How to Change Air Tank in Sons of the Forest

Sons of the Forest throws you into a brutal survival situation from the moment you land — and navigating its underwater caves and flooded areas means managing your oxygen supply carefully. The rebreather and air tank system is one of the game's more practical mechanics, but it's not always immediately obvious how equipping, swapping, or managing your air supply actually works. Here's a clear breakdown of everything you need to know.

What the Air Tank Actually Does

In Sons of the Forest, the air tank (used with the rebreather) allows you to breathe underwater for extended periods. Without it, you're limited to a short breath-hold timer — enough for shallow dips, but nowhere near sufficient for the deeper underwater sections that gate off important loot, bunker entrances, and story items.

The rebreather itself is a piece of equipment you find in the world, not something you craft. Once equipped, it draws from your air tank supply, giving you a visible oxygen meter when submerged. The tank depletes as you breathe underwater and does not automatically refill — which is where player confusion often starts.

How to Equip and Switch the Air Tank

The air tank isn't a standalone item you swap out like a weapon. It functions as a paired accessory to the rebreather. Here's how the system works step by step:

Finding the rebreather and air canisters:

• The rebreather is located in a cave on the west side of the map, near the snowy mountain region. It requires navigating a flooded cave system, so you'll need the air tank before or alongside picking it up — or manage on breath alone for the initial retrieval.
• Air canisters (the refillable/replaceable tanks) are found as loot throughout the world — in crates, bunkers, and supply containers.

Equipping the rebreather:

1. Open your inventory (default: I)
2. Locate the rebreather in your gear
3. Left-click to equip it — it automatically pairs with any air canister in your inventory

Swapping or refreshing the air tank:

• Sons of the Forest does not have a traditional "swap tank" animation like some survival games. Instead, when your air supply runs low, the game draws from additional air canisters in your inventory automatically if they're present.
• You don't manually select which canister to use — the game cycles through available stock.
• To "change" your effective air supply, the action is: ensure you have multiple air canisters in your inventory before diving.

Where to Find Air Canisters 🤿

Air canisters are a consumable resource, and managing your stock is the real challenge. Key sources include:

Stockpiling canisters before attempting any deep underwater objective is the standard approach. Running out mid-dive with no reserves is one of the more punishing experiences the game offers.

Common Misconceptions About the Air Tank System

"I need to manually equip each new tank" — You don't. As long as additional canisters are in your inventory, the rebreather transitions between them passively. The confusion often comes from players expecting an explicit swap prompt.

"The tank refills at base" — It does not refill on its own. There is no crafting recipe or station to recharge air canisters. You must find new ones in the world.

"The rebreather breaks or degrades" — The rebreather itself is a durable equipment item and does not wear out. Only the air canisters are consumed.

"Equipping the rebreather uses a weapon slot" — It does not take up a primary weapon slot. It sits in the equipment/gear section of the inventory system, separate from your combat loadout.

Multiplayer Considerations

In co-op, each player needs their own rebreather and their own supply of air canisters. There's no shared oxygen pool or the ability to pass a tank mid-dive. If you're planning a coordinated underwater run with friends, everyone should independently loot and carry their own supplies before the dive. 🎮

Communication matters here — it's surprisingly easy for one player to surface while another is still deep in a flooded section with a depleting tank.

Variables That Affect How Long Your Air Lasts

The rebreather doesn't have customizable settings, but several factors influence how quickly you burn through tanks:

• Depth and distance of the underwater section — longer routes burn more air per canister
• Number of canisters carried — directly determines total underwater time available
• Navigation efficiency — getting lost in flooded caves drains tanks faster than a clean run
• Difficulty setting — on harder modes, resource scarcity makes pre-dive preparation more critical

Some players develop routes through key underwater areas specifically to minimize canister usage. Others prioritize looting bunkers early to build a reliable canister reserve before attempting story-critical dives.

The right approach to managing your air supply in Sons of the Forest depends heavily on where you are in the game, how much of the map you've explored, your difficulty setting, and whether you're playing solo or with others — each of those variables changes the calculus in ways that are specific to your playthrough.