The Trico Sentry was really the only wiper blade that performed poorly in our testing. Right from the outset, we noticed an occasional streaking issue on the driver's side, paired with a faint squeak in drier conditions. These would inevitably get worse throughout the life of the blade.
Now that we had the precipitation set up, we hopped in the driver's seat to operate the wipers themselves. We alternated between intermittent, medium, and high wiper speed on each level of simulated rain—running each speed for 30 seconds. Once we cycled through the water levels, we ran the blades for 30 seconds on a dry windshield and noted any noises or streaks.
Bear in mind, if you live in a dry, arid region such as Phoenix or Las Vegas, premium wiper blades aren't nearly as critical to safe driving as they would be if you live in, say, Portland or Seattle. It's your car and your call.Silicone blades are built to last up to twice as long as conventional ones, and that durability can help them perform better than rubber blades in demanding conditions. However, silicone blades are still more expensive than normal rubber.
If your vehicle has a specialized wiper arm, you'll need to verify that a wiper blade is compatible with that style. They usually tell you which styles work on the packaging and feature an adapter that will fit on your vehicle.A good rule of thumb for this is every 12 months. But because noticing worn wiper blades is pretty easy, this is really up to you. If your wiper blades start streaking, squeaking, chattering, or just not removing water like they used to, it's time to replace them.