For you crafty sorts, here's the DIY fire piston.



Link To Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Win_t0xtcQs

fire pistons work great....easy to use and dependable ,mine has a permant home in my BOB and i keep another one in my tackle box

That is really neat! I will have to save this and see if I can build me one. DS, did you build yours?

yeah i went with the pvc model
been contemplating making one out of hardwood.

I had Man vs Wild on while I was doing some other work this evening and saw Bear us something called a fire piston to start a fire. Basically you need to tubes of some sort that fit inside of each other and a piece of coal. The idea is the same thing that if you put your finger over the end of a tire pump and push down hard on the plunger your finger will get very hot from the escaping air.
This can be done with metal tubing, bamboo, bone etc
Take the smaller tube and place a small piece of charcoal in one end. Seal one end of the other larger tube so no air will escape.Now place the end of the smaller tube with the charcoal into the larger tube and hit it with a rock or some way to push down quickly which will produce friction and heat to light the ember.
Doing a quick google search and you will find numerous videos showing how others have made these.

Yep...old post

post58842.html?hilit=fire%20piston#p58842



Link To Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Win_t0xtcQs

Sorry, should have did a search before I posted it again.

'S ok, Bill. Lots of topics need to be reposted/reviewed...

i've been a proponent of fire pistons for years on this forum. imho fire is so important to survival that we all should have multiple ways to make it. the fire piston is one of the easiest ways to start a fire and one of the best long term solutions as the fuel used is easy to make or find.