Written from firsthand experience with a deviated septum and checked against clinical sources. We make Ventriq Nasal Strips, so we are always upfront that a strip relieves symptoms rather than fixing the structural problem. Read our methodology or our editorial policy.
For skiers, the best nasal strips are the ones built to hold their grip in cold dry air over a long day on the mountain: a firm spring that pulls the nasal valve open and an adhesive that stays put under a buff, a balaclava or a helmet strap. A strip will not change your engine or raise your VO2 max, but it lowers the resistance your nose creates on every breath, which matters a great deal when the air around you is already cold, dry and thin. If your nose tends to collapse under hard effort, or you have a structural issue like a deviated septum, a strip compensates for that restriction before you even clip into your bindings.
I started using nasal strips for sleep after a Consultant Otolaryngologist at a private hospital in Dublin diagnosed me with a significantly deviated septum and recommended septorhinoplasty. I played rugby for over a decade and my nose took plenty of damage along the way, broken more than once in collisions. I put the surgery off to keep playing, and I built Ventriq to give myself a way to breathe properly in the meantime. I noticed the difference at night first, then during training. Anyone who has climbed a steep pitch on skis or pushed hard on a cross country track will know the exact moment I mean: your nose cannot keep up, you switch to your mouth, and the cold air hits the back of your throat like a slap.
Why Nasal Breathing Matters in Skiing
Skiing asks a lot of your breathing, whether you are working a long climb on touring skis, pushing a cross country loop or just skiing hard runs back to back at altitude. The effort comes in bursts of high intensity followed by a lift ride or a rest, and how you breathe in those recovery windows has a direct effect on how ready you are for the next run.
Nasal breathing slows your breathing rate, warms and humidifies the air before it reaches your lungs, and triggers a calmer autonomic response than mouth breathing. That warming and humidifying step matters more on the mountain than almost anywhere else. Mountain air is cold and dry, and pulling it straight into your lungs through an open mouth can irritate your airway and even trigger a cough or a tight chest, a pattern well known to distance skiers and cross country racers. The nose also produces nitric oxide as air passes through it, a bronchodilator and vasodilator that helps open the airways and improve oxygen uptake at a tissue level.
The catch is that the nose struggles to move enough air at very high intensity, and altitude makes that struggle worse, since the air is already thinner. Part of that is a normal limit everyone shares. But for people with a structural issue it is worse. A deviated septum reduces the cross sectional area of one nasal passage, and combined with the nasal cycle, where the tissue inside your nose alternates which side is more congested on a roughly four hour rotation, the restricted side can feel almost completely blocked on a long climb or a hard descent.
How Nasal Strips Help Skiers
A nasal strip works on the outside of the nose. It spans the lower cartilage and uses a spring action to lift the lateral nasal wall outward, widening the internal diameter at the nasal valve. The nasal valve is the narrowest point in your entire airway, and it is the same spot that pinches inward if you press gently on the side of your nose while breathing in hard.
For a skier with a deviated septum, the strip helps most on the side where the deviation crowds the valve area. For a skier with no structural issue, the main benefit is stopping dynamic valve collapse, where the cartilage gets pulled inward under heavy breathing load on a long climb or a fast pace. In both cases the practical payoff shows up on the sustained efforts, the skins up a touring line, the last lap of a cross country loop, or the run where your legs are burning and you want your breathing to stay steady rather than ragged.
I use the Ventriq Sport Nasal Strips for training and long days out. They are stiffer than a standard sleep strip, built to stay put through sweat and cold, and the adhesive holds even under a buff or a helmet strap. That matters on the mountain, where sub zero temperatures and constant layering will lift a weak strip within an hour.
What to Look for in a Ski Nasal Strip
Not all nasal strips are built the same, and for skiing a few things actually matter:
- Cold weather adhesive: a strip made only for a warm bedroom can go stiff and lose its grip in freezing temperatures. You want a strip made for sport that keeps its hold in the cold.
- Spring tension: more tension means more lift and a more open airway. A soft strip made for sleep will not give you the same airflow under a heavy breathing load on a climb.
- Fit under gear: a strip that sits too high on the bony part of your nose does nothing, and it needs to sit flat enough that it does not catch on goggles, a buff or a balaclava.
- Skin tolerance: if you are out on the mountain most of the day in dry cold air, you want a strip that does not leave your skin raw or chapped after you peel it off.
I have tried a lot of strips over the years. Most were fine for a warm bedroom but lost their grip the moment the temperature dropped. The Ventriq Sport strip holds better and keeps lifting the airway open through a full day on snow.
Does It Actually Improve Performance?
I will be straight about this. The research on nasal strips producing measurable performance gains in trained athletes is mixed. Some studies show small improvements in perceived effort and breathing efficiency. Others show no meaningful change in VO2 max or power output under laboratory conditions. A strip is a breathing aid, not an engine upgrade, and it will not offset the effects of altitude or thin air on its own.
What I can tell you from my own experience is that the subjective difference is real. Breathing through your nose on a long climb or a steady cross country pace feels less effortful and less drying on the throat, and it is easier to hold your composure when you are not gasping cold air through your mouth. Whether that turns into measurable output on snow depends on the skier and the conditions. If you want the deeper look at the evidence, I have covered it in Boost Your Workout: How Nasal Strips Enhance Athletic Performance, Benefits of Nasal Strips for Sport and Do Nasal Strips Improve Athletic Performance.
Nasal Strips if You Have a Deviated Septum
If you have a deviated septum and you ski or ride regularly, nasal strips are probably more useful for you than for the average skier. You are starting every outing with your airway already restricted, and cold dry air makes a narrow passage feel even tighter, so anything that gives part of that width back levels things out a little. External strips work best when the restriction sits at the nasal valve rather than deep inside the nasal cavity, which is a common pattern after a knock or a break to the nose from another sport. I have written more on this in Best Nasal Strips for a Deviated Septum.
If your breathing also wrecks your sleep and slows your recovery after long days on the mountain, How to Sleep Better with a Deviated Septum covers what has worked for me overnight.
My Recommendation
For skiing, get the Ventriq Sport Nasal Strips. They were built for sport and they hold their grip through sweat and cold on a full day out. If your main need is breathing and recovering better overnight after a big day on the slopes, the Ventriq Sleep Nasal Strips are the right pick for bedtime, and plenty of skiers use both: sport strips for the mountain, sleep strips overnight. If you cross train off snow, the same thinking applies to running and cycling. If a heavy day on the slopes leaves you snoring at night, have a look at Do Nasal Strips Stop Snoring and Best Nasal Strips for Sleeping.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are nasal strips allowed in skiing?
Yes. Nasal strips are a mechanical breathing aid with no drug action, so they are not on any WADA prohibited list, and there is no rule against wearing one in alpine or cross country skiing. You will see racers wearing them at the start line.
Will a nasal strip stay on in freezing temperatures?
A quality sport strip is designed to keep its adhesive grip in cold conditions, unlike a basic strip made only for a warm bedroom. Wiping the skin clean and dry before you apply it will help it hold for a full day on the mountain.
Can I wear a nasal strip under a buff or a balaclava?
Yes. Position it across the fleshiest part of your nose, over the lower cartilage rather than the bone, and it should sit flat enough to not catch on fabric or goggle straps.
Do nasal strips help with breathing at altitude?
A strip widens the nasal valve so your nose moves air more easily, which can make nasal breathing feel steadier on a climb. It does not change the oxygen content of the air, so it will not offset the effects of altitude on its own.
Do I need a deviated septum for nasal strips to work?
No. Dynamic nasal valve collapse, where the side of the nose pulls inward under hard breathing, is common even in people with a perfectly straight septum. A strip prevents that collapse and improves airflow either way.
Do nasal strips help with the cold dry air on the mountain?
Breathing through your nose warms and humidifies air before it reaches your lungs, which takes some of the edge off cold dry mountain air compared with breathing through your mouth. A strip makes it easier to keep breathing through your nose during sustained effort.
