I came across the Surfbent nose protector on facebook and decided to try out
I have used various nose protectors before each with their pros and cons The Deviator, Unifiber's version of the Jeezes Knob impact foam on the nose and boom and T boom protectors. Having various crack in the nose of board from catapults or just the board being lifted in a gust and flipped back on the nose.
The surfbent Nose protector looked good as it gives a wider range of protection for the nose and side rails while having minimal effect on the movement of the mast around the board. Surfbent is suggesting it would be good for fiolers particularly in the learning stage. I got to get it on the water on Sunday it was easy to fit. You remove the base plate from your mastbase and replace it with the Surfbent. The internal diameter is 110mm so bases can't be bigger than that my gun base fitted easily and the simmer one was pretty close to the maximum diameter. The Surbent comes with guide washer that fits into the mast track ensuring the surfbent is orientated in the right direction. They supply a spare one as well but it you keep your mastbase and surfbent connected together it will not have a chance to get lost. Once on the water I did not even notice I was using it. Unfortunately I was not sailing deep water so was not able to test how it went when trying to water start. Surfbent suggest it will help. Any way I am happy with it and will be using it from now on so I have a used deviator and a couple of used Unifiber nose protectors for sale!
