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Apple Watch Bearing: what’s the point?
- Thread starter Wackery
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Found this explanation of how to use a compass to navigate.
www.rei.com
Basically, a bearing shows the direction you should be traveling to reach your destination. It seems useful if you can get from your starting point to your destination in a straight line.
How to Use a Compass: Compass/Map Navigation | REI Co-op
It's one of the Ten Essentials, but do you know how to use your compass? Learn the basics of declination, bearings and how to use them.
Basically, a bearing shows the direction you should be traveling to reach your destination. It seems useful if you can get from your starting point to your destination in a straight line.
Can you describe me a specific example? I still don’t get it, or what a ‘bearing’ even is reallyFound this explanation of how to use a compass to navigate.
How to Use a Compass: Compass/Map Navigation | REI Co-op
It's one of the Ten Essentials, but do you know how to use your compass? Learn the basics of declination, bearings and how to use them.
Basically, a bearing shows the direction you should be traveling to reach your destination. It seems useful if you can get from your starting point to your destination in a straight line.
Read that webpage, it gives a very specific example, with pictures.
But let's say you are in New York, and you ask what direction is Washington DC from New York. You'd say it's South West. If you had a compass, you could see exactly how many degrees South West it is. That's the bearing.
Tl;dr is that it’s basically instead of walking nw x degrees, you have a ‘bearing’ as a direction.
seems like that’s unnecessarily complicated
So what does ’setting’ the bearing in the apple watch compass app actually do?
The point of setting the bearing (i.e., direction) in the watch is that you do not need to continually remember what bearing (i.e., direction) you are trying to head. It shows you whether you are pointing left or right of that bearing that you set.
Imagine trying to remember - was it 123 degrees or 132 degrees? When you are tired it is very easy to get confused, and saves having to squint to read the compass degree numbers.
Imagine trying to remember - was it 123 degrees or 132 degrees? When you are tired it is very easy to get confused, and saves having to squint to read the compass degree numbers.
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Go walk around in the woods for a while. If you aren’t used to it, and there’s enough cover, you will be walking in circles within 30 minutes. Especially if it’s cloudy. The bearing makes sure you don’t walk in circles
Yes, this. On the other extreme, it can be used in an unfamiliar city to get back to where you started (hotel, parking spot, subway, etc.)