Stand-Alone Sidemount Harness Options
There are a number of stand-alone sidemount harnesses on the market. Whilst not complete sidemount diving systems, they may warrant consideration if building a mixed, or DIY, configuration rig:
Contents
- 1 Stand-Alone Sidemount Harness Options
- 1.1 SUMP UK Sidemount Harnesses
- 1.2 Deco Sidemount Harness
- 1.3 Darkside Harness
- 1.4 Farr Explorer 1 Harness
- 1.5 Warmbac ASM Sidemount Harness
- 1.6 Kent Tooling Sidemount Harness
- 1.7 DiveRite Transpac XT Harness
- 1.8 DiveRite Transpac XT Tech Harness
- 1.9 Santiago Ultimate Harness
- 1.10 Innodive Sidemount Harness
SUMP UK Sidemount Harnesses


- Buoyancy: Not applicable – harness only
- Material: Nylon webbing and stainless steel fittings.
- Weight: Not Known
- Manual: Not Available
- Manufacturers Link: SUMP UK Facebook
Deco Sidemount Harness
There are two harnesses available; a traditional harness (shoulder straps to the rear lumbar plate) and an ‘H’ style harness (shoulder straps routed to front of harness via ‘T’ attachments). Both harnesses are lightweight and minimalist; providing all the functionality that you’d need with zero superfluous clutter. Many other types of sidemount wing could be attached to this harness. The harness is supplied with 6ft of 5/16th bungee and two bolt-snaps, so the diver can rig out their own tank bungee method (loop, sliding loop, independent, ‘old school’ etc). Both harnesses include fixed front D-rings and offset (drop) D-rings at the read.
The rear crotch strap D-ring is a dual/double ring design; giving more options for equipment attachment. There is no weighting system included with the harness. My solution for weighting, on ‘bare’ harnesses like these, has always been to put a couple of stand-alone weight pouches directly onto the spine webbing. It works great and keeps things very simple. These would be an extra purchase… or you could just thread weights directly onto the spine strap for a more permanent option (less ideal for travelling). The regular harness costs $145.99 and the ‘H’ style harness is $163.99….. very cheap compared to most on the market.
- Buoyancy: Not applicable – harness only
- Material: Nylon webbing and stainless steel fittings.
- Weight: Not Known
- Manual: Not Available
- Manufacturers Link: Deco Dive Equipment
Darkside Harness
The Darkside harness is manufactured in the UK and consists of a hogarthian webbing rig with lumbar and shoulder plates. It has regular sized D-rings and crotch strap.
- Buoyancy: Not applicable – harness only
- Material: Nylon webbing / 316 marine grade stainless steel plates
- Weight: 1.4kg shipping weight
- Manual: Not available
- Manufacturers Link: darkside-diving.co.uk
Farr Explorer 1 Harness
Designed by renown cave explorer Martyn Farr, the ‘Explorer 1’ is a seriously robust harness designed for exploratory cave diving. All metalwork is 316 stainless steel and the waist belt can be stripped down quickly to add/remove weights. Not currently listed on the Farrworld website.
- Buoyancy: Not applicable – harness only
- Material: Nylon webbing / 316 marine grade stainless steel plates
- Weight: Not known
- Manual: Not available
- Manufacturers Link: farrworld.co.uk
Warmbac ASM Sidemount Harness
Another UK manufactured stand-alone harness is the Warmbac. It has a fully adjustable belt and shoulder straps. The bungees run from between the shoulders to the shoulder mounted large D rings. It features a highly adjustable roller-style belt buckle and single “floating” belt through the main ‘H’ harness with lead attachment points. Often worn in conjunction with a dedicated climbing seat harness by UK sump divers.
- Buoyancy: Not applicable – harness only
- Material: Nylon webbing / 316 marine grade stainless steel plates
- Weight: 1.23kg
- Manual: Not available
- Manufacturers Link: Warmbac Divers Sidemount Harness
Kent Tooling Sidemount Harness

- Buoyancy: Not applicable – harness only
- Material: Nylon webbing / 316 marine grade stainless steel plates
- Weight: Not known
- Manual: Not available
- Manufacturers Link: Kent Tooling Sidemount Harness
DiveRite Transpac XT Harness

- Buoyancy: Not applicable – harness only
- Material: Soft backplate constructed of 1000 denier ballistic nylon. Marine grade stainless plates and fittings.
- Weight: Small 4 lbs 4 oz / 1.92kg to Large – 5lbs / 2.29kg
- Manual: Transpac XT Harness Manual
- Manufacturers Link: DiveRite Transpac XT
DiveRite Transpac XT Tech Harness

- Buoyancy: Not applicable – harness only
- Material: Soft backplate constructed of 1000 denier ballistic nylon. Marine grade stainless plates and fittings.
- Weight: < 5lbs / 2.29kg
- Manual: Transpac XT Tech Manual
- Manufacturers Link: DiveRite Transpac XT Tech
Santiago Ultimate Harness

- Buoyancy: Not applicable – harness only
- Material: Nylon webbing and stainless steel fittings.
- Weight: Not Known
- Manual: Not Available
- Manufacturers Link: Santiago Diving Sidemount Ultimate
Innodive Sidemount Harness

- Buoyancy: Not applicable – harness only
- Material: Nylon webbing and stainless steel fittings.
- Weight: Not Known
- Manual: Not Available
- Manufacturers Link: Innodive Sidemount Harness
Want to learn sidemount diving? All of my courses come with expert workshops on how to configure and tailor your chosen sidemount system.
Other informational sidemount equipment lists:
A List of Modern Sidemount Diving Systems
Top 5 Warm-Water Sidemount Fins
The Best Technical Diving Computers 2016