Numyth Vulcan Fire Piston

[Buggyout]

A lighter even when out of fuel is still a sparking device

Good point.

I carry five little Bicks. I also have backup steel. The weight is nearly nothing with a lighter. Just my opinion for whatever that's worth. :)

-Buggy

[Buggyout]

You have a point with the wetness factor of the lighter. I carry my lighters in a waterproof bag. They have worked for me yet in rainy northwest days. My steel is the backup.

-Buggy

I have one and love it! Those of you who say it is a novelty and that youll just use a lighter, well of course a lighter is easier to use, but lighters also run out of fuel and they can get wet just as eaily as anything else. This device will essentially last forever, whoch in a long term survival situation would make it indispensible once your lighters run out and your ferro rods are worn too thin to work anymore. It isn't the easiest device to get the hang of but as far as making primitive fire, once you have gotten the hang of it it doesnt take a lot of energy to make it work, unlike rubbing sticks together.
As far as it getting wet, I would venture to say that if this were your only means of making fire, you would do what it takes to keep it dry! They arent that hard to dry back out if it did get wet anyway, but while you are fiddling with your soaked bic, I would be putting an ember into my tinder bundle already ;-)

[Diesel]

Yep, while I have every possible fire starting method under the sun, my main method is a lighter. It's a no brainer. I have a lighter in ever kit, sub kit, etc. I always have 2 lighters on my person as well. FLAME is always greater than spark. Why not start with fire. If all of your lighters fail then you must have a backup in place like fire steel. But those of you who only have fire steels or one lighter.. that just doesn't make any sense. we don't live in the dark ages, use technology when and if available first. You can probably get between 1500-3000 lights out of a bic. If you only had one Bic, that would be potentially 3-6 years of lighting a fire every day. Then after the fuel is out, you still have a FLINT & Steel! I have no idea the life of a flint in a bic. But it doesn't matter. If I grabbed my bob, right now I probably have atleast 6 lighters in it if not more. You start with the easiest method first and to me flame is the easiest and most successful firestarter right? ;)

I actually don't even carry Bics for the most part, my lighters are DJEEPS which are a much higher quality disposable lighter

[Buggyout]

Yep, while I have every possible fire starting method under the sun, my main method is a lighter. It's a no brainer. I have a lighter in ever kit, sub kit, etc. I always have 2 lighters on my person as well. FLAME is always greater than spark. Why not start with fire. If all of your lighters fail then you must have a backup in place like fire steel. But those of you who only have fire steels or one lighter.. that just doesn't make any sense. we don't live in the dark ages, use technology when and if available first. You can probably get between 1500-3000 lights out of a bic. If you only had one Bic, that would be potentially 3-6 years of lighting a fire every day. Then after the fuel is out, you still have a FLINT & Steel! I have no idea the life of a flint in a bic. But it doesn't matter. If I grabbed my bob, right now I probably have atleast 6 lighters in it if not more. You start with the easiest method first and to me flame is the easiest and most successful firestarter right? ;)

I actually don't even carry Bics for the most part, my lighters are DJEEPS which are a much higher quality disposable lighter

I'll look into this brand. You are right! Why start with a spark when you can start with a flame!

-Buggy

[Diesel]

Update: The DJEEPS claim a 4000 light guarantee and a triple tank

[Morgan101]

I buy lighters every time I see them on sale; usually at Wally World pack of 7 for $1.98. I probably have as many lighters as ammunition. I will definitely look for DJEEPS. Thanks for the heads up.

[MasterMynd]

I definitely agree that lighters are the way to go. I carry a zippo with a bunch of flints and a can of fluid in my edc pack. On top of that I have a ferro rod as well. Im all for having multiple ways of starting fire, including a good working knowledge of primitive methods such as how to make fire drills and such. I still think that a fire piston is a valid method of making fire for long term survival scenarios. The modern ones do come with o-rings, but you can make a string gasket for them and theyll work just fine with that as well. You could use animal fat for lube. The main thing I like is that if you do have dry tinder it takes very little effort to get fire using it, and the aluminum parts, if taken care of, will essentially last forever. Just another tool thats good to understand and have laying around :-)

[OldCoot]

I would not bet my life on a fire piston. Too many variables. To just wander into the woods and find usable tinder is a venture in itself. The seals break, tube gets jammed and tinder has to be bone dry for it to work. I tried several makes over the years and honestly speaking it easier to make and use a bow drill than rely on a fire piston.