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.
Our number one pick for surfing: the Ventriq Sport Nasal Strips. They stay put through saltwater and paddling and keep the airway open between sets.
If you surf, the best nasal strips are stiff sport strips with a saltwater proof adhesive, because surfing asks a strange thing of your breathing: long stretches of calm paddling broken up by sudden bursts of maximum effort when you paddle into a wave or scratch over one that is about to break. A strip will not make you paddle faster or read a swell any better, but it lowers the resistance your nose creates on every breath, which matters when you are trying to recover quickly between sets rather than sitting out the back gasping. If your nose tends to shut down under exertion, or you carry a structural issue like a deviated septum, a strip gives some of that airway back before you even paddle out.
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 broke my nose more than once along the way, so I know what it is like trying to pull air through a nose that will not cooperate. I put the surgery off so I could keep training, and I built Ventriq to give myself a way to breathe properly in the meantime. I noticed the difference at night first, then in the water, coming up from a hold down with a nose full of saltwater and no easy way to clear it before the next wave arrived.
Why Nasal Breathing Matters in Surfing
Surfing is not a steady endurance sport like distance running. It is long periods of low effort paddling and sitting, interrupted by short maximal bursts when you paddle for a wave, duck dive under one, or scratch over the top of a closing set. How well your airway works during those bursts, and how quickly you settle again afterward, has a real effect on how the rest of the session feels.
Nasal breathing slows your breathing rate, warms and humidifies the air before it reaches your lungs, and triggers a calmer nervous system response than mouth breathing. The nose also produces nitric oxide as air passes through it, which acts as a bronchodilator and a vasodilator, helping open your airways and relax your blood vessels, useful when you are trying to settle your heart rate while sitting on your board waiting for the next set.
The nose has a natural limit at high effort, which is normal for everyone. It gets worse for surfers because saltwater and cold air both irritate the nasal lining, and repeated wipeouts can leave your sinuses congested for the rest of a session. A deviated septum makes it worse again, reducing 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 narrower side can feel almost fully blocked by the time you paddle back out for a second session.
How Nasal Strips Help Surfers
A nasal strip sits across the lower cartilage of your nose and uses spring tension to lift the nasal valve open from the outside. The nasal valve is the narrowest point in your whole airway, the same spot that pinches inward if you press gently on the side of your nose and breathe in hard, and it is the spot most likely to collapse when you are paddling flat out for a wave.
For a surfer with a deviated septum, the strip helps most on the side where the deviation crowds the valve area, giving back some width on the restricted side right when you are gasping after a duck dive. For a surfer with no structural issue, the main benefit is stopping the nostrils from pulling inward under hard breathing during a sprint paddle, which happens to plenty of people with a straight septum too, especially once the cold and saltwater have irritated the nasal lining.
I use the Ventriq Sport Nasal Strips for sessions and for training paddles. They use a stiffer spring than a sleep strip and an adhesive built to stay put through saltwater and spray, which matters in a sport where your face gets dunked repeatedly. A strip that lifts off after the first wipeout is not doing anything for you.
Our pick for surfing
Ventriq Sport Nasal Strips
Drug free strips built to stay put through sweat and hold the nasal valve open, so you keep breathing through your nose when the effort ramps up. From EUR 20, with buy more save more packs.
Shop Ventriq SportSleeping or recovering instead? See Ventriq Sleep, or read how to choose the right strip.
What to Look for in a Surfing Nasal Strip
Not all nasal strips are built the same, and for surfing a few things actually matter:
- Adhesive strength: standard strips lift within minutes of getting wet. You need a strip made for sport, with an adhesive designed to grip through saltwater immersion.
- Spring tension: more tension means more lift and a more open airway. A soft strip made for sleep will not give you the same support once you are paddling hard for a wave.
- Fit and position: a strip that sits too high on the bony part of your nose does nothing. It has to sit across the lower cartilage where the nasal valve is.
- Skin tolerance: if you are surfing most days, you want a strip that does not leave your skin raw every time you peel it off after a session.
I have tried a lot of strips over the years. Most were fine for sleep but failed the moment saltwater got involved. The Ventriq Sport strip holds better and keeps lifting the airway open through a full session, wipeouts included.
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, and I am not going to tell you a strip raises your VO2 max or turns you into a better surfer, because the evidence does not support that. A strip is a breathing aid, not a fitness upgrade, and it will not cure sleep apnea or fix a structural deviation on its own.
What I can tell you from my own experience is that the subjective difference in the water is real. Breathing through your nose while you sit and wait for a set feels calmer and less draining than mouth breathing, and it is easier to settle your heart rate before you paddle for the next wave when you are not fighting for air. Whether that changes how many waves you catch depends on the surfer and the session. If you want the deeper look at the evidence, I have covered it in Boost Your Workout: How Nasal Strips Enhance Athletic Performance.
Nasal Strips if You Have a Deviated Septum
If you have a deviated septum and you surf regularly, nasal strips are probably more useful for you than for the average surfer. You are starting every session with your airway already restricted, and saltwater exposure and repeated hold downs give it little chance to settle down, so anything that gives part of that width back before you paddle out helps. External strips work best when the restriction sits at the nasal valve rather than deep inside the nasal cavity, which is the most common pattern after a knock from your board or a wipeout. I have written more on the condition generally in Best Nasal Strips for a Deviated Septum.
If your breathing also wrecks your sleep and slows your recovery after a heavy day in the water, How to Sleep Better with a Deviated Septum covers what has worked for me overnight.
My Recommendation
For surfing, get the Ventriq Sport Nasal Strips. They were built for sport and they stay on through saltwater and repeated dunkings. If your main need is breathing and recovering better overnight after a heavy session, the Ventriq Sleep Nasal Strips are the right pick for bedtime, and plenty of surfers use both: sport strips in the water, sleep strips overnight. If you also swim laps as part of your training, the same thinking applies to nasal strips for swimming, and if you race triathlon and swimming is your weak leg I have covered nasal strips for triathlon too. Not sure which strip fits your nose shape best? Read how to choose the right nasal strip. If heavy sessions leave you snoring at night, have a look at Do Nasal Strips Stop Snoring.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are nasal strips allowed in surfing competitions?
Yes. Nasal strips are a mechanical breathing aid with no drug action, so they are not on any WADA prohibited list, and nothing in World Surf League or amateur competition rules bans them. You will see competitors wearing them at every level.
Will a nasal strip stay on in saltwater?
A quality sport strip uses an adhesive built to grip through saltwater immersion, so normal paddling and the odd wipeout will not lift it. Repeated long hold downs or a full day in and out of the water will eventually wear any adhesive down, so most surfers carry a spare.
Where exactly should I place a nasal strip?
Position it across the fleshiest part of your nose, over the lower cartilage rather than the bone. If you feel the spring tension lifting your nostrils when you breathe in, it is in the right place. Sit it too high and it does nothing.
Do nasal strips help with congestion after duck diving or wipeouts?
They keep the nasal valve open so any airflow you do have moves more easily, but they will not clear saltwater or mucus out of a congested nose on their own. A gentle saline rinse after a session helps with that side of things.
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.
Can I use a sleep nasal strip for a surf session instead of a sport strip?
You can, but most sleep strips are not made for saltwater immersion and will start peeling within the first wave or two. A sport specific strip uses a stronger adhesive built to hold through a full session in the water.
