If you're like me, you hate driving in the rain with bad wipers. I actually enjoy driving in bad weather, but bad wipers really annoy me. Last fall, my old Anco AeroVantage blades in both cars had taken to that annoying BRRRRRPPP if there wasn't enough rain on the windshield. In fact, it had gotten to the point that it was rare for them not to do that, and they weren't that old. It was driving Maria nuts to the point that she'd crank the radio way up to avoid hearing it. She was already a little anxious about driving in bad weather, the noise just sent her over the edge. So I set out to look for a better wiper.
That's when I found some online reviews of SilBlades. They are wipers made from GE Silicone rubber instead of natural rubber. Supposedly, natural rubber breaks down in a matter of months while these will last for years. What I read, they sounded to good to be true. Everyone said they were fantastic and lasted forever; in fact they come with a 5 year unconditional guarantee. Of course lots of junk products come with big guarantees knowing that people never take the time to return things that break or don't save the paper work, so I was still skeptical. The fact that everything I read, including a comments for folks at Odyclub, indicated that 6 months is the expected life of a wiper blade (even Anco agrees) didn't help.
I decided to take a chance on them when I discovered that I could get them at Amazon for $12 instead of the $22 they go for at the Silblade site. I put them on both cars in December.
The initial difference wasn't substantial. What I mean is they performed flawlessly, nor more BRRRRRPPP, and a nice clean windshield, but I'd expect that from any brand new wiper. A big difference became noticeable after a week or two. Over time, the GE Silicone in the blades coats the surface of the glass like Rain-X. That means that the water beads up and runs off the glass at any moderate to fast speed. There's no film of water on the glass to blur the view out the windshield. I cannot over state what an amazing difference this is. During the day and on lighted streets at night, you can drive with the wipers at one speed lower than you used to because you can see clearly 'between' the drops on the window. At night on a dark highway, you don't need the wipers at all - in fact it's had to tell a difference.
After about 5 months, they are still performing as good as new. I will never buy another type of wiper blade.
