>>81950If I just need to decide whether to go on or build camp, a look at the sun is enough.
If I need to meet people, using your hands on the horizon is not accurate enough.
LCD screens are just as delicate as the plastic that covers it. Digital = Less weight and bulk = More allowance for sturdier case and cover.
To use the compass method at all, you have to work with solar time, which deviates from watch time by up to 2 hours (3 in countries with strangely formed time zones and daylight savings time). So you're already left to either reset your watch to solar time, or imagine where the hour hand should be (and you can do the same with a digital watch).
If you do everything right, it's accurate to within 45°, again depending on where you are and what time it is.
