They look nicer are easier to duck dive and also help to add more curve to the rail / overall bottom curve of the board. People have experimented with cut off noses before - Nat Young rode boards like that for a while. Lots of new shapes like the Nano do not have a pointed nose. Lots of longboards do not have them as the nose works as a functional part of the board for standing on - hence its designed to hold the volume of a person.

There are loads of diff nose shapes out there with lots of diff reasons for them. But do the last few inches need to be pointy - I reckon not on 99% of them.

Legion said..
Very occasionally I use every inch of the nose rail of my board. And on those occasions I'm generally thankful for the pointy nose.

Yeah, nah. I challenge you. Remove 2inches from the nose and round to suit the profile. You won't miss it in the waves I know you're talking about.
Except on a gun. And then only if you surf like Legion.

Cuttlefish said..
Cut off your nose to save your face.
Only a few weeks ago the nose of my board sprang back into my face as I surfaced.
Nose hit me in the eye socket. I say eye socket because luckily it was a fish I was riding with a blunt enough nose to not take my eye out and leaving me with a shiner instead.

In Hawaii i wa surprised at just how many boards have plastic "Nose guards" on..

My Vanguard doesn't have a pointy nose, but then i could only ever dream of surfing like Legion

We used to "dream" of pointy noses ,i was too poor to afford a pointy nose on my fence paling!

Guy I work with lost an eye and I got centre punched just below the nose stitches hurt more than the injury.

One problem I have had is the nose guards come off pain in the ar$e

I agree with Legion. I have looked at my nose while dropping into a 10 footer late on a 7'8". I was wondering why I wasn't nose diving as I was way late. Turns out I had done everything right and had that thing on rail and committed to an extended bottom turn. I literally had about an inch of nose rail NOT buried and was so thankful for that little kick at the end.

Conversely I have looked back at my tail tail as I was skating down a 10-12' wave with a nor-Easter sending 1-2' ribs up the face. On the 7'8" only about the last foot and a half of tail was in the water. Did I need the other 6' of board?

The late drop was not typical of me btw. More typical would be nose dive cartwheel into the pit as the 10 footer went top to bottom on top of me and ragdolled me onto the inside ledge before letting me get a breath.

Buster fin said...

IFocus said..


One problem I have had is the nose guards come off pain in the ar$e

Prepping the board properly before application is key. Then if it does come off, Sikaflex.

Just go with Sikaflex. You could build a house with that stuff.