Biodegradable Packing Kit - pack your own herbal smoke!

What you’ll need:

• loose-leaf herbs 
• tray or clean surface
• a packing kit: grinder + funnel + packing stick
• cones
• lighter

1. Prepare your herbs

Grab a rolling tray or clean surface that will act as your pre-rolling workstation. Use your grinder to break down the herbs for the pre-roll. Put a few pinches of your favorite blend into the grinder to break it down to a fluffy and semi-leafy consistency. Grinding the product creates a better texture for pressing up against the delicate paper by breaking down any poky-ends or stems that could potentially damage the pre-roll. 

The goal is to achieve a consistent mix that’s not too bulky or too fine.  

2. Pack it properly

Place the funnel on the cone. You’ll use the stick to evenly pack the pre-roll cone as you fill it. You can use the stick through the funnel, it makes the whole process very easy!

Packing the pre-roll cone with the stick will prevent any gaps or unfilled portions of the paper, causing it to slump or burn improperly (potentially wasting your herbs). It is a necessary part of the process that will ensure you have an enjoyable smoking experience. Without packing, you might wind up with a lopsided pre-roll that won’t burn properly.

To start, put a small amount of herbs into the bottom of the paper cone by the crutch and pack it down. This initial “packing” is going to seal the deal for the remainder of the cone. If you forget to pack this portion correctly, your entire Smoke will fold at the base and potentially break. Once you’ve formed the foundation of your pre-roll, you are free to add more little by little, and pack it down. 

Don’t pack it so tight and full that it can’t pass air through. To test your progress, use your pointer finger and thumb to lightly check the fullness as you pack it. Fill as high as you’d like, but be sure to leave about a quarter of an inch at the top free for the next step.

3. Twist it shut

The top portion of the paper (at its widest point) should be left empty so that you can properly seal off the pre-roll cone. Twist it between your thumb and pointer finger in one direction so that it rolls up into a little wick, like a candle. It’s at this time that the pre-roll will truly take its shape. 

Twist it tightly enough that the top of the cone is packed (it will take on a rounded shape) and the wick should be poking out of the top ready for you to light. Take a moment to congratulate yourself and admire what you’ve just done. You just made a beautiful Smoke, congratulations! That wasn’t so hard, was it?

4. Light & enjoy

This is the most important step, needless to say. Pat yourself on the back! You’ve just learned a thing or two about crafting an exceptional Smoke using a prerolled cone and your own two hands, and now it’s time to reap the reward. Light the wick and let it catch for a moment so that the top of the pre-roll burns. Take a deep puff (you don’t have to inhale it, just puff it like a cigar if this is your first time), and check to make sure that it’s burning evenly.

 If at some point while you’re smoking, you notice only one half of the cone is lit while the rest isn’t, it’s called a “run”. This can occur for a few reasons that we will highlight below, but usually, the simple fix is to just re-light the Smoke, making sure that you sufficiently burn that area. Use an ashtray to catch any ash that falls.

Don’t’s:

Just as it is important for us to teach you the correct way to pack a pre-roll, it’s equally important to highlight a few common mistakes that occur when packing a pre-roll so that you can avoid them. If you happen to run into one of these in your cone-packing lifetime, don’t worry! They happen to almost everyone. Pre-roll packing, like anything else, requires some practice if you want to reach absolute perfection. Here’s what to avoid:

• Don’t grind your herbs too fine.

It’s a concept that many new consumers don’t understand. Just because you can fit 2.5 grams into a 1 gram cone doesn’t mean you’re going to enjoy it. In fact, it’s likely the opposite. The finer the product going into the cone, the harder it is to ventilate and pass smoke and air through to you for inhalation. The Smoke will likely go out frequently; without proper circulation of air, it can’t burn for longer than a few hits. 

• Don’t forget to pack the base. 

We mentioned this earlier, but it is worth throwing out there again. Don’t forget to pack the base of your cone near the crutch. If there is a gap in the base of your cone, it will lack stability and fail to keep its form while you smoke it. Plus, it’s not easy to get the herbs back out of the paper cone once it’s full, and you risk damaging the cone by attempting to remove it.