How To Navigate Using an Analog Watch Instead of Compass

It can be easy to lose your bearings without a compass. Yet, there are ways of findings North, East, South, and West even without a compass.

One method is using an Analog Watch. For the Northern Hemisphere you would point the hour hand towards the sun. Next, draw an imaginary straight line in between the right side of the hour hand and 12 o’clock. The direction pointing out from the watch from the middle of the hour hand and 12 o’clock would be pointing South. For example, if the hour hand is on the 2, the middle would be the 1.

Now, the Southern Hemisphere would be the opposite. You could do the same with what you did for the NH, but instead of South it would be pointing North. Still, the main way to find South in the Southern Hemisphere with an analog watch would be to draw the imaginary line on the left side of the 12 o’clock and hour hand. For example, if the hour hand was on the 2, then the imaginary line would be pointing towards the 7.

This method can also be done without an analog watch if you know the current time, as you can draw a clock either on piece of paper or in the ground. It makes it easier with an analog watch by giving you one less thing you would have to do. Therefore, wearing an analog watch can be beneficial to you.

Check out the video below for more visual and detailed instructions on how to do this:

Guest post written by:

Hello everyone, I’m Jason McDaniel. Ever since I moved up to the mountains of Arizona for a few years. I have loved the great outdoors and moving there helped me find the true beauty that nature can provide. This led me toward staying out in the wilderness longer and watching survival shows. I loved the idea of being lost while surviving out in nature, but this led me figuring that I needed survival gear to live out there longer. Therefore, I got really interested into making survival kits to help me survive longer while I was out in the wilderness. Then, I realized that I needed skills along the kits to actually survive out there. Ever since then I have been reading books, watching survival shows and YouTube videos, learning skills, and practicing them when I can. I’m currently on my way of a Bachelor’s Degree Majoring in Parks and Recreation Management to become a forest ranger. In between college and work I am practicing and learning as much as I can to become a better Survivalist.

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