The Best Joint Rolling Machine
There it is. The ultimate prize. A long, thick, plump fattie full of 2g of your favorite stuff for primetime and to unwind.
But Jake made it. And Jake sucks at rolling joints.
A near 2 inches from your mouth this beautiful masterpiece shows its darker side as it falls to pieces in your hands. And not just your hands – all over the floor. Super excited, Mr. Spots runs over and starts licking it. A wonderful evening ruined because of Jake. Fuck Jake.
There’s a solution to all this though. Stop having Jake roll your joints and roll them yourself with a machine made for doing it. Yea, I know, there’s nothing better than a perfect hand-rolled blunt but not everyone has the skills for doing it. Sometimes we need to admit our handicaps and help ourselves out.
If that’s your or someone you know (*cough* Jake *cough*) then you’re in dire need of a joint rolling machine. They’re cheap, they’re easy to use and they’ll keep your joints from falling apart in your hands.
In this guide we’ve got all the questions and answers you’ll need to figure out what the best joint roller is for you and your gang. First, let’s take a look at the best reasons to get one.
Why Get a Joint Roller?
Aside from preventing Jake from being a dumbass again there are plenty of good reasons to pick one of these up. We’ll take a look at the biggest ones below.
Better Joints
Unless you’re a master at your craft, making joints by hand can be a bit tough. It’s pretty likely that you’ll see a major uptick in the quality of your joints if you’re using a roller. They’re designed to make the process easy and produce something that’s high quality.
Once you figure out how to use one you’ll be able to get a pack that’s tight but not too tight. This lets you smoke with ease with the right amount. No more wasting any of your pot or having problems taking that first hit because it’s packed too tight.
Less Mess
If you’ve ever tried rolling a joint from scratch you’ll know how messy it can be. There’s inevitably going to be a bit left behind and that’s just waste. Shame on you for wasting the good stuff.
Grabbing yourself a simple joint roller (even the cheap ones that are $5) will allow you to pack everything in without losing anything extra. Sure, the first two or three times might be a big off, but you’ll get the hang of it. The place you’ll be putting your pot is pretty enclosed, so it’ll be pretty hard to waste any more than a tiny amount that falls off the sides.
Cheaper
If you happen to be in an area where you can buy weed legally then you’ll know that joints can get pretty expensive. Same with cigarettes, if you buy them premade they cost more.
Anyone whose looking to get more out of their paycheck will be well served by rolling their own joints with a joint rolling machine instead of buying them premade.
Yes, you could cut costs by hand rolling them as well but we already talked about why that could be a bad idea. Joint rollers can be super cheap and will end up saving you money in the long run.
What Features to Look For In A Blunt Rolling Machine
If you’ve decided to pull the trigger and pick up a blunt roller, you’ll be interested in finding out what features you want to find. A lot of these are pretty similar but some of them end up getting a bit crazy. Take a look below for my suggestion on what to look out for.
Compatibility
One of the big things you’ll want to look out for is that the roller you get is compatible with the paper you get. If one of them is off then it won’t work. We’ve got an entire article that’s focused on rolling paper sizes but below is a quick rundown of what to look for:
| Length (mm) | Width (mm) | |
| Single | 68-70 | 34-36 |
| 1 ¼” | 76-78 | 45-48 |
| 1 ½” | 76-78 | 60-62 |
| Double | 76-78 | 63-88 |
| King | 100-110 | 55-60 |
| King Slim | 105-110 | 42-46 |
As you can see, there are several different sizes for papers. You’ll want to make sure that you choose a blunt roller that’ll fit the size paper that you’ve got, otherwise you won’t be able to use the two together.
Ease Of Use
Another major factor to consider is how easy the damn thing is to use. With lots of products comes lots of cheap products. Have no doubt that everyone’s trying to skimp as much as they can so they can charge 50 cents less than the next guy. Some of these rollers work really well even at a cheap price, but issues with your roller jamming or getting stuck can result in an extremely frustrated stoner.
You’ll want to make sure that you get something that actually works, and will work for a while. Honestly, most of these are pretty cheap so it’s worth the extra $2 to get a product that has great reviews and ends up working really well.
Automation
If you’re really lazy then you can opt to get a roller that’s has something a bit more extreme: the power of automation. Yes, some of these joint rollers will roll your joint for you – how cool is that? Make no mistake, these definitely cost more. But sometimes it’s worth the extra price.
The main forms of automation you’ll find will span anywhere from a mechanical lever that’ll turn the cylinders to something that’ll do everything for you. The big there here is what you’re looking to do. If you’re only planning on rolling a joint ever so often with a few of your buddies then it doesn’t make sense to blow $60 on something that’ll make it for you. If your operation is a bit larger though and you need more output at a faster rate, it might be worth grabbing something that is a bit quicker and doesn’t require the hands-on labor.
My Top Joint Rolling Machine Suggestions
Below are my top picks for the best joint rollers out there. Take a look through and make sure you get something that has the features you think are the most useful/helpful.
My #1 Pick: RAW Hemp Plastic Cigarette Rolling Machine
It’s hard to not like this little guy – its small, it’s cheap and it works. No, you’re not going to be churning these out at 6 a minute or anything, but most people don’t need that. Most people need something that’s simple so they can roll a simple blunt and smoke it real quick.“If you’re looking for a simple, effective and compact joint roller, this one will serve you well.”The RAW Cigarette Roller works with rolls that are 79mm long, meaning you can still get a decent sized joint out of it. It won’t be anything that’s breaking world records, but that’s no problem. If you’re looking for something bigger you’d probably be better off making two half sized ones anyways.
Really there isn’t a huge downside to this roller. It works really well (good luck trying to break this thing, it’s built like a tank) and it’ll do exactly what you need it to. If you’re looking for a simple, effective and compact joint roller, this one will serve you well.
My #2 Pick: Powermatic Mini Cigarette Injector
Okay, so as much as I love the RAW roller, this thing is really, really cool. It takes almost all of the manual labor out of rolling joints/blunts/cigarettes.
It’s a pretty simple and elegant design. If you look at the picture above you’ll basically see a black box with a tiny metal tube sticking out of the side of it. The way it works is pretty simple. First, you open the hatch on top and stick your weed in. You don’t need to worry about super precise here because the machine will pretty much limit you on its own – no need for precise measuring or anything.
Once the weed is up top you simply stick a pre-rolled paper on the end of the tube and then slide the lever in front over. The lever will push a metal cylinder about the same size as the paper roll over to the side and basically shove your weed into the pre-rolled paper.
It’s simple and it’s pretty effective. The only downside here is that it’s not super practical for only rolling one joint. It works a lot better if you’ve got two or three that you plan on rolling for the day/night. You’ll also end up having a tiny bit of waste at the end. It won’t be a lot if you do it right, but there will be some. This is made for rolling cigarettes after all.
For just a few dollars extra I’d seriously think about picking this roller up. It’s still relatively small, so you can easily pack it away into a drawer or your backpack, although it’s definitely larger than the RAW roller.
Overall, it’s a simple and effective solution that takes all of the manual labor out of rolling. Oh, and if you’re not a fan of the black, they also come in white!
My #3 Pick: Powermatic 2 PLUS
If you’re looking to up your game and step into the world of true automation, this’ll be your go-to. I’ll say it up front, if you’re only looking to roll joints this is probably way overkill for you. If you also roll your own cigarettes along with joints though, you might want to give this puppy a look.
While the device itself is pretty large, there are really only four areas that you need to worry about. The first is the switch on the back – if it’s not flipped it won’t work. That’s because this crazy beast runs on full, 100% natural electricity. Once the switch if flipped and it’s turned on you’ll want to fill the top tray with your weed. If you’re only dealing with a gram or two then you’ll want to go ahead and sit it right in the tube near you, otherwise just throw it all on top.“If you’re looking to up your game and step into the world of true automation, this’ll be your go-to.”Once the top tray is filled, add your pre-rolled paper on the end of the metal tube. After that just pull the lever towards you. The roller will automatically slide the cylindrical tube to the side and push your weed into the pre-rolled paper. How freaking sweet is that?
There are a few drawbacks. First, it’s pretty bulky. Yes, you could take this somewhere but it’s really meant to have sitting at home. It’ll fit in a larger drawer or shelf, but definitely isn’t as small as our first several options.
Another issue is that it takes electricity. If you don’t have a good spot that’s near an outlet you could find it’s a bit of a pain to use. And finally, it’s crazy expensive compared to what you honestly need. Like I said before, if you’re doing more than rolling a few blunts a week then you’ll get some use out of it. Otherwise, you’re buying a cool toy. There’s nothing wrong with that, but option #1 and #2 will serve you just as well for a much smaller price.
How to Use a Joint Roller
If you’ve never used one of these things before you’re probably looking at it with more than a bit of confusion. I’ll be honest, it didn’t make any sense to me either. I can think of several intuitive ways to roll joints and none of them involve a device that looks like these do. That’s fine though – joint rolling machines are really intuitive once you figure it out. We’ll take you step by step on how these things operate.
Step 1
Take out the amount that you’re planning on rolling up. Usually this will be somewhere between 0.5 and 1.5 grams. You can go over that if you want but beware that it might not work out the way you want. A joint that’s packed too tightly is not good. You need airflow man. It’s all about the airflow. Anyhow, use your handy dandy scale for weed and get yourself a nice bit to stuff your doobie with.
Step 2
Make sure that your roller has paper filled up already and then stick your weed inbetween the two rollers. The paper should be slack, but not too loose. Make sure that your weed is packed in snugly, but don’t overstuff it. Like we said before, you need to make sure that it’s packed loosly enough for air to flow through easily. At the end of the day, air is what’s going to get this shit into your lungs – make sure it can get through there.
If this is your first time, err on the side of packing too lightly. I’ll be honest though, it’ll take 4 or 5 times to really figure out how much makes a good joint. Don’t be discouraged if the first one doesn’t come out perfect.
Ideally you’ll have just a tiny bit sticking out of the fold – this is where the two rolls come together. If things are overflowing from there then you probably put a bit too much in.
Step 3
Alright, this is the tricky part. This is where the rolling actually happens and it’ll take a time or two for you to nail the technique. The key to this is to use both your thumbs and your index fingers. You’ll want to push forwards and up with both of your thumbs on either side of the roller (about a quarter way in from the edge). At the same you’ll need to pull back and down with your index fingers on the other side.
This will keep your rolling even and stead. With four points of contact it’ll be a lot easier to control than just using your thumbs. It’ll also make sure that the paper on both sides is getting pushed at an even rate so you don’t end up with a lopsided blunt or something that’s packed too tight or too loose.
Again, it’ll take a little while to figure out the exact technique. Once you figure it out it’ll be a lot easier though.
Step 4
You’ll want to roll your joint one full rotation before you put the rolling paper in. If you’ve got some nice rolling paper it’ll tell you where the top goes, meaning it’ll be really easy to tell when you’ve completed one full rotation.
At this point you’ll want to stick your rolling paper in. If it’s curved at all from being rolled up in a tube, make sure that the curve matches that of the roller. The open side of the curve should be facing you – that’ll just make things flow a bit nice.
Step 5
Once the paper is in, give it about another half roll until you only have about half an inch of the paper sticking out. At this point you’ll want to lick it along the entire length to ensure it sticks to itself well and your joint doesn’t fall apart.
At this point you’ll want to finish your half roll until the paper shows it’s at the top again. Now you’ll be able to unhinge your roller, take your freshly rolled joint out and make sure it’s packed properly. If everything went well you should have a perfectly rolled joint ready to go.
Step 6
Smoke that shit! You’ll probably find that one side of your joint is packed a bit tighter than the other side – no worries. I’ve found that smoking from the side that’s less tightly packed works well. This will maximize your airflow and make sure that you’re able to take a strong hit. Enjoy!