In 2021, I moved into my van, got a drysuit, and started sharing my journey of becoming a cold water diver in my series DIVE DRY ROAD TRIP. In that series, I documented my mistakes and learnings of using a drysuit with my sidemount configuration while exploring dive sites around the Pacific Northwest in the US.

Since then, I have upgraded some of my gear and learned a lot from more experienced cold water divers, so I want to share these lessons in a concise format.

• An extra low pressure quick connect hose on your right first stage so you have inflator hoses on both sides. You need one for your dry suit and one for your wing. We’ll talk about configuration in a minute.
• Drop D-rings. You should already have these on your harness for clipping off gear or carrying a gear pouch, but I mention them because you’ll need them for clipping steel tanks, if you choose to dive steel. 
• Bolt snaps. I’ve mentioned these before, but having large clips is really useful for diving with thick gloves. I love the xdeep bolt snaps because of their shape, but choose anything that’s big and easy to manipulate.
• Harness and tank adjustments. You are going to be physically bigger so you’ll need more space in your harness. Also, if you’re working with steel tanks, the band placement will need adjustment in order to keep your gear streamlined and allow for horizontal trim.

There are two camps here.

Drysuit inflator connected to the left tank…

Or, drysuit inflator on the right tank.

I am in the left tank camp, and here’s why:

When I go for a single tank sidemount dive, I always take my left tank, so I want my drysuit connected to that tank. Why? Because consistency is important to me. Also, by nature of design, I can orally inflate my wing, which means with this setup, no matter what, I can use both my drysuit and my wing.

If you learned sidemount while wearing a wetsuit and you want the configuration I’m describing, you need to swap your inflator hose and dump valve positions on your wing.

Getting proper drysuit undergarments made an impact on my warmth and comfort. I also had to significantly increase the amount of weight I was taking on dives. I got by for about a year wearing thrifted synthetic workout clothes and wool thermals, but drysuit undergarments are on another level. These pieces keep you warm while maintaining a thin profile so air can move freely when venting on ascents.

Proper undergarments means wearing significantly more weight, so be prepared for that. Do buoyancy checks with your buddies and figure out your ideal weighting with all combinations of undergarments.

Choosing between steel and aluminum, plus different sizes of tanks makes another impact on the amount of weight you need to carry on your harness. This could be important for you if you have chosen the sidemount configuration due to spine injuries. Taking big steel tanks instead of aluminum will decrease the weight you need to carry on your harness, which could be necessary to not aggravate an injury. You can then get help getting your tanks into the water however, big steel tanks are pretty unwieldily until you’re fully underwater.

I dive with aluminum 80s, and I always have in sidemount. This year, I had the opportunity to try sidemount with steel 100s and steel 50s. I recognize that I am a creature of habit, so I may change my mind about this in the future, but I still prefer diving with aluminum 80s. I found the steel 100s too cumbersome, and the 50s are too impractical for me while living in a tiny space.

Overall, I think steel 50s are great for sidemount diving for the general public, but in order to do 2 dives in a remote place with my van, I would need 4 of these tanks. Plus, I wouldn’t be able to use them in my back mount set up for single tank dives. Tiny living means just about everything I keep in my home has to have multipurpose function in my life.

See what trips are coming up. I always give my community first dibs on spots, so you can sign up for Patreon (and get trip discounts) or my email list to be the first to know about new expeditions in the future.