How Tight Should Sidemount Bungees Be?

This is One of the Most Common Sidemount Problems
What Sidemount Bungees Are Supposed to Do
The Problem With Bungees That Are Too Tight
The Problem With Bungees That Are Too Loose
The Goal Is Controlled Cylinder Movement
Your Cylinder Choice Changes Everything
Bungees Should Not Be Fixing Other Problems
A Simple Way to Evaluate Your Bungee Tension
The “Perfect” Bungee Tension Doesn’t Exist
Final Thought

This is One of the Most Common Sidemount Problems

A diver adjusts trim. Then adjusts weighting. Then moves attachment points. But the real problem was the bungees all along. Sidemount bungees do far more than simply “hold the cylinders in.” They affect:

cylinder position
trim
streamlining
movement
hose routing
and how stable the entire system feels underwater

This leads to one of the most common sidemount questions:

How tight should sidemount bungees actually be?

The short answer:

Tight enough to control the cylinders.
Loose enough to avoid fighting the system.

The question then becomes how do you find that balance.

What Sidemount Bungees Are Supposed to Do

Bungees are not there to

force cylinders into place
compensate for bad rigging
or hold the tanks against your body through brute tension

Their job is much simpler. They are there to maintain consistent cylinder positioning throughout the dive.

As buoyancy characteristics change during the dive, the bungees help keep the tanks:

streamlined
tucked in
and aligned with the diver’s body

When properly adjusted, they almost disappear from your awareness. When improperly adjusted, they create constant problems.

The Problem With Bungees That Are Too Tight

A lot of divers assume tighter is better. Usually because they want the tanks pulled in as tightly as possible. But overly tight bungees often create

excessive cylinder pressure under the arms
difficulty clipping and unclipping cylinders
unstable cylinder movement during manipulation
valve shutdown complications
increased task loading
rotation of the cylinders

In some cases, they can distort cylinder positioning instead of improving it. The diver starts fighting the system instead of working with it.

The Problem With Bungees That Are Too Loose

Loose bungees create a different set of problems. Without enough tension

cylinder valves hang low
tank bottoms drift up and out
trim becomes inconsistent
cylinders move excessively during propulsion

This often creates drag and instability. It also increases the chance of:

contact with the cave floor
silting
and environmental damage

This is especially in overhead environments. Loose cylinders become more than just an annoyance.

The Goal Is Controlled Cylinder Movement

This is where many divers misunderstand sidemount. The cylinders should not feel rigidly bolted into place. There should be some movement. But it should be:

controlled
predictable
and stable

The tanks should naturally settle into position instead of needing constant adjustment. That balance matters more than achieving the tightest possible setup.

Your Cylinder Choice Changes Everything

There is no universal “correct” bungee tension because cylinder characteristics matter. Steel cylinders behave differently than aluminum. Short cylinders behave differently than long cylinders. High buoyancy swing cylinders often require different tuning than more neutral options. This is why copying another diver’s setup exactly often fails. Their cylinders may not behave like yours.

Bungees Should Not Be Fixing Other Problems

One of the biggest mistakes divers make is using bungees to compensate for

bad weighting
poor trim
incorrect lower attachment points
unstable cylinder rigging

That usually creates a chain reaction of adjustments. The diver tightens the bungees – which affects cylinder angle – which affects trim – which affects hose routing – which leads to even more compensation. Fix the foundation first.

weighting
cylinder rigging
attachment points
trim

Then fine-tune bungee tension. Not the other way around.

A Simple Way to Evaluate Your Bungee Tension

During the dive, ask yourself

Are the cylinders stable without feeling forced?
Can you manipulate the tanks smoothly?
Do the cylinders stay streamlined throughout the dive?
Are you constantly adjusting them?
Do they remain controlled as gas is depleted?

If the setup constantly demands attention, then something is probably off. Good sidemount systems should feel calm and predictable underwater.

The “Perfect” Bungee Tension Doesn’t Exist

This frustrates some divers. They want an exact measurement or universal rule, but sidemount doesn’t work that way. While there are guidelines to follow, there’s no hard set rule. The ideal tension depends on

cylinder type
diver size
harness system
exposure protection
weighting
environment
and personal preference

What matters is not whether your bungees match someone else’s setup. What matters is whether the system remains

streamlined
stable
and manageable throughout the dive

Final Thought

Sidemount works best when the system feels balanced, not forced. Overly tight bungees often create tension and instability. Overly loose bungees create drag and inconsistency. The sweet spot is somewhere in between the following two things.

Enough tension to control the cylinders.
Not so much tension that the system fights back.

That’s where sidemount starts to feel natural.

Setting up your sidemount cylinders is one of the most involved procedures in sidemount diving. If you want to feel comfortable in the water, you must have the complete system configured properly. Cylinder rigging, including diagrams and configuration walk-throughs, is covered in the Sidemount Diving Guide.

Readers of this article can receive $10 off the book Sidemount Diving or $5 off the book Recreational Sidemount Diving when purchasing directly from the website.

Use code BUNGEE10 for the Sidemount Diving Guide and BUNGEE5 for the Recreational Sidemount Diving Guide during checkout.

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