Endurance XT; did a great job releasing water at the end of the sweep and an equally good job on the sweep to the right

a single streak of water on the sweep to the left, water pushed away well at the end of the sweep, some water brought back on the return sweep to the right

did extremely well managing water on the sweep to the left; a moderate amount of water brought back with the sweep to the right, performing nearly the same as Bosch

water passed over the element during the sweep to the left, like the other steel frame blades; did fairly well on the sweep back to the right, but still lost to the much less expensive Bosch

struggled significantly with water management; water accumulates as it travels up the blade and finally passes over it, leaving water streaks

performed better than AutoDrive but suffered the same steel-frame water streaking problem; lost to Bosch

the plastic cover appears to help briefly on the sweep to the left, but several water streaks still appear; water trapped under the cover gets slung across the window on the return sweep; lost to Bosch

considerable water streaking on the sweep to the left; water accumulates under the plastic cover and gets slung back onto the window on the return sweep; lost to Bosch, described as extremely similar in performance to the Guardian

very flexible when not frozen; some resistance when frozen but the ice quickly broke away and it remained very flexible

flexible when not frozen, but performed poorly once frozen, described as going to be a problem in winter weather conditions

very good flexibility when not frozen, but the frozen sample did not perform well

grouped with the Michelin Cyclone in the ice test: better than the all-metal-frame blades but still not in proper shape for effective wiping; took very little force to flex, described as much easier to work with than the metal frame construction in winter conditions

grouped with the Michelin Guardian in the ice test (see Guardian notes); performed notably better than the all-metal frame blades