The Subaru Outback is designed to take on the rugged outdoors and the windshield wipers can end up taking a beating. We asked the SubaruOutback.org community to help us find the best Subaru Outback windshield wipers and you did not let us down.
Because your wipers sit out all day in the direct sun and have to deal with everything from heat to extreme cold (not to mention ice, snow, bugs, and more), they need to be replaced from time to time. Nobody likes turning on their wipers and seeing streaks fill up their windshield. It’s both an irritant and a potential danger on the road. It is best to replace the wipers now rather than wait until they break down completely when you need them most.
So we asked you which windshield wiper blades you relied on for your Outback. The ones you had tested out day after day, storm after storm, and went back to the next time you needed them. Here are your recommendations for the best Subaru Outback windshield wipers, along with some from our experts.
Original Equipment
Like @TheHozOpp1 said, "I like the OEM blades. They have performed well and have a guaranteed fitment and performance specific to Outbacks." It's hard to beat one that's designed specifically to fit your glass.
Original equipment wipers are a little bit more money, but they're also premium wipers. With OEM wipers, you're also guaranteed that you won't have any problems fitting the wiper to the arm, because they're designed to fit only your vehicle. It’s no wonder they are among the best Subaru Outback windshield wipers you can buy.
Bosch makes everything from power tools to engine management systems, but windshield wipers are one of the products where you're most likely to see the company's logo. They make a wide range of wiper products, their products were recommended by @cardoc, @stevenva, @Febreze Mee, and by us.
Their Icon line is the top of the range and highly recommended. Bosch says that its unique ClearMax 365 wiper blade rubber is extremely resistant to cracking from long-term environmental exposure. In an ozone test, it went 150 hours without the rubber cracking where leading competitors failed in fewer than 50.
The Icon blades also use a beam-style design in place of the more traditional metal frame and hinge wiper. This works better to keep them flat to the windshield glass and it makes the blades less likely to get jammed up by snow and ice in the winter. Bosch blades, no matter which you get, are high up on our list of wiper blade recommendations.
Nobody has been in the windshield wiper game longer than Trico…the company that actually invented the things back in 1917. Today, Trico offers up wide selection of wiper blades for every budget.
Our favorites are the Trico Silicone Ceramic, because these top-grade blades are designed to last three times longer than average blades. The coating reduces friction and drag on the glass, letting them operate more smoothly and doing a better job of clearing your windshield. The coating also protects the blade material from ozone, UV, and weather conditions, part of why they can last so long in the first place. @DoctorB recommended Trico after using them on their 2018 Outback.
A number of SubaruOutback.org members sung the praises of Rain-X windshield wipers. Rain-X offers its top-end wipers with a beam-blade design that works better to keep the blades clear of snow and ice and planted to the glass. But it also has conventional hinge-frame wipers for those looking for a value-priced wiper and then the middle-ground hybrid wiper.
The Hybrid wiper combines the features of beam and conventional wipers, offering a lower cost than a beam-style but much better performance than a conventional wiper. Users @peterscott and @Flames gave Rain-X the nod, and @dilbout recommended Rain-X for a rear wiper fitment as well.
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Lead photo credit Sashkin / Shutterstock
What Are the Best Subaru Outback Windshield Wipers?
With Aquapel I don't even need wipers unless it's raining hard or I'm creeping along at city speeds. When I need 'em, I use Icons because they are consistently rated the highest. When I think they need replacement, I clean 'em with alcohol and a paper towel. When that it is no longer impressive, I sand 'em lightly with fine sandpaper. When THAT isn't impressive, I replace 'em. The alcohol and sandpaper are not my ideas, rather, from the internet. How wrong could THAT be? The Aquapel recommendation is from decades of using it on three vehicles. It is far superior to Rain-X. (Tip: I tried applying it myself, but wasn't quick enough, as it dries WAY fast. Have a windshield shop that uses it often apply it.)
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