Limited experience with firepistons.
Love Zippo but need to carry fuel. If in a pinch they will burn almost any flammable liquid that will take a spark including camp stove fuel and gasoline. Diesel is a bit hard to light but can be done if you are very determined and have a strong thumb.
Bics are great but you need to protect the fuel button. If it gets compressed while in a pack you suddenly have an empty lighter.
I believe Iron Raven suggests using a cable tie to mouse the button and guard it from dumping the butane.
You might have explosive clothing or packs if the gas is trapped in them too.

I have been finding more cheap bic sized butane lighters with caps that have a jet flame lately. Some of them have even been cheaper than the bics and are refillable. These come with lids to guard the nozzle.
The bic or other butane lighters are cheap and light enough to be in many coat pockets, vehicles, cupboards, drawers on shelves in tool boxes and in and backpacks.
I hardly ever use matches because they are too easily wrecked by moisture and there is a danger of the igniting accidentally.
(once in a jeans pocket is enough for me)
Matches are household items though and there is a box of kitchen matches in the kitchen.


I have a sparker for backup in my pack if I run out of lighters. My favourite is the Doan magnesium block because the block is such a convenient handle. (I find the Swedish ones are nice big rods but the fiddly small grips on them are awkward for me)

I find making a small squared edge on the back of my knife gives me a very good scraper. You need to be able to give a good strong scrape to get the nice fat fire starting sparks instead of just a bright showy flash. The spark should hit the ground still glowing bright if you are standing up when you scrape the rod. You might not get that always but the fatter and hotter the spark is the better.
The square edge is nice and effective for getting good scrapes of magnesium off the block too but I have seldom needed the magnesium as tinder.

If you do carry tinder for a sparker the best natural one I have seen is the birch conk fungus.
The one that looks like a horses hoof.
Id you slice it open there is a block of porous material. You just slice it thin. I like it across the grain about 1/8th inch thick or less. It catches a spark well and burns as a bright ember. You use it to start your next level of tinder/kindling going.
After that come the dried grasses etc etc.
Vaseline greased cotton balls and other prepared tinders are good. Fat pine shaved thin is very good. shredded birch bak to grow the flame because it is rich in oils and will burn when wet.

All the other fire starter I tried that are easy to carry are far behind these ones for me.

Apologies for the wall of text effect.