How to Navigate with a Watch, even a digital one

In a survival situation, you often could end up needing to travel for many miles. Having a good quality compass makes a HUGE difference in whether you arrive at your destination or end up going around in circles for hours. But what do you do if you lose it or your compass breaks? As long as you know the time of day, you can easily find out which way is the right direction you are looking for.

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Differences in the Northern and Southern Hemisphere

The following directions work from almost anywhere in the world. The further north or south you are, the less accurate the results, but they will still get you headed fairly close to your destination. The only difference is, in the Northern Hemisphere, this will show you how to find south. In the Southern Hemisphere, it will show you how to find north.

Type of Watch Needed

It honestly doesn’t matter what type of watch you have. It could be a pocket watch, wrist watch, wind up alarm clock, digital watch or even a tablet or other electronic device that shows the current time. These items can help you see where to aim your body, but as long as you know what time it is (or reasonably close) you can visualize the watch face enough to get headed the way you want to go.

Step 1

Check the time. The current time is the most important part of this. If you have to guess what time it is, the closer to the real time you are, the closer you will be on the direction you choose to go.

Think of it like this:

• A compass is best
• A working watch works fine
• Checking the time via the sun will get you in the general area

Step 2

Suppose your watch says the time is 2:20 in the afternoon. Forget about the minutes, all we need is the hours. In this case, we need the 2 o’clock. If it was 4:30, all you’d worry about is the 4, etc., etc.
Now point your body facing directly to the sun. If you are using your watch or clock, the sun is at the 2 in the first example. It works exactly the same way, no matter what time it is.

Step 3

Either looking at your watch or thinking about a watch face, which way would the 12 be? In our 4 o’clock example, if you hold your left arm straight out to the side, that would be the 1 position. Move it approximately 1/3 of way between where your left arm is pointing, and a spot directly behind the center of your back and you are at 12.

You can do the same no matter what the time is. As long as you know where the sun is, even if it is behind clouds, just point your body facing toward it and that is the hour of the current time.

Step 4

Find the center between the sun and the 12. Looking at your watch, this is easy. Simply find the direction the 2 is pointing if you are using the 4 o’clock example. If you don’t have a watch or clock to look at, it isn’t hard to get very close simply by looking at where your arms are pointing and find the center point between them.

That’s it! The center point is south if you are in the Northern Hemisphere or north if you are in the Southern Hemisphere.

Finding East and West

Once you know which direction will take you south/north, it’s easy to find east and west. If your front is facing south, obviously, your back is facing north. That means your left hand is pointing east and your right hand is pointing west. Just point your finger in the direction you want to go and step forward my friend!

Take a couple of minutes to memorize how to do this and play around with it occasionally. If you ever get lost or separated from your group, it could help save your life!

Double checked my knowledge at:

Lifehacker
Thegentlemansjournal