I used to try all the various tricks for using a solid winter cover...each one was a pain the the rear to me...nothing worked well. It seemed wind, ice, snow or rain would always wreak havoc on my solid winter cover blues. But then I got a dark colored tight mesh winter cover for my above ground pool. It comes with the ratcheting red wire that tightens around the pool, below the top rails making it immovable in even the worst winter wind storms in Northern Illinois. Rain, snow and ice aren't a problem any longer with the mesh cover either.
I normally keep my pool running with good levels until the water temperature cools off a good deal and open in early spring, again when water temperature are still cold. We certainly aren't going to go swimming in early spring, but my pool water is always looks real good and clear. I'm not sure if my cover is one of the micro-mesh winter covers or another type. I bought it many years ago and haven't needed to replace it yet (amazing too!). It's a dark brown, a very fine weaved mesh and you cannot see through it at all.
Likewise, the closest selection I seen on the pool was a mesh safety cover. While this is a mesh, it is a different enough product where I didn't want to select it in the poll.
Dan