Fire Pistons

The concept is cool. If you hike in places that have their recommended "fuels", it could be a good option. Wonder how much it weighs?

>"Anyone have any experience with these?"

I have the SERE, also one made out of water buffalo horn, and one made of lexan. They work. I myself wouldn't carry one backpacking other than for the entertainment value. Char-cloth or tinder fungus works best for getting a coal, but a little ball of tissue works too.

I'd say my lexan piston would be the lightest of the three. I'll weigh it when I get home.

they do work, I never bring it backpacking, I just have it in my collection of little fire starting tools. Fun to bring on scout campouts, show how many different ways I can make a fire :)

Yeah, I'm like everyone else on the fire pistons. They are cool, they work, but their only real value is to amaze youth groups with primitive fire making techniques. Weight, bulk and fiddle factor are the main issues.

If you were marooned on a desert island that happened to have bamboo, you could make one. So I suppose playing with it can improve your survival skills. Marginally. Along with knowing how to get fire with a fire-drill, a fire-plow, and a fire-cord.

I've used these before, not that brand, but a homebuilt one. They are really cool. We built fires with one all winter long at a program I worked at in the northeast using tree fungus. It certainly has a huge WOW factor for young kids (OK, me too!) I'm still a fan of my bic lighter, but if you wanted to go more primitive it woul be a cool option. The tinderlite pen looks like a good back up firestarter.