Figuring out how to use the sled in Sons of the Forest shouldn’t be confusing, and yet it still is. At first, you may be wondering how you’re even supposed to use it. Is it the new log sled, is it for riding in the snow, etc.? Don’t worry, our guide dives into how to get the sled as well as what you can do with it.
Before you can start using the sled, it’s important to briefly mention where you can get one. Unlike many items in Sons of the Forest, you can’t find this one hidden in a bunker or dig it up with a shovel. Instead, you’ll need to find a bunker that has a 3D printer inside it. You can then use 1000ML of Printer Resin at the 3D Printer to make one.
How to Use the Sled in Sons of the Forest
Equipping the Sled and Setting a Hotkey
Even though you can hold the inventory button to use your backpack instead of your inventory, hotkeys are much faster.
Assuming you already have a sled and are simply wondering how it works, here’s what you need to know. First, you’ll need to equip it from your inventory or by using a hotkey if you’ve assigned one. The hotkey system was added a little after the Steam Early Access launch, so if you’re not familiar with it, that’s why.
While you don’t need to, I recommend setting your sled to a hotkey so you can use it quickly when you need it. All you need to do is open up your inventory, hover over the sled, and then press a number on your keyboard. From now on, pressing that number will immediately equip the sled or whatever item you set to your hotkey.
Trees and rocks in your way may stop your journey prematurely.
After you have your sled equipped, make sure you have a slope in front of you to slide down. Fortunately, you can use it regardless of whether there’s snow or not. So this 3D-printed sled works just as well on a dirt slope as on a snowy hill.
Once you’re ready to use the sled, jump into the air and then tap your left-click button. Your character will sit on the sled and begin to slide down whatever slope is in front of you. If there isn’t a hill or you reach the bottom of it, your character will hop out of the sled in a moment.
Since Sons of the Forest doesn’t have a fast travel system, your methods of getting around are limited. It’s either this or the Rope Gun for short distances.
This can be a good way to travel down a hill or mountain quickly without having to sprint the entire time. After putting hours of time into Sons of the Forest, you’ll quickly realize that it involves a lot of running around the island. This can get tiresome when you’re trying to visit every cave and landmark on your GPS.
While the sled isn’t a great method to get around the island, it can occasionally be useful. So try not to forget you have it, but unfortunately, it is very situational. Outside of speeding down a mountain, I’ve also used it to get away from tough mutants that have snuck up on me.
Does the Sled Have Fall Damage?
Whether you’re flying off a cliff intentionally or not in Sons of the Forest, here’s what you should know.
Something worth mentioning quickly is how damage works while riding a sled in Sons of the Forest. Fortunately, you won’t take any damage from fall damage or hitting obstacles while riding. Such as ramming a tree at full speed or flying off the edge of a cliff. I’ve mostly tested moderate heights where you take about half your health in fall damage.
In those cases, if you’re using the sled, you won’t take any damage instead. This can be a fun trick depending on where you are even if you’re not using it on a slope. Since theoretically, you can get to the bottom of a cliff safely and quickly.
Just make sure you have your sled equipped before you take that leap! Also, you may hear groans from your character as you ram trees, but you won’t take damage.
How to Control the Sled
Flat areas will likely end your run even though you can get off manually as well.
I had a few questions when I first started riding my sled down hills that I figure some players may be wondering as well. At first, I was wondering if there was a way to stop once you start sliding down a hill.
You can right-click to get out of your sled even though it may take a moment. This is because you’ll come to a stop and then do an animation. But, you can still slide while doing that animation.
Outside of how to stop, you can also steer your sled by using the A & D keys by default to move left or right. This can steer you pretty heavily, even though you can’t choose how fast or slow you go.
Which can be a little annoying if you’re trying to avoid obstacles in the way. But, as goes with the name of the game, you’re typically in a forest surrounded by trees. Even though you may come across areas with fewer trees like some plains or the beach.
Making a path to your base from a nearby hill can help significantly.
Otherwise, you’ll likely find a ton of trees blocking your path unless you create a clearing by chopping them down. Which isn’t the worst idea if you’re creating a path near your base. Plus, you can use all those logs for new buildings or walls to defend your base.
That’s all there is to this in-depth guide on how to use the sled in Sons of the Forest and the many other questions you may have. This can be disappointing for those of you hoping this would replace the Log Sled from the original game.
Jeff is a journalist with over 10 years of experience writing, streaming, and making content about video games. With an associate degree in journalism, he’s a sucker for RPGs, survival games, roguelikes, and more.