Pre-Rolled Cones vs. Pre-Rolled Tubes - Which is Best for Your Brand?

As far as cannabis history goes, joints and blunts are a relatively recent addition to the consumer’s choice of consumption methods, but they are consistently one of the most popular ways to consume cannabis.

According to Leafly, rolling marijuana cigarettes was in practice by at least 1856. The art made its way through the medical world, Prohibition, and the jazz scene of the ‘20s and ‘30s. It really took off in the ‘60s and continued to gain popularity around the globe over the last 60 or so years.

Now, many decades, technological advancements, and advocacy efforts later, we’re in the era of the legally made pre-roll, which means cannabis consumers have the luxury of choosing the shape, size, and paper type of their joint or blunt. Making that decision ultimately comes down to how well the pre-roll burns, and shape can play a large part in that.

So, which burns better: pre-rolled cones or pre-rolled tubes? And which is best for your business? Let’s explore.

Pre-Rolled Cones: What They Hold & How They Burn

Many cannabis smokers claim pre-rolled cones burn smoother than pre-rolled tubes. While there’s not any official science to back this claim up yet, it could be because the shape allows for a more tailored experience.

Pre-rolled cones are shaped like a funnel, with a wide end to pack weed into and a smaller end to inhale through. So, as the cone burns, the hits get smaller. Or, in other words, as the smoker gets higher, their cannabinoid intake lowers. This can result in a more even high because the smoker isn’t inhaling as much THC at the end of the session as they were when they first started and were sober.

Additionally, the smaller hit size toward the bottom of the cone will help the smoker avoid bigger hits as the joint gets smaller and the smoke is hotter, because there is less time for it to cool down before being inhaled.

Pre-Rolled Cones

Custom Cones USA's pre-rolled cones come in 70mm Dogwalker (.3 gram),84mm Classic (.5 gram), 98mm Slim Reefers (.5 gram), 98mm (.75 gram), and 109mm King (1 gram) sizes. Obviously, the larger the cone, the more weed will fit, but how the weed is packed makes a difference. If it’s overpacked, there won’t be enough airflow, and it won’t burn evenly. Likewise, if it’s too loose, there will be too much airflow, also leading to an uneven burn.

The most popular pre-roll cone is by far the 109mm King, which holds a full gram of flower. Consumers like the size and the way they burn – although half-grams are growing in popularity as well, for those who would like to have two smoke sessions with one gram of pre-roll.

Key takeaway: The better the cone is packed, the better it will burn. With an even pack, consumers are less likely to experience canoeing, runs, or clogs in their pre-roll, making for an overall better smoking experience that will turn consumers into repeat customers.

This is where grinding and sifting your flower becomes most important. Grinding into a powder will result in a too-tight pack that makes your pre-roll canoe and clog. Avoiding the sifting step results in uneven particle distribution and stems that poke holes in your paper.

Pre-Rolled Tubes: What They Hold & How They Burn

Pre-rolled tubes are another popular option for consumers, in part because they mimic the well-established tobacco smoking styles of cigarettes and cigars, which means many smokers are accustomed to the airflow of a pre-rolled tube.

Unlike pre-rolled cones, pre-rolled tubes are the same diameter all the way around. This can be a setback because you don’t have the heavy-hitting first inhale of a wide-end cone, but it’s also positive because it can make consistent packing easier.

Pre-Rolled Tubes

At Custom Cones USA, we have several joint tubes to choose from. If you’d like a classic cigarette feel, we have cigarette-style tubes that will burn and feel similar to a cigarette. Similar in look are our artisan tubes, which are rolled with joint rolling paper instead of cigarette rolling paper. The paper is thinner and provides a more joint-like experience while maintaining the familiar shape of a pre-roll.

We also carry glass-tipped tubes and different varieties of blunt tubes for a luxury experience. Choose from hemp wrap blunts, Cordia palm leaf blunts, wood-tipped blunts, and more!

Each of these tubes offers a different feel – hemp blunts resemble a classic blunt and burn slowly with a robust flavor, while the paper cones burn more like a typical joint and are similar to a cigarette in feel. Our glass-tipped and wood-tipped tubes are a luxury additions that will take your pre-roll game to the next level!

Again, many consumers are already familiar with this shape, which is helpful. But ultimately, how well a pre-rolled tube is packed has the greatest impact on how well it burns.

Brands with Pre-Roll Tubes

There are several incredibly successful pre-roll tube brands on the market now in 2022.

Jeeter

Known as the #1 pre-roll brand in California, Jeeter has recently expanded into Arizona as well!
Jeeter utilizes 2g glass-tipped pre-roll tubes that feature a unique custom-branded cigar band that goes with the color of the strain branding. They do also utilize pre-roll cones for their smaller sized pre-rolls.

Lowell Herb Co.

Lowell’s pre-roll multi-packs are custom made and come with a set of matches in addition to their pre-roll tubes that are loaded with a custom filter. Sold in California, Lowell also sells pre-roll cones that are available as single packs in a child-resistant glass tube.

Toast Emerald

These CBD hemp cigarettes utilize pre-roll tubes that resemble a cigarette and are stored in classy custom-branded push-packs for a complete luxury look.

Pre-Roll Paper Options & How They Affect Burn

Hemp paper is one of the most common pre-roll paper options, and for good reason. Hemp is stronger than other paper types, meaning it’s less likely to rip when packed, it can maintain its shape better, and it slightly burns slower than traditional paper. It’s also a natural addition to a cannabis smoking experience because hemp is a sister plant to cannabis.

While the hemp is popular with consumers, our refined white paper is consistently our top-selling paper type. The lack of plant matter in these cones makes them burn smoother than any other paper, and no bleach is used to get the desired white color. They are tasteless and allow the taste of the cannabis to shine through.

Our 100% organic hemp paper is a popular option for our clients, alongside our refined whiteand unrefined brown paper cones. We also offer blunt wraps made from Cordia palm leaf and tendu leaf, as well as botanical options like sage, cocoa bean husk, and goji berry paper.
Because we use all-natural, raw ingredients, consumers can expect even burns across the board, although thicker papers will always burn slower than thinner ones.

This means that blunt wrap options like hemp wrap, palm leaf, and our botanical blunts will burn slower than our paper options. They will also have more flavor when burning, adding a little something to the taste of the cannabis inside. If you’re looking to highlight the taste of the cannabis, paper options will be the better way to go.

Pre-Roll Filter Tips & How They Affect Burn

Filter tips, or “crutches,” were designed to filter smoke as it travels through a pre-roll, but they do much more. Using a filter tip can significantly improve the burn of pre-rolled cones and pre-rolled tubes because they give structure to the pre-roll, in turn improving overall airflow.

Custom Cones USA offers several filter types including cornhusk, glass, and wood tips, as well as designer options like tie-dye crutches. We have filters for both pre-rolled cones and pre-rolled tubes, but tubes generally have more options because of the wide variety of cigarette-style tips on the market.

Our cigarette-style tubes are available with standard cigarette filters, hollow-tip filters, high-flow filters, and hemp filters.

Manufacturing Pre-Rolls: Cones vs. Tubes

As we know, the way a pre-roll is packed has a huge impact on how it burns. How it’s packed ultimately depends on the equipment you’re using.

Manufacturing pre-rolled cones is significantly easier than manufacturing pre-rolled tubes because of their distinct shape. With a wide mouth, it’s easy to pack them using tabletop equipment like the King Kone Pre-Rolled Cone Filling Machine. It packs 84mm, 98mm standard, and 109mm cones and has special attachments for tubes, Reefer cones, and Dogwalkers.

Pre-rolled tubes usually require large, expensive equipment that is actually designed for tobacco. Cannabis doesn’t behave like tobacco—it’s much stickier—so this isn’t ideal. Oftentimes this can lead to a poorly packed pre-roll because the machine wasn’t built to handle a resinous product. Fortunately, we have some cannabis-specific tube machines, like the Perfect Pack 180, that offer a more consistent pack for cigarette-style and artisan tubes.

In Conclusion

The size of the pre-roll, the paper used, whether or not it has a filter, and the manufacturing process all impact how well a pre-roll burns, but at the end of the day, whether smoking a pre-rolled cone or a pre-rolled tube, the quality of the burn will come down to how well it’s packed. And that comes down to the right manufacturing equipment.

So, how do you decide which is right for your brand? We recommend taking a tip from the already-successful brands like Jeeter and Lowell Herb Co. - have both options available for different products. By having novelty tubes in addition to classic cones for a well-rounded product offering list, you will appeal to a higher number of consumers and their different preferences.