Are there any modern advantages of a fire piston?
A fire piston is a very old way of starting fires, predating friction matches and works on the same principle as a diesel engine.
Basically, you use it to light a piece of tinder and then start the fire with that.
Source
It's possible to buy modern ones pretty cheaply, would a fire piston have any advantages over the more modern ways of starting a fire such as matches or a lighter?
fire-starting
asked 15 hours ago
Charlie BrumbaughCharlie Brumbaugh
48k16135273
add a comment |
A fire piston is a very old way of starting fires, predating friction matches and works on the same principle as a diesel engine.
Basically, you use it to light a piece of tinder and then start the fire with that.
Source
It's possible to buy modern ones pretty cheaply, would a fire piston have any advantages over the more modern ways of starting a fire such as matches or a lighter?
fire-starting
asked 15 hours ago
Charlie BrumbaughCharlie Brumbaugh
48k16135273
add a comment |
A fire piston is a very old way of starting fires, predating friction matches and works on the same principle as a diesel engine.
Basically, you use it to light a piece of tinder and then start the fire with that.
Source
It's possible to buy modern ones pretty cheaply, would a fire piston have any advantages over the more modern ways of starting a fire such as matches or a lighter?
fire-starting
asked 15 hours ago
Charlie BrumbaughCharlie Brumbaugh
48k16135273
A fire piston is a very old way of starting fires, predating friction matches and works on the same principle as a diesel engine.
Basically, you use it to light a piece of tinder and then start the fire with that.
Source
It's possible to buy modern ones pretty cheaply, would a fire piston have any advantages over the more modern ways of starting a fire such as matches or a lighter?
fire-starting
fire-starting
asked 15 hours ago
Charlie BrumbaughCharlie Brumbaugh
48k16135273
asked 15 hours ago
Charlie BrumbaughCharlie Brumbaugh
48k16135273
asked 15 hours ago
Charlie BrumbaughCharlie Brumbaugh
48k16135273
asked 15 hours ago
Charlie BrumbaughCharlie Brumbaugh
48k16135273
asked 15 hours ago
Charlie BrumbaughCharlie Brumbaugh
48k16135273
48k16135273
add a comment |
add a comment |
1 Answer
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I'll caveat this answer with the fact I've heard of them but never used them. That being said:
Would a fire piston have any advantages over the more modern ways of starting a fire such as matches or a lighter?
Not really.
They require you to carry around a suitable tinder and keep that warm and dry, they're bulkier than matches and take longer to use, and simple as they are, they have parts (such as the sealing o ring) that may fail. They're very neat devices and incredibly interesting, but an outdoors / survival situation wouldn't be a good fit IMHO.
If you're looking for alternatives to matches then something like Swedish FireSteel would be a better choice. It lasts for ages, all you need to get a good shower of sparks off it is a knife (which you'd likely have anyway in an outdoors/survival situation), there's no tinder to carry, it's compact, and if it gets soaking wet just give it a quick wipe off and it's ready to use again.
answered 13 hours ago
berry120berry120
18k761150
1
Ever tried a rope lighter? Match lighter. Wiki says it's hard to start a fire with them, but transferring an ember from one of those sounds even harder. They also require no fuel, which means if you keep it dry, it will work. "No seals" +1
– Mazura
5 hours ago
I also have found that the FireSteel (or similar products) are fantastic for lighting white gas stoves. If you get a good strike, your hands can be further away from the flare up than if using a match, and you don't have to deal with a burning match afterwards.
– fyrepenguin
1 hour ago
add a comment |
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1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
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active
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votes
I'll caveat this answer with the fact I've heard of them but never used them. That being said:
Would a fire piston have any advantages over the more modern ways of starting a fire such as matches or a lighter?
Not really.
They require you to carry around a suitable tinder and keep that warm and dry, they're bulkier than matches and take longer to use, and simple as they are, they have parts (such as the sealing o ring) that may fail. They're very neat devices and incredibly interesting, but an outdoors / survival situation wouldn't be a good fit IMHO.
If you're looking for alternatives to matches then something like Swedish FireSteel would be a better choice. It lasts for ages, all you need to get a good shower of sparks off it is a knife (which you'd likely have anyway in an outdoors/survival situation), there's no tinder to carry, it's compact, and if it gets soaking wet just give it a quick wipe off and it's ready to use again.
answered 13 hours ago
berry120berry120
18k761150
1
Ever tried a rope lighter? Match lighter. Wiki says it's hard to start a fire with them, but transferring an ember from one of those sounds even harder. They also require no fuel, which means if you keep it dry, it will work. "No seals" +1
– Mazura
5 hours ago
I also have found that the FireSteel (or similar products) are fantastic for lighting white gas stoves. If you get a good strike, your hands can be further away from the flare up than if using a match, and you don't have to deal with a burning match afterwards.
– fyrepenguin
1 hour ago
add a comment |
I'll caveat this answer with the fact I've heard of them but never used them. That being said:
Would a fire piston have any advantages over the more modern ways of starting a fire such as matches or a lighter?
Not really.
They require you to carry around a suitable tinder and keep that warm and dry, they're bulkier than matches and take longer to use, and simple as they are, they have parts (such as the sealing o ring) that may fail. They're very neat devices and incredibly interesting, but an outdoors / survival situation wouldn't be a good fit IMHO.
If you're looking for alternatives to matches then something like Swedish FireSteel would be a better choice. It lasts for ages, all you need to get a good shower of sparks off it is a knife (which you'd likely have anyway in an outdoors/survival situation), there's no tinder to carry, it's compact, and if it gets soaking wet just give it a quick wipe off and it's ready to use again.
answered 13 hours ago
berry120berry120
18k761150
1
Ever tried a rope lighter? Match lighter. Wiki says it's hard to start a fire with them, but transferring an ember from one of those sounds even harder. They also require no fuel, which means if you keep it dry, it will work. "No seals" +1
– Mazura
5 hours ago
I also have found that the FireSteel (or similar products) are fantastic for lighting white gas stoves. If you get a good strike, your hands can be further away from the flare up than if using a match, and you don't have to deal with a burning match afterwards.
– fyrepenguin
1 hour ago
add a comment |
I'll caveat this answer with the fact I've heard of them but never used them. That being said:
Would a fire piston have any advantages over the more modern ways of starting a fire such as matches or a lighter?
Not really.
They require you to carry around a suitable tinder and keep that warm and dry, they're bulkier than matches and take longer to use, and simple as they are, they have parts (such as the sealing o ring) that may fail. They're very neat devices and incredibly interesting, but an outdoors / survival situation wouldn't be a good fit IMHO.
If you're looking for alternatives to matches then something like Swedish FireSteel would be a better choice. It lasts for ages, all you need to get a good shower of sparks off it is a knife (which you'd likely have anyway in an outdoors/survival situation), there's no tinder to carry, it's compact, and if it gets soaking wet just give it a quick wipe off and it's ready to use again.
answered 13 hours ago
berry120berry120
18k761150
I'll caveat this answer with the fact I've heard of them but never used them. That being said:
Would a fire piston have any advantages over the more modern ways of starting a fire such as matches or a lighter?
Not really.
They require you to carry around a suitable tinder and keep that warm and dry, they're bulkier than matches and take longer to use, and simple as they are, they have parts (such as the sealing o ring) that may fail. They're very neat devices and incredibly interesting, but an outdoors / survival situation wouldn't be a good fit IMHO.
If you're looking for alternatives to matches then something like Swedish FireSteel would be a better choice. It lasts for ages, all you need to get a good shower of sparks off it is a knife (which you'd likely have anyway in an outdoors/survival situation), there's no tinder to carry, it's compact, and if it gets soaking wet just give it a quick wipe off and it's ready to use again.
answered 13 hours ago
berry120berry120
18k761150
answered 13 hours ago
berry120berry120
18k761150
answered 13 hours ago
berry120berry120
18k761150
answered 13 hours ago
berry120berry120
18k761150
18k761150
1
Ever tried a rope lighter? Match lighter. Wiki says it's hard to start a fire with them, but transferring an ember from one of those sounds even harder. They also require no fuel, which means if you keep it dry, it will work. "No seals" +1
– Mazura
5 hours ago
I also have found that the FireSteel (or similar products) are fantastic for lighting white gas stoves. If you get a good strike, your hands can be further away from the flare up than if using a match, and you don't have to deal with a burning match afterwards.
– fyrepenguin
1 hour ago
add a comment |
1
Ever tried a rope lighter? Match lighter. Wiki says it's hard to start a fire with them, but transferring an ember from one of those sounds even harder. They also require no fuel, which means if you keep it dry, it will work. "No seals" +1
– Mazura
5 hours ago
I also have found that the FireSteel (or similar products) are fantastic for lighting white gas stoves. If you get a good strike, your hands can be further away from the flare up than if using a match, and you don't have to deal with a burning match afterwards.
– fyrepenguin
1 hour ago
1
1
Ever tried a rope lighter? Match lighter. Wiki says it's hard to start a fire with them, but transferring an ember from one of those sounds even harder. They also require no fuel, which means if you keep it dry, it will work. "No seals" +1
– Mazura
5 hours ago
Ever tried a rope lighter? Match lighter. Wiki says it's hard to start a fire with them, but transferring an ember from one of those sounds even harder. They also require no fuel, which means if you keep it dry, it will work. "No seals" +1
– Mazura
5 hours ago
I also have found that the FireSteel (or similar products) are fantastic for lighting white gas stoves. If you get a good strike, your hands can be further away from the flare up than if using a match, and you don't have to deal with a burning match afterwards.
– fyrepenguin
1 hour ago
I also have found that the FireSteel (or similar products) are fantastic for lighting white gas stoves. If you get a good strike, your hands can be further away from the flare up than if using a match, and you don't have to deal with a burning match afterwards.
– fyrepenguin
1 hour ago
add a comment |
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