How to Disable Auto Equipping in Sons of the Forest

Sons of the Forest inventory

Sons of the Forest gives you plenty of weapons, resources, and other trinkets to play with. But you might have found that when you pick up one item it auto-equips, emptying your hands of whatever else you were holding. One minute you could be wielding a skull- and tree-cleaving axe, the next you’ve got a tiny stone in your hands. So if you’re wondering how to disable auto equipping in Sons of the Forest, here’s the answer. 

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There is No Auto-Equip Option to Enable or Disable. What Matters is How Long You Hold the Take Button Down For 

It does seem that the game is auto-equipping any item you pick up, but, most of the time, that’s not what’s actually happening.

Instead, items auto-equip when you hold down the take button — E on the keyboard — too long. What you need to do to just pick them up is tap E. Then, the item will be put into your backpack without it replacing whatever’s in your hands.

It seems like it’s meant to be convenient — instead of meddling around in your inventory, hold down E and the object on the ground appears in your hands. But if you don’t know that’s how Sons of the Forest works, it can prove irritating. 

So, to recap:

  • Tap E — pick up an object.
  • Hold E — pick up and equip an object.

Some items will be auto-equipped no matter what you do. Anything you can’t fit in your backpack, such as logs, will end up in your hands. You will also auto-equip items you pick up if your hands are empty.

If you want to drop/unequip an object, tapping G will do the job. But if you’re getting annoyed because every object seems to be auto-equipping the moment you pick it up, it’s probably because you’re holding the take button down too long. 

And that’s how to disable auto-equipping in Sons of the Forest. 


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Chris McMullen
Freelance contributor at The Escapist. I've returned to writing about games after a couple of career changes, with my recent stint lasting five-plus years. I hope, through my writing work, to settle the karmic debt I incurred by persuading my parents to buy a Mega CD. Aside from writing for The Escapist, I also cover news and more for GameSpew. I've also been published at other sites including VG247, Space, and more. My tastes run to horror, the post-apocalyptic, and beyond, though I'll tackle most things that aren't exclusively sports-based.