Why use a surfboard
nose guard?
Why use a surfboard nose guard? Silicone nose guards fit the tip of performance surfboards to protect surfers against discarded surfboards after a fall. It is one of the most underrated surf accessories but one that can prevent serious or fatal puncture wound injuries. Because surfboard noses are so pointy and sharp.
A surfboard nose guard is a silicone triangular shape that can be stuck to the tip of the surfboard. This protects the human body against the pointed, sharp end of a surfboard. The guard also protects the fragile surfboard tip during transit.
Hawaiian surfboard shaper Eric Arakawa and insurance salesman David Skedeleski invented and designed the nose guard in 1986. The original noseguard was V shaped and about two inches long and soon became commonly used all over the globe. Surfboard nose guards today are triangular shaped. Surfboard nose guard were much more common in the 1980s and early 1990s. However they stopped being used in 21st-century surfing.
Surfboard nose guards are usually made from a flexible silicone and are designed to absorb the energy of an impact.
Injuries from high performance surfboards
Accidents happen all the time to both beginner and advanced surfers. Offshore wind, for instance, can easily pick up a floating board and throw it against someone’s face. Also, a slippery deck can sling shot the nose of the board into your eyes, mouth, forehead, or temple. Surfboards are dangerous weapons, and several things can go wrong in the water.
The ocean like life is unpredictable, raw, and powerful and surfboards can became hazardous missiles ready to hit any obstacle.
The biggest danger lurking in the water is your own surfboard and two thirds of all surf related injuries are board related. Surfboard noses can cause severe injuries to surfers and swimmers, including deep lacerations.
“Does the nose of your board really need to be shaped like the tip of a harpoon?” ask Andrew Nathanson, Clayton Everline, and Mark Renmneker, the authors of the book “Surf Survival.”
“Shortboards have a tendency to recoil on their outstretched leashes after a wipeout, and the sharp nose of the board may spring back and hit its rider, often in the face.
“Many of these injuries could be prevented by rounding the nose of surfboards to a minimum radius of one and a half inches (37 mm).”
“The Surfrider Foundation promoted a safety measure coined ‘the dolphin nose,’ but this design feature has not gained wide popularity probably because it bucks the current fashion trend of shortboards with sharp pointy tips. “
Aesthetics over safety seems to be the case with pointy, high performance surfboards.
Peace of Mind
Nose guards might not be the coolest surf item, but they do not lessen the performance of your surfboard. Simple collisions between surfers have led to lost lives and tips of surfboards have perforated through eyes and cheeks.
