Scout Fire Piston

This plastic Scout Fire Piston worked the very first time I used it. I liked it so well that I ordered the better, metal version and like it even better. The metal version has great compression and is very well made. I like the metal version better than this plastic version because the metal version has a compression release valve where the plastic version has no release valve. The difference in the price is well worth it. It is a very heavy duty, rugged, instrument and works very well. The fellow that owns the company that makes these fire pistons is a great guy. I recommend his products and his customer service. The fire piston is big enough for a big fellow like me with big hands to use easily. Some of the other brands are so skinny that it is hard for a person with big hands to grab onto the piston well enough to work it but with the fire pistons this company (Wilderness Solutions) makes, they are easy to hold and easy to operate. They also come with extras like charcloth, spare O rings, and easy to follow directions.I have three tips for new Fire Piston users. 1. Don't hit the plunger. Hitting it will stop ignition, just give the plunger a real hard shove into the cylinder. A shove works better than a hard hit for ingition 2.pull the plunger out fast after ignition. 3. For a fire piston that has no compression relief valve, hang a piece of thread down the barrel then put the plunger in. The thread will allow the air to escape around the O rings and you can push the plunger all the way down for storage.

Let me say first off to the negative reviewers, initially I too had some serious misgivings about the fire piston. I think I beat both my hands to death at least twice with no results. I thought I had just learned a $35.00 lesson the hard way and was ready to cut my losses. Why then did I give it 4 stars? 4 stars to the fire piston, 1 star to me. So what changed my mind. I knew it had to work somehow, they've been around for so long and had great reviews. I had contacted the seller and he was more than willing to work with me on it over the phone. But before I called I came up with the idea to look for tutorials on the fire piston on You Tube and found some good ones. After that, I was ready to start all over and try it again. I cleaned out my fire piston to make sure nothing was in the chamber. I lightly lubed the o-ring with Vaseline and ran the rod in and out of the chamber to lightly lube the chamber (not too much). I took a little piece of char cloth after unfolding the little roll that comes with the fire piston (did not pinch off a chunk)and folded it to about the size of the hollow on the end of the rod and tucked it in the little place on the end of the rod. It stuck up a little bit. Keeping the rod upright (handle down)I inserted the plunger into the chamber just till the o-ring was in the entrance of the chamber. I held it upside down so I was holding the chamber and the rod was facing up (handle toward table, char cloth toward ceiling). I struck the handle straight down on a hard surface and pulled the chamber off of it quickly. On the third try I had a coal and caught a paper towel on fire which I put in the sink. I got it to work a couple more times after that as well. It's actually a pretty cool little gadget just remember to keep it clean. As long as you have an o-ring this thing will light forever. The best tinder is char cloth. There are also tutorials on how to make char cloth on You Tube. I would say this however, the fire piston can be difficult sometimes and I prefer the firesteel which is always easy to use. The advantage that the fire piston has over other methods however, including a lighter, is, it works better in windy weather. Hope this helps.

After watching the video, I figured it would be cool to test it and add it to my survival gear. Well, with the charcoaled cloth, it works great, as advertised... But it doesn't work worth a darn with anything else. I even tried lint from the dryer and it wouldn't ember, nor would toilet paper...I mean I was selecting the easiest material to ember... So if you have cotton that you've already charcoaled, then you're good to go, otherwise, I'd stick with a flint striker, they are MORE than reliable and will ignite almost anything that can ignite.

I played with this all day. So I'm set. I got my piston, some char cloth, pipe cleaner, and Vaseline. Wait, this is a bit more than I intended to carry. There is a cheaper item available that is smaller and way easier to operate sold by Bic, and a version by Zippo is pretty versatile. If hunger, cold, heat, and or bugs don't give you a headache this will. It works well if you can keep all particles out of the barrel, but frankly out in the bush I have trouble keeping dust and grime out of my own a**. A pipe cleaner works well for cleaning it. It needs to be lubed with Vaseline. I tried it right out of the mailbox and just used a bit of spit to lube the o ring and it worked. This is really only good as a novelty item and I wouldn't bet my life on it. I think if it came down to it I would try any and every other avenue before this including rubbing sticks together. It will only light char cloth and I've yet to get it to light anything else including char wood. If the char cloth pops out of the little cup and ends up in the barrel while your fumbling around in the dark your screwed. Swiss army knife "Yes", Compass "Yes", Bic lighter "Yes", Fire Piston "Probably not". To much hassle for a stressed out tired cold weary camper.