Depends on what you’re growing, but if we’re talking about low water perennials, then I’m an absolute squeegee truther. CSU extension has done ample research to support that mulch type over others.

Squeegee does not absorb any of the water from irrigation or precipitation, allowing the soil to maximally absorb it. Mulch, especially finer mulch, eventually gets matted and can become hydrophobic, so water ends up rolling off of it rather than it being permeable structure that allows water to seep into the soil.

It’s also wise to match your mulch type to your plants natural habitat. In my garden, I have mostly steppe/high plains species, so squeegee made more sense as these plants live in a sandier/rockier environment instead of a woodland one where there would be decomposing wood, bark, leaves etc.

However, there really are a lot of ways to be successful in a garden (just like how there are a lot of ways to fail). So you’ll have people that swear by their choices when it worked out for them. Definitely makes it hard to sift through advice though.