Let’s face it, we are utterly spoiled for choice as stoners when it comes to all the different methods and tools for getting cannabinoids into our bloodstream.
From flavorful vaporizers to soothing topicals to mouth-watering edibles, there are options for everyone, including suppositories!
In this paper guide we explore:
What’s more, within each main consumption category there are then a myriad of subcategories to choose from. This includes perhaps the most “classic” method known to man which is good old fashioned combustion.
As a healthy eater and consistent gym-goer I will be the first to admit blazing up isn’t the most healthy option. Vaporizers, topicals, and edibles are all much gentler on the ole lungs no doubt.
But there is something special about combusting cannabis that gives me “the fizz”.
Maybe I just like robust flavors. Maybe as an avid camper and griller I’m pre-inclined to smoke and am subconsciously attracted to the nostalgia that is sparking up a fat doobie of Oregon’s finest organic sticky icky.
Don’t get me wrong, I still enjoy my edibles, topicals, and PAX but my general go-to, especially when outdoors, is a Re:Stash jar full of big buds and some premium rolling papers.
Edibles hit the hardest (partricularly the rosin infused ones), vaporizers are the uncontested winners of flavor, and topicals are my most coveted form of pain relief.
Doobies on the other hand hit quick, are easy to share, and are walkable friendly, and just plain fun, IMO.
Of course to roll phatties you need paper and when it comes to rolling papers there’s a whole lot of options out there in terms of sizes, materials, colors, and even flavors (ew).
In this stoner-friendly guide to help you select the best rolling papers for your needs I will touch upon some of the fundamentals of choosing papers and then give personal recommendations around some of my personal favorite brands.
How to Choose Your Rolling Papers
For some reason I feel like the process of educating consumers on the various rolling paper options out there gets missed in the recreational cannabis market.
Budtenders who can riff for a solid 5 minutes on all the sensation-based aspects of a particular strain of weed are a dime a dozen but I can’t recall the last time anyone mentioned papers, let alone the big differences between brands and materials and sizes.
This can be a tad confusing for “new” smokers who perhaps have only had experience with one-hitters and bongs.
Add on top of that the “rolling paper sections” at most dispensaries and headshops are usually either A) offering little in variety, carrying just one or two brands or B) offering too much variety, creating the potential for confusion for all the non-veteran rollers out there, like me!
So, if you’re 21+ and looking to give your trusty bong a break but don’t know where to start with papers then here are some things you should be aware of..
1.Size Matters When It Comes To Rolling Up
Determining paper size is the most important first step as it will generally refine your options and is highly subjective depending on your use case.
Do you generally blaze up alone or are you more of a social smoker who likes to share bigger phatter doobies?
How much smoke do you require to get sufficiently high? Are you looking to blaze half gram doinks or multi-gram phatties?
Will you be hand rolling or do you have a rolling machine? If you are hand rolling, what is your experience level?
Smaller papers require more delicate finesse than bigger ones and rolling machines are usually designed to accept specific dimensions of rolling papers.
Taking some time to think about how you most frequently choose to consume and what your rolling method is and what volume of smoke you’re looking for in an average session are fundamental first steps in selecting a rolling paper.
Below I’ll touch briefly on some of the most common paper sizes. Note that this isn’t an exhaustive list, just the most commonly found sizes in head shops and dispensaries.
Single Wide Papers: Best For Lightweights & Solo Sessions
Prototypical joint sized papers holding around a half gram of ground flower will generally be 68-70mm length and 34-36mm in width (approximately 2.75 x 1.4 inches).
These smaller papers are commonly referred to as “single wide” and are generally about as small as they come, which makes them great for occasional tokers or people with lower tolerances who don’t require higher volumes of flower that fit in bigger papers.
You can roll a single wide with as little as .25 grams of ground flower up to a half gram, depending on the mill and tightness of the final joint.
Being a novice hand roller with limited dexterity I generally avoid the single wides because they’re hard for me to control.
If you’ve got a low THC tolerance, nimble fingers (or a rolling machine) then single wides might be worth considering however.
One and a Quarter (1¼) Papers: The Sweet Spot
Coming in at approximately 76mm by 44mm the “one and a quarter” papers are the most common as they can fit a bit more flower into them compared to single-wides (.5-.75g) and the little bit of extra space makes for a slightly easier rolling experience.
The 1 ¼ size can be found everywhere and likely will be what your local dispensary has stocked if you’re in a pinch.
There are also plenty of rolling machines available for this size at head shops, making it a pragmatic size choice that can flex between solo sessions and sharing with a homie.
Because of how common the size is you will also most likely find different materials here such as hemp, bamboo, or rice, which are nice options to have.
Double Wide Papers: Extra Stuffing & Easier Rolling
Double wide papers are similar in length as 1¼ but they’re extra girthy, hence the “double wide” name. Same concept as trailer homes, with the double wides allowing you to fit more “stuff” inside while also making life a bit easier when it comes to rolling.
These papers are thus great if you’re new to hand rolling because of that extra width and who doesn’t like the visual appeal of a fat little donk? If you’re looking to fit north of .75g of herb into your joints double wides are a great option.
If you want to roll up more than a gram though you’re better off referring to… …the king.
King Size Papers: The Passable Party Size
When it comes to papers that are the easiest to roll and also hold the most bud the “king size” is where it’s at. Sure, there are rarer larger paper sizes out there like party-sized 12-inchers but for most practical purposes king sizes will do just fine.
Kings can be found in extra wide as well as “slim” variants with the extra wides allowing for more flower to be fit inside while the slims offer a narrower longer type of classy smoking aesthetic IMO.
OCB’s bamboo kings in the slim size are what I currently have on hand for when I’m rolling to share. The extra length makes for a longer smoke session and gives me more room to evenly sprinkle in a bit of kief should I be feeling sassy.
The average king size paper will comfortably hold 1-1.5 grams of flower (slims closer to the 1 gram mark), with rolling aficionados being able to fit closer to 2 grams in the standard kings.
King size are also great if you’re looking to make infused doobies with say, a hash snake in the middle, for extra smoking pleasure. More paper real estate = more flexibility in regards to what you can smoke up!
It really is worth taking a few minutes to contemplate sizes. Just like with picking out clothing or building a house it is important to get your dimensions sorted first, based off your personal needs and lifestyle, if you want to make things easier on yourself in the future.
Narrowing in on a specific size (or a couple of sizes if you want to experiment) helps narrow down your options a lot because it allows you to focus on what material options are available in your preferred paper size.
Size is also one of the first questions you’ll get at a head shop or generic smoke shop so having a size in mind ahead of time can allow you to respond with a specific size and then select a material/brand from there.
| Rolling Paper Size | Dimensions (mm) | Dimensions (in) |
| Single Wide | 68–70mm x 34–36mm | 2.7–2.8″ x 1.3–1.4″ |
| 1¼ (One and a Quarter) | 76–78mm x 45–48mm | 3.0–3.1″ x 1.8–1.9″ |
| Double Wide | 76–78mm x 63–88mm | 3.0–3.1″ x 2.5–3.5″ |
| King Size | 100–110mm x 55–60mm | 3.9–4.3″ x 2.2–2.4″ |
Speaking of selecting materials, there are a lot out there and seemingly more by the year so let’s discuss some of the different natural fiber pulps that are used in the rolling paper manufacturing process.
2. How To Pick a Paper Pulp Type
After narrowing in on size comes the fun part (in my opinion) of sampling various rolling paper pulps to find the one that resonates most with you and your flavor preferences.
The natural pulp material from which your rolling papers are derived will impact your rolling experience, the rate and consistency with which your jays burn, and the overall flavor profile of your shmoke.
Popular papers include wood pulp, hemp, bamboo, rice, and even gold leaf.
As one would expect, each fiber source has a slightly different smoking characteristic. Whether it be the rate at which it burns (speed), the evenness of the burn, and the flavor it will impart upon combustion, there are subtle nuances between each medium.
So with that, let’s get into some rolling paper types and brands I love, and some I don’t love as much, and why that’s the case!
Best Overall Rolling Paper: OCB Organic Hemp
Love these, both the traditional rolling papers and cones. OCB has a track record back to 1918 in France and I trust the French when it comes to smoking. It’s like a national pastime for them and if these are their legacy brand that says a lot.
Louis Vuitton of rolling papers? Perhaps.
The consistency with both the speed of burn and evenness of burn is respectable. The fact that they are organic, unbleached, ultra-thin, naturally gummed, GMO-free and vegan also gives me a raging hipster boner.
Knowing these are about as natural as you can get given they are made of sustainable French-grown hemp is another important reason why I keep re-ordering these specific papers and cones.
Using a wrapper for your bud that is from the Cannabis genus and Cannabaceae family is just like, harmony, man.
Flavor-wise there is natural synergy between these materials that results in an incredibly neutral smoking experience that allows the flower to shine, whether they be robust GMOs or sweet fruity candy, hemp compliments them all without distorting or tainting the flavor profile.
OCB also makes a virgin wood pulp paper that’s a great option if you’d like to stick to old school pulp sources. They’ve also got some bamboo papers that are pretty bitchin in terms of smooth smoking, and being naturally sourced.
Lastly, OCB also makes a brown rice paper that’s a blend of rice and hemp fibers which is pretty interesting and also provides a good smoke and is uniquely thin, to the point where you can easily see your bud through it which is pretty neat.
I’ve got a pack of these OCB brown rice papers with provided tips that I use when I travel and they haven’t let me down yet.
Between the OCB hemp, rice, bamboo, and virgin papers you can’t really go wrong and I don’t think there is a “best” among them as it’ll largely come down to personal preference flavor-wise.
I can say they all burn with about the same consistency for me (usually quite even) and they are all acceptably “thin”.
When reaching for papers or cones I default most often to the OCB hemps just because that’s what makes most sense in my stoner monkey brain; wrapping cannabis WITH cannabis.
Grab a few, you can’t really go wrong with OCB, and see which you like and make sure to let me know in the comments below because while there is an armies of Raw Black and Elements fans out there I feel like OCB followers are not quite as big and within them I have no idea which OCB papers are most popular.
Best for Traditionalists: Zig Zag Originals
It’s funny how Zig-Zag seem to have been kind of lowkey slept-on in the cannabis space given how much hand-rolling history the company has as well as their generally high level of quality.
While similar to OCB in that they are also a French company with a storied history of producing exceptional rolling papers, Zig-Zag is actually the older brand, by a whopping 63 years! (Zig-Zag was founded in Mantes-la-Jolie in 1855)
Zig-Zag invented “interleaving” their papers which is the manufacturing practice of layering the papers in a way that everytime you remove one there is another ready to go. Think Kleenex boxes, but much much smaller and flatter.
When dealing with such thin paper thicknesses this innovation was massive, as anyone who has tried to separate two stuck-together rolling papers can attest to.
The brand has continued to be an icon in the self-rolling space, becoming the inspiration for one of the greatest hip hop albums of all time in Dr. Dre’s The Chronic.
I remember always seeing Zig-Zag in head shops and even gas stations growing up but only recently tried them out for rolling up my sweet sweet Oregon dank and unsurprisingly they performed great!
While Zig-Zag also makes hemp rolling papers I’ve yet to be able to get my hands on them so I’ve been smoking their Original Whites which have been among the most consistently burning (minimal canoeing) and flavor-neutral papers I’ve smoked.
Knowing these very white papers go through a special oxygenation process to whiten them doesn’t thrill me but they explicitly state on their website they do not leave any toxic residue (like bleached papers or titanium oxide papers).
If I can find their hemp offerings I’ll take my own advice and default to those but I have to admit I have enjoyed the original Zig-Zags quite a bit. They offer a very very clean smoking experience which is prized when smoking particularly tasty strains.
The only Zig-Zags I don’t recommend are the Kutcorners which while they are supposed to be easier for hand-rolling (which I don’t do much of admittedly) seemed to have more gum than the original whites and also never came out as neatly as the whites, getting stuck in their cardboard holder.
Maybe I just had a bad packet but compare to the Original Zig-Zags, of which I’ve smoked many, I’ve never had any similar leafing problems.
So yeah, just go with the Originals if you’re going the Zig-Zag route..
Best for Tech Nerds: Elements Ultra Thin Rice Papers
I debated not including Elements because they are a brand owned by HBI International which also own Juicy Jays (no thanks) and Raw. There’s a lot of controversy around this brand, and Raw papers in particular, that I get into later in this guide but I’ll stay focused on Elements here.
Elements use a really cool proprietary “Criss-Cross” pattern that looks as if it is stamped into each paper that supposedly helps keep a more even burn that is most consistent and slow in rate of burn.
After smoking dozens of packs of Elements I’m inclined to agree with them. I don’t think this is marketing bullshit, my elements generally DO burn slow and evenly. They are also made of rice pulp which is rad because it’s more transparent than wood pulps and creates a cleaner smoking experience.
I’ve been frustrated by HBI International’s legal woes because while I’m not a huge Raw or Juicy Jay fan I have been a longtime supporter of Elements and some of HBI’s business practices makes the decision to support them in the future more challenging.
That said a good paper is a good paper and I’m therefore including Elements because they’ve got a cool pulp source (rice), nifty even burn pattern imprinted into the papers, and a little magnet that helps keep your flap from flapping around.
Best for Poolside Vacations: Club Modiano
Club Modiano papers started out as just CLUB in 1893, introduced by Saul Davide Modiano, In Trieste, Italy. These papers were renowned among smokers for their clean smoking properties.
This popularity soon went international and the CLUB papers became a cult classic among American stoners in the 1960s and are still remembered fondly to this day (for example here is a forum thread from 13 years ago reminiscing about Club Modianos).
RIZLA+ bought the struggling paper company in 1988 and produced papers under the Club Modiano brand in France, Belgium, and Great Britain through 2008 when their paper source shut down and RIZLA+ let their ownership rights to the Club Modiano brand expire, after which Josh Kesselman of HBI acquired the rights to the name “CLUB Rolling Paper”.
According to Rolling Paper Truth (where I sourced much of this information) the new Club Modianos are not the same as the old ones because the paper sources are not the same, with the original source being the long defunct Carta del Maglio mill in Italy.
What drew me initially to the Modianos was their being gumless. The fewer additives, even if natural, I can add to my smoking experience the better.
The only downside to the Club Modianos for me was that having big clumsy oaf fingers makes rolling such a delicate single wide paper quite difficult. As such, I defaulted mostly to my rolling machine when using these and would recommend getting the 1¼ size if you plan on hand rolling and don’t have elf fingers.
Are they the same as the originals that were all the rage back in the olden days? Well, no, since the original mill doesn’t exist. Are they still worth smoking? I think they are, if not just for their no-nonsense minimalist no-glue design.
Papers to Avoid: Artificially Colored and/or Flavored
It’s also worth noting there are many colored and flavored sub-variants of wood pulp papers. You can find money printed papers, brightly dyed papers, and absurdly flavored options as well.
I recommend just staying away from these, primarily for health reasons. While “fun” looking you’ve always got to be cautious about what you’re putting into your body and personally if it’s a synthetic flavor or artificial color I’m always going to be suspicious of it.
Don’t believe me? Here’s a study from Michigan showing a quarter of the papers they tested as containing dangerous levels of copper, often associated specifically with dyed papers.
The Michigan researchers also found papers with high levels of chromium and vanadium, which in addition to excessive copper exposure can have neurodegenerative effects. That’s the opposite of why we smoke weed in the first place!
Another study done in California found a whopping 90% heavy metal contamination rate with over 101 rolling papers they tested, with another 16% containing pesticides of which 5% were “above allowable limits” whatever the fuck that means.
“Um yes, I’ll have an acceptable amount of pesticides in my bloodstream”, said no one ever. What a dystopian notion!
For all of the above reasons I generally advise friends (which includes you!) and family to stay organic and natural whenever possible (same with food, the less processing the better) and to also avoid colors (most dyes contain some type of metal).
Now that I’ve scared the living shit out of you I’d like to get to the part of this guide where I recommend some specific brands and pulps that I’ve been testing myself over the years and which I’ve enjoyed (and remain not poisoned by).
These recommendations aren’t just about safety though. In fact, they place equal emphasis on consistency of burn and flavor as well. There’s no point buying top shelf bud if you’re usign some garbage ass paper that completely ruins the flavor aspect of chiefing.
I regularly invest in very high quality flower with the intent to taste good flavors and have a smooth pleasant smoking experience and I’ll be damned if I’m going to roll up my dank with some cheap ass fake ass shitty ass flavored rolling papers!
Papers that have been treated with synthetic flavors also pose their own risks and are just dumb IMO.. If your bud tastes so shit that you need some candy flavored paper to roll it up in then you my friend are smoking some straight up shwag.
That in itself isn’t a huge deal, we’ve all been there, financially and mentally, especially during the gray market days when finding true quality organically cultivated terpene-packed herb was at times damned near impossible.
But today, in most recreational markets, competition has risen to the point where prices have fallen enough to offer insane value for potheads, meaning that even the most budget-conscious shoppers are now able to find decent quality herb for very reasonable prices in practically every legal market.
To put it bluntly (pun intended), there’s no reason to be smoking bunk today if you live in a legal state, there’s just too many other “good” options out there to justify it. As such, having to mask your foul flower with flavored papers is just not necessary.
There are a lot of flavored blunt wrappers out there and I guess, for nostalgia’s sake, maybe replicating the experience of passing around a cherry-flavored Swisher Sweet roll with your friends could justify a purchase.
IF you must have flavored papers or wraps at least look for all-natural ones that use naturally-derived terpenes for their flavors so you don’t end up inhaling a bunch of chemical flavorants.
I will always opt for a blunt filled with premium grade flower and a neutral hemp wrapper (like Portland Heights original Moonrock Blunts) over a blunt filled with dry ass shake with an artificially flavored wrapper any day of the week.
Addressing The RAW Controversies
No rolling paper guide can be complete without touching the whole Raw Rolling Papers controversy. Ask 100 people what they think of RAW and 50% will claim they are the best rolling papers in existence and 50% will say they wouldn’t touch them with a 10ft pole.
I try not to get too caught up in brand bashing because if you look hard enough for long enough you can usually find someone to say something negative about just about every company out there.
That said, I HAVE smoked a bunch of Raw papers and even use a Raw rolling machine for my little pins so I figured I should do a little research on the topic to make this as “comprehensive” of a rolling paper guide as possible.
From what I can gleam from online forums and investigate articles like this Forbes story is that the owner isn’t the most trustworthy fellow.
One falsehood that was apparently revealed in court is that Raw papers weren’t made in Alcoy, Spain (the “birthplace of rolling papers” supposedly).
The above-mentioned Forbes article in addition to some other eyebrow raising accusations such as their hemp papers allegedly not being made of hemp (at least not originally) and the outlandish claim Raw founder Josh Kesselman “invented” the cone.
Personally, I’ve found Raws to generally smoke just fine. The Raw Blacks I had were pretty thin and burned evenly enough although they did have a more pronounced flavor, more burnt paper flavor, which is odd given how thin they are, and reason enough for me to probably not buy them again.
I am however a long-time fan of Elements, which is another brand under the HBI International brand along with Raw and Juicy Jays (flavored rolling papers) so in the end, do I continue to support the HBI International brand through Raw or Elements? Probably not.
Raw papers never wowed me as a smoker (nor have they necessarily let me down) so I never understood the amount of hype around the brand outside of it being kind of an “OG” stoner brand.
It’s tough though because I have always liked Elements and purchased them a bunch in the past because they simply perform great for me. …but so have the OCBs and I’m happier with the natural hemp, bamboo, and brown rice options from OCB vs the Elements.
There are scenarios where I could see myself buying Elements again, but probably not Raw, and likely only if one of my preferred OCB papers isn’t readily available (such as when travelling).
“Wrapping It Up”
There is an entire world of rolling papers, in all different sizes, composed of all different materials, each with their subtle unique differences.
You can read overly verbose weed geek blogs like this one right here until your eyes crust over and you fall asleep OR you can go down to your local head shop and start testing papers yourself!
Since the cost of papers isn’t that high it’s easy enough to grab one pack from each of the many different brands out there and then do your own testing at home.
Smoke a few joints with one paper and then switch it up, and then switch back, and continue this process until you work your way through the varieties you’ve been able to find.
Pay attention when you roll which are easiest to use. When you smoke, pay attention to how evenly they burn and/or how often they canoe. When you inhale try to evaluate the smoothness and the clarity with which you can taste your herb.
If you do this over a long enough period of time, say 6-12 months, to allow for enough time to have tried enough variety (rice, hemp, bamboo, wood pulp, etc..) then you’ll likely form an opinion at the end of it all and now boom, you’ve got yourself a new favorite paper brand!
If you don’t have the time or energy or desire to do that and are just looking for a good rolling paper recommendation then I recommend grabbing 3 different varieties of OCB and picking the best of those three since that is the brand I’ve evaluated the most and personally vouch for.
But alas, not all who wander these webpages are new to smoking. If you’re a fellow flavor chaser who has strong opinions on what are the best papers and which to avoid, let us all know in the comments below, the community thanks you in advance!
