"This time we take a detailed look at truly
cost saving yet high quality tobacco"

   At a time when the economy appears to be slowing down somewhat and tobacco outlets, already faced with growing taxes and legislation, are probably getting concerned about future business prospects, their customers, the tobacco product consumer are making more and more of their choices based on economy. But take heart, RYO retailers. You should see an even bigger increase in RYO sales this year than last as more and more folks find RYO to be a good fit for their smoking dollar when compared with the increasingly outrageous prices for packaged brands. It is with the consumer in mind that we have decided to make our final tobacco review of the year 2000 a look at the specifics of low cost RYO smoking.  We have decided on a rather arbitrary yet practical cost for tobacco that fits well into an equation for illustrating the true cost cutting capabilities of the RYO practice. Given an agreed cost of tobacco of $20/lb., and $2.50 for a box of 200 tubes (a bit on the high end if you buy in quantity), and not counting non-expendables like initial investment in a good injection machine which will last a year or longer or shipping costs which are usually pretty low, the cost for a pack of these RYO cigarettes is as follows:

1 pound = 454 grams  1 cigarette = 1 gram of tobacco so $20 in tobacco for 454 cigarettes = .044/cigarette
Tobacco @ $.044/cigarette + $.0125 per tube = $.0565/cigarette x 20 =  $1.13/pack = $11.30/carton

Remember much of the outstanding tobacco you will see in this review will be even less than the $20 per pound and the table with the final results will have a per carton price, including the cost of tubes, as well as the quantity you need to purchase to get that price. And we'll even tell you where we found it at that price. So here goes with one last rehash of the rules.

  As you can see there are a lot of bargains here. A word of caution. Price may not be your only consideration. Some of the outlets listed above have much larger and varied inventories than others. Some specialize in package pouch or can tobaccos so you get a good price without buying a lot. Buying in quantity is really a bargain as each pound makes 2.5 cartons or so, and, depending on your consumption, ordering bulk may be better for you especially if you already know what you like. Some of the above retailers like D&R Tobacco and stuffyourown.com have great tube and injector prices, especially on the Supermatic, while others like RYO Tobacco have great tube prices and slightly higher injector pricing but a wider selection of injectors and tobacco. D&R deals direct with tobacco growers while Ziggy's has a huge selection of name brand pouches and cans. Places like Carey's Smoke Shop have some of the best deals on pipes we have seen. And companies like Cascade Cigar and RYO Tobacco have huge stocks of incredibly good tobacco and are full service walk in tobacco shops with all categories of tobacco products. All have toll free numbers and we have purchased, for personal use, from all of them (before they knew who we were and what we were up to, of course). All performed superbly and all shipped promptly at fair prices. Remember, promptly still means, with UPS Ground being the shipping norm, that depending how far you are from the place you order you can wait a week for your order to arrive. So plan ahead.

   By way of comparison to save you time with the math, pouch tobacco you find in grocery/drug stores is usually from .75 ounces  ((21.3 grams) like TOP to 40 gram pouches (1.41 ounces) which is the standard (Zig-Zag, Drum) and in some cases 50 gram pouches (1.76 ounces). Whatever the quantity, remember a 40 gram (1.41ounce) pouch must sell for about $1.78 to be $20/lb. Most sell for upward of $3.00 a pouch but special sale prices are not uncommon in those environments. Also smaller pouches are convenient and there is some really fine tobacco out there in pouch form that IS available in those retail environments like Zig-Zag, Drum, Jester, Bali Shag especially RED, or even TOP or Bugler which are still among the biggest sellers in the field.

   Also it is important to note that there are many hundreds of online tobacco shops as well as many brick and mortar shops in nearly every town. We suggest you shop around thoroughly both online and locally until you find that right mix of price, service, selection, and dependability that merits your tobacco dollars. We hope this has helped. If you have an online store that has products that compete in price, quality and service with the ones in this review please let us know. All we need is a small sample if we are not familiar with a certain brand and your URL if we are.

Until next time, enjoy -the ed.

EDITOR'S NOTE: These reviews are solely for the convenience of people of legal age who already smoke, are trying to cut down on smoking, wish to spend less money on their smoking, want to roll their own cigarettes from high quality tobacco, and, in general, wish to have a far more satisfying, and economical smoking experience when compared with smoking pre-manufactured cigarettes. We, in no way, encourage people to smoke. Further, we prescribe to a sane, more logical approach to smoking that involves common sense as to quantity coupled with a strong desire to manage the habit until it becomes an occasional, freely chosen, diversion, that can be fully enjoyed with minimal health risks. Finally, we strongly encourage those who do smoke to take it outdoors, or to appropriate environments where tobacco can be enjoyed away from those who do not smoke, most especially children.  We do not sell tobacco or related products from this site; We distribute information about our perceptions of the quality of what is available and where it can be obtained. If you are under 18,  it is illegal to buy tobacco and you should immediately exit this site. If you do not smoke, it would seem illogical to start.