I have seen pictures of side mount gear back in mid 90's so it is certainly NOT new.
Side mount diving dates to the 1960s. Cavers in the UK used home brewed side mount rigs to traverse sumps.
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I have seen pictures of side mount gear back in mid 90's so it is certainly NOT new.
Thank you very much for the info.Side mount diving dates to the 1960s. Cavers in the UK used home brewed side mount rigs to traverse sumps.
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One thing I haven't seen mentioned in this thread is that it can be a large nuisance form a setup standpoint. One thing you will never see a side mounter try and argue is that it is easier or faster to setup, simply because it isn't.
That being said, I was diving with a very nice German guy from Atlanta and he was rather grumpy that I broke his opinion on sidemount divers. I was in and out of the water just as fast as he was in doubles. If you do it right, it is actually just about as quick as backmount. Maybe another 2-3 minutes in predive and post-dive because of stuffing hoses and what not, so it isn't quite as easy for that, but if you carry your bottles in and out on the harness, you're within 1 minute of backmount divers. Unfortunately most sidemount divers are quite slow which ruins the whole stigma for everyone. For me it is top clip on land and wing inflator on land, bottom clips then drysuit inflator once in the water and I'm ready to go. Both of my second stages stay in the hose retainers until I'm fully situated otherwise. I'll snap the bungee on after the descent has started and I'm not fighting gravity. On a boat it is different and that is where I prefer the on-deck stability of backmount, so twinset it is. There is less to do in twinsets in dive prep so that is nice, and I prefer the simplicity if I have lots of stage/deco bottles or I'm in and out of the water or at the surface a lot with students, but for cave diving, it's just more comfortable.