Yes, the front fenders from MN, RRP etc are pretty good.  Much better than a fixed down tube guard and face fender.

Personally I use a mud hugger on the front. Wanted a decent mudguard as I wear specs and was getting hacked off with mud getting on my glasses. The MH seems to do the job really well in my opinion,don't really have the problem anymore. Have also got a down tube fender and seems to team up well with above. Happy with the combination of both

I really rate the Zefal FM30 front guard. Also about half the price if the other options.

Also the Crud XL is good if you need to swap between bikes.

Since going to longer front guards, I haven't used a downtube guard in years.

Yes it does make a big difference, since switching to a Crudcatcher XL I don't need to wear glasses to stop the mud in my eyes

Mudhugger for me.

MH here

Mudhugger hear as well even use a short front one on the rear...

RRP bolt on pro guard, pretty much no glasses needed even in the depths of winter.

Another one here for Mudhugger

Glad i fitted mine for yesterday's ride!

Cutting through a field (it is a bridelway) only to find the local farmer has put the cows and their calfs in the field and said cows are all on the main bridleway path so i had to divert further into the field to avoid them (always best when they have calfs with them!)

Cue lots of unavoidable cow pats! mangaed to steer around most but did hit a few, looked down and i had a light cow pat spraying to my shorts but nothing higher up!

Mudhugger is really effective but overall I prefer a crown mounted guard. Love my SKS Shockboard, it's an ancient design and the QR mounting system isn't up to much but once cabletied on they're fantastic. Very good mud protection, no effect on mud clearance etc, And not even all that ugly.

Mudhugger

I have a rockguards on one bike, mud hugger on another and a bendy through the fork on a third

The big ones are Both great. It's always a surprise getting clag in the face on the bike with the short guard. The third mostly gets used as a dad bike so is not out in the rain much.

They both have enormous mudhugger rears in winter as well.

It makes quite the difference.

Front MH here too. The rear's going on tomorrow 🙁

I would put the current crop of mudguards that are actually efficient as one of the most important developments in MTBin the last 5 years.

I found the RRP ProGuard and Mudhugger EVO to do an equally good job of protection. The RRP is much better quality, but the MudHugger has more clearance to avoid being hit by the crown on some forks.

Massive fan of my Crud XL as hardly anything gets past it even in the muddiest of conditions.

Proguard Max here. Bloody love it, brilliant thing!

Crud XL is good for situations where there is limited clearance between top of tyre and the fork arch as it has a cutout. Also if you need to remove the mudguard after each ride (eg to fit bike into a car, front wheel off so it can lie flat) then the Crud XL can be removed and refitted frequently as it secures to the fork legs with O rings which are easily unhooked, rather than the ubiquitous zip tie.

Bought a mugguard and on a pike 29 couldn't get enough clearance between it and a 2.5 DHF.

Back to the RRP-style cutout ones.

Bought a mugguard and on a pike 29 couldn’t get enough clearance between it and a 2.5 DHF.

Back to the RRP-style cutout ones

Oh buggery! That's what I've just ordered, and I've a Pike with a 2.6 DHF!

You two with Pikes, Mudhugger EVO won't get hit by the crown (unlike the RRP ProGuard), plenty of clearance for a 2.4 too.

RRP bolt on pro guard - 35 quid for a small length of plastic 😕
Bike component companies just love ripping their customers off for as much as they can get away with.

Mudhugger about 20 which seems fair enough, crud ive seen up to 25, but thats at least quite intricate.
But £35 is just a bit of a stretch on the pricing front.

Back to the RRP-style cutout ones.

If before fitting you mark and cut the shape out on a thin bit of plywood, you can reproduce your own basic one should any of the fitting points deteriorate.

crud XL is a game changer if you can abide the looks.

I’m running the bigger Mudhugger on 2 29ers with 2.5 Assegais or 2.6 MMs at the front. There is plenty of clearance on a Lyrik and a Zeb.

Dfender for me, not pretty but effective.

DFender every time.
Easy on and off for bike in car trips. Really good at keeping mud off your face.
Only downside? No protection of fork seals.

I've got bolt on RRP on one bike and crudcatcher XL on the hardtail. Both are good, the RRP looks cleaner but I'd say the XL is better at keeping mud at bay. It's longer and because it can be moved up and down easily, there's no clearance issues.