We’ve all seen the bold claims in ads and infomercials over the years of a product that’s going to “revolutionize the world of ____!!!” and sadly many seem to fall flat. That said, innovation can indeed still happen, and it seems the team behind the Kimblade wiper blade is legitimately on to something with their new windshield wiper design.
Rather than a thin rubber blade that flops back and forth, the wiping edge of the Kimblade is a block of soft silicone that staggers onto either of its edges as it changes direction. This creates a stronger contact point on the windshield for more effective wiping. It also distributes a water repellent coating (similar to how Rain-X works) as it wipes—a property built into the material itself—and if you find the repellent less effective over time, you only have to wipe the blades dry for approximately 5 minutes.
First conceived in 2015, and reaching prototyping stage in early 2017, the Kimblade wiper blade has already received some legitimate credibility. At the 2017 INPEX Inventor’s trade show in Pittsburg—a large-scale convention organized by the people at InventHelp—the Kimblade took home gold metal awards in both the Safety and Security and Cleaning Products categories. They’ve run successful campaigns on both Kickstarter, raising $370,627 CAD in 2018. They’re running another campaign on Indiegogo and have generated $526,262 CAD till date. The universal blade kits start at $49, which is a 30% savings over their anticipated retail price once a formal market launch takes place.
