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 7 hours ago
Charlie BrumbaughCharlie Brumbaugh
48k16134272
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 7 hours ago
Charlie BrumbaughCharlie Brumbaugh
48k16134272
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 7 hours ago
Charlie BrumbaughCharlie Brumbaugh
48k16134272
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 7 hours ago
Charlie BrumbaughCharlie Brumbaugh
48k16134272
asked 7 hours ago
Charlie BrumbaughCharlie Brumbaugh
48k16134272
asked 7 hours ago
Charlie BrumbaughCharlie Brumbaugh
48k16134272
asked 7 hours ago
Charlie BrumbaughCharlie Brumbaugh
48k16134272
asked 7 hours ago
Charlie BrumbaughCharlie Brumbaugh
48k16134272
48k16134272
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 6 hours ago
berry120berry120
17.9k761150
add a comment |
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1 Answer
1
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oldest
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1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
active
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active
oldest
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 6 hours ago
berry120berry120
17.9k761150
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 6 hours ago
berry120berry120
17.9k761150
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 6 hours ago
berry120berry120
17.9k761150
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 6 hours ago
berry120berry120
17.9k761150
answered 6 hours ago
berry120berry120
17.9k761150
answered 6 hours ago
berry120berry120
17.9k761150
answered 6 hours ago
berry120berry120
17.9k761150
17.9k761150
add a comment |
add a comment |
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