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2 History of Sidemount Diving

Diving with Sidemount Configuration originated in the 1960s in the United Kingdom.

Cave explorers often faced the problem on their excursions that flooded syphons were not passable by foot. They therefore carried scuba diving equipment with small cylinders in order to dive through these narrow passages. Because most of the exploration trip still took place on dry ground, explorers experimented with very minimalist equipment which would hamper them as little as possible. Cylinders were mounted at the side of the body and attached with a belt to the waist and thigh. That way the equipment could be donned and removed quickly and wasn’t too bulky. The single cylinders were not broader than the body of a person and could be shoved ahead or dragged behind when passing through bottlenecks. The so-called ‘English System’ was born.

In the 1970s US-American Cave explorers applied the system to exploration trips which mainly took place under water which meant that it had to be adapted to the requirements of cave diving.

Attached to the thighs, the cylinders would have hindered paddling hence they were moved further upward, towards the armpits. However, they were still carried at the side of the body due to reasons which we will explain later on. Also, a buoyancy system was needed. Home-made belt systems and improvised buoyancy compensators were constructed, for example the legendary buoyancy compensators based on the Camelbaks® – hydration packs for endurance athletes. These were sewn, glued, or tied on to the belts and de- or inflated via the drinking tube.

Since the 1990s sidemount systems have been mass-produced by manufacturers of diving equipment, and diving with sidemount gear has been made accessible to a broader public. The purchasable systems feature different versions and in this book we will introduce the three basic configurations they are based on.

2.1 Sidemount Diving – Monkey Diving

The term sidemount diving indicates a configuration of equipment where the cylinders are mounted only at the side of the body and not on the back (backmount). Special attachment and buoyancy systems are being used, which show the benefits of this way of diving to its best advantage: freedom of movement, diving in any desired body position, perfect trim, etc.

In Anglo-American usage the term ‘monkey diving’ has become established for diving in sidemount configuration. Diving with laterally mounted cylinders obviously wasn’t regarded as sensible.

It should be noted that there is a conceptual distinction to be made when diving with side mounted cylinders when the main air supply cylinders are mounted on the back: