Nose clips. Not sexy, but essential.
If you’ve ever had chlorinated water shoot up your nose mid-backstroke breakout, or tried to power through a hypoxic set only to get derailed by a rogue splash, you know exactly why these little plastic clamps matter. They may be the smallest item in your mesh bag, but when it comes to performance, nose clips punch way above their weight.
For competitive swimmers, artistic swimmers, and anyone doing serious underwater work, a good nose clip isn’t optional—it’s gear. Like goggles or caps, the right one disappears when it’s working, and becomes your worst enemy when it’s not. It needs to stay secure through walls, resist slippage when you’re soaked in sweat and sunscreen, and ideally, not leave a permanent dent on your face for the post-practice coffee run.
Most people treat them like a five-dollar afterthought. We didn’t. We put these clips through the wringer: high-intensity sets, long-course training blocks, sprint test sets, and underwater dolphin kicks from swimmers who treat 15m as a starting point. We gathered feedback from elite athletes, seasoned coaches, and the SwimSwam community to see which clips could handle the grind—and which ones barely survived warm-up.
And as always, Speedo leads the lane. The brand remains the go-to for a reason—durability, fit, and a design team that clearly listens to swimmers. But they’re not alone. Arena, FINIS, and SPORTI have stepped up, offering budget-friendly and high-performance options alike.
Below please see how the best nose clips for competitive swimming stack up in 2025.
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