How to Find Your Bearings Using an Analog Watch as a Compass

The Ultimate Low-Tech Navigation Hack

Imagine you are out on a hike, your smartphone battery dies, and you realize you have wandered off the trail. You do not have a physical compass, but you do have an analog watch on your wrist and a clear view of the sun. With just these two elements, you can quickly and accurately determine your direction. This classic survival skill is easy to learn and could save your life in an emergency.

Method 1: Finding Your Bearings in the Northern Hemisphere

If you are north of the equator (which includes North America, Europe, Asia, and northern South America and Africa), use this simple technique:

• Step 1: Hold the watch flat. Place your analog watch flat in the palm of your hand, keeping it parallel to the ground.
• Step 2: Point the hour hand. Rotate your body and hand until the hour hand of your watch is pointing directly at the sun.
• Step 3: Find the midway point. Locate the 12 o'clock mark on your watch. Find the exact middle point between the hour hand and the 12 o'clock mark (measuring the smallest angle between them).
• Step 4: Identify South and North. That midway point points directly South. The point directly opposite it (180 degrees across the watch face) is North.

Method 2: Finding Your Bearings in the Southern Hemisphere

If you are south of the equator (such as in Australia, New Zealand, southern Africa, or South America), the path of the sun is reversed. Follow these adjusted steps:

• Step 1: Hold the watch flat. Just like before, hold the watch flat in your palm, parallel to the ground.
• Step 2: Point the 12 o'clock mark. Instead of the hour hand, point the 12 o'clock mark on your watch directly at the sun.
• Step 3: Find the midway point. Find the exact middle point between the 12 o'clock mark and the current hour hand.
• Step 4: Identify North and South. In the Southern Hemisphere, this midway point points directly North. The point directly opposite on the watch face is South.

How to Adjust for Daylight Saving Time

Because Daylight Saving Time (DST) is an artificial shift in our clocks, it throws off solar alignment by one hour. If DST is currently active in your area, you must make a minor adjustment:

• Instead of using the 12 o'clock mark as your baseline, use the 1 o'clock mark.
• Find the midway point between the hour hand and the 1 o'clock mark to find your North/South line.

What to Do on a Cloudy Day

If overcast skies make it difficult to locate the sun, you can still use this method with a simple trick:

• Find a straight twig, matchstick, or blade of grass.
• Hold it vertically over the center of your watch.
• Rotate the watch until the shadow cast by the twig falls directly along the hour hand (in the Northern Hemisphere) or the 12 o'clock mark (in the Southern Hemisphere). This aligns your watch perfectly with the hidden sun.

No Analog Watch? No Problem

If you are wearing a digital watch, you can still use this method. Simply draw a traditional clock face on the dirt or a scrap piece of paper, sketch the hands to match the current digital time, and use the sketch exactly as you would a physical watch.