Modern Sidemount Cylinder Rigging: Why Simpler Is Better

Disclosure: This is an independent account of equipment I use or have used. I work in the diving industry and sell some of the brands or products mentioned, but I am not paid or sponsored to promote them and none of the equipment discussed here was supplied to me free. My preferences are personal conclusions from use, not universal buying advice.

Safety note: Equipment articles cannot replace formal scuba or technical-diving training, a manufacturer manual, a gas plan or a dive plan. Configuration choices must make sense for the diver, environment, team and training involved.

How my cylinder rigging became simpler over time.

How my cylinder rigging became simpler over time. Sidemount is where most of my current diving life happens, so the details that once felt optional have become very obvious after repeated use.

What I notice in sidemount

My left S80 can be rigged with a cam band and attachment point; the right adds simple rubber retention for the long hose. Older solutions often relied on more permanent metal hardware and more complicated assemblies.

Cam bands travel well, can be repositioned and can even be adjusted in the water if the configuration needs correction. The real test of a rigging component is whether it improves control without becoming another thing to snag, maintain or forget.

The practical point

For me, the value of the system is not that sidemount is automatically better. It is that this configuration solves the problems I currently care about with very little wasted hardware.

My sidemount cylinders rigged and ready: simple attachments, clean routing and no unnecessary hardware.

Why my rigging became simpler

Older sidemount rigging often involved metal hose clamps, elaborate bolt-snap assemblies and hardware that required tools to change. My current S80s are much simpler: cam bands, lower clips and only the elastic needed for the hose management I actually use. A cam band can be moved or opened without a screwdriver and is easier to travel with.

Simpler does not mean loose. The cylinder still has to sit predictably through the pressure range, the long hose has to remain controlled, and clips have to be positioned where I can manipulate them. The reduction in hardware is worthwhile only because the remaining parts still do the job.

Why sidemount changes the equipment question

Sidemount is not simply backmount with the cylinders moved to the sides. Cylinder position, hose routing, regulator orientation, attachment points, buoyancy distribution and access all interact. That is why small details become important: the length and position of a bungee, the angle of a first stage, the position of a lower clip, whether an S80 has started to become positive, and whether an accessory can be removed for a particular dive.

Most of my diving today is sidemount. I may use one aluminium S80 for a recreational dive and two for more demanding or technical dives. One of the practical benefits for me is logistics: cylinders can often be placed in the water before I kit up, so I am not carrying the complete mass of the system across land. Underwater the cylinders become part of a very clean, balanced configuration.

Minimal does not mean stripped of safety

Minimalism only works when the remaining equipment still covers the actual problems. My two-cylinder setup gives me independent gas supplies. My current regulators keep a mechanical pressure indication even though wireless transmitters are my primary way of seeing pressure. A drysuit may provide an independent buoyancy source on a technical sidemount dive where the wing has a single bladder. Those are deliberate layers; they are not decorative redundancy.

The same thinking explains why I do not automatically fit every possible clip or accessory. If I know I will carry a cylinder out of the water, a neck clip can be useful because I can transfer the load to a D-ring rather than the bungee. If I will leave the cylinder at the water’s edge, that same clip may add no useful capability. The correct answer depends on the dive.

Configuration has to be lived in

A sidemount system can look perfect on a floor and be irritating in the water. The test is whether I can reach valves, switch regulators naturally, read or recover pressure information, donate gas, control buoyancy and propulsion, and keep the system quiet against my body. That is why I value the details of my digital sidemount gas-management configuration: information moved to the wrist, while mechanical backups stay small and protected at the first stages.

What I check before calling a sidemount configuration finished

I want valve access, stable cylinders through the gas range, repeatable regulator switches, uncluttered donation, usable inflators and a body position that does not require constant correction. Then I deliberately move, roll, reach and breathe from each side. A configuration is finished only when it still works while I am doing the dive rather than posing for a photograph.