Rolling any blunt takes a bit of precision and skill, but Backwoods are often regarded as more challenging than their other cigar counterparts. They’re more fragile and can even be crunchy or stiff, making them easy to mess up and shatter. We've broken down how to roll a backwoods blunt into a few easy steps.

What are Backwoods?

Backwoods are the result of changing tobacco laws in the ‘70s that made it difficult to advertise tobacco as people became aware of its health hazards. To get around this, Backwoods created and branded little cigars that could still be advertised on television, avoiding the new laws and still hitting a target audience.

Backwood cigars consist of a tobacco leaf wrapper filled with aged tobacco. They come in several flavors which can make for slightly different experiences smoking, from Honey Berry to Black‘n Sweet and Wild‘n Mild. Their leaf wrapper makes for a perfect opportunity to rip them open and fill them with weed without even having to slice down the middle like you would to make a blunt with other cigars. Here's what you're going to need if you want to learn how to roll a backwoods:

Backwoods Blunt Supplies

• 1 package of Backwoods cigars
• A decent amount of cannabis to fill the cigar
• Grinder
• Level rolling surface
• Patience

How to Roll a Backwoods Blunt

If you’ve rolled a blunt before, you’ve probably been through at least some frustration. Sit down, take a deep breath, and prepare to slowly and carefully prepare your Backwoods, otherwise, you’ll look like a poser fumbling around with a torn-up leaf. If you start getting flustered during the rolling experience, take a moment to regroup and take it slow.

Step 1. Open the Cigar

For those who have rolled blunts with other papers, remember Backwoods are made up of real tobacco leaves. They’re fragile.

Find the natural split in the cigar and trace it all the way with your fingers. Once you’re sure you know where and how it’s going to unravel, begin to carefully unwrap the leaf from one end to the other.

If the leaf feels extremely dry, you can get it a little wet. Just get your hands damp and run them over the wrapper softly. It won’t take a lot of water to add some moisture back in so don’t make it soggy.

Step 2. Dump the Filling

You’re here to make a blunt, so that means getting rid of the tobacco filling. You’ll have enough tobacco and flavor from the wrapping, so don’t be shy about scraping the guts out of your cigar.

But don’t be too enthusiastic either. This is a really easy place to mess up. The tobacco should stay in the shape of the cigar, for the most part, so you’ll mostly be working to remove the cigar-shaped lump as well as any stray piles of tobacco.

If you have a pack with several more backwoods, you can dump the tobacco back into the bag to keep it fresh or go ahead and toss it out.

Step 3. Grind Your Weed and Fill the Leaf

Grind yourself a decent amount of weed. Just enough so you’re not overflowing the wrapper while also not underfilling it which will result in a blunt that resembles a twig. 

Filling the wrapper can be a challenge. Look for the middle point in the leaf and fill in a straight line from the top to bottom, leaving plenty of room on the left and right sides for rolling.

Step 4. Roll it Up

Nervous yet? Now’s the time.

Pick up your leaf and gently roll the side closest to you over the weed, tucking and tightening as much as you can with your thumb. Once you’ve covered and tucked the weed once to secure it, you can slowly wrap the rest of the leaf over, continuing to put pressure on each newly rolled section. This can be done while holding it up or you can have it placed on a flat surface for a sturdier rolling session.

When you have just a little bit of leaf left, shamelessly lick it thoroughly so there’s no risk of it not sticking and give it a final roll. Lick it as much as you need to make sure it will stick once it’s completely sealed.

At this point, you can add a crutch or filter by inserting it in one of the ends, but it’s not necessary.

Step 5. Dry and Smoke

Give your blunt a few minutes to dry off and seal together properly. Alternatively, you can just hold your lighter up near the seams, close enough to heat it up and dry it quickly but not so close you accidentally light the leaf.

Now you’re ready to light it up and enjoy.

Backwoods Tips

The biggest tip any new Backwoods roller needs is to keep their patience. If the process does not come naturally to you yet, you just need to get good at it. This means taking every single step slowly because there are so many places you can go wrong and end up crumbling your leaf.

Once you’ve figured out the basics of how to roll a Backwoods blunt, you’ll be able to perfect your technique over time. Until you’ve reached that point, be sure to pack your patience and take each step slowly.