Side by Side Comparison of: Powermatic vs Queen City Candy vs Sigara vs Hometown General vs Zen

I had purchased this machine 2 years ago and it worked great. But one day it started to eject the cigarettes when they were only half full leaving most of the tobacco hanging out of the tube. I just thought it was worn out. I had rolled 3 packs a day at least over the 2 years. Anyway I repurchased a replacement machine and was shocked when it started doing the exact same thing the malfunctioning machine was doing. I really loved the ease of use of the powermatic 2 plus. It made perfect cigarettes before. I was about to return it but I noticed the tubes I was using seemed tighter where the white part of the tube meets the filter. So I bought a couple different brands of tubes and tried rolling with them. It was not the rolling machine that was malfunctioning it was the tubes being to tight for the injector to get the tobacco all the way to the filter even though they fit correctly on the nipple. If you are having this problem, try changing your brand of tubes before giving up and buying a different rolling machine. I was using "Premier Tubes". Now I use "Tops Tubes". I have 2 machines and help rolling. I love this machine. The Powermatic 2 Plus is the best machine on the market. I'm a customer for life.

My review will be a long. Hopefully it'll be worth reading & help someone.
This is the best machine I've found! So easy to use & quiet. The motor only runs when filling the tube, fills tube in 2 seconds. This will make both Kings & 100's. There's 2 tricks to making 100's. To make 100's: when filling chamber with tobacco, add a little extra to each end & a little in middle if needed. Pack the center normally.Not too much or it will jam. Put tube on the end, pull handle down & at same time hold other hand 1/4inch - or less behind tube so when it's filling it will hit your hand, Like hitting a wall. Use this as an extra push so the tobacco gets to the end of filter. The arm that pushes tobacco into tube is long enough for 100's. It just takes practice to figure out how much tobacco you need. 2-when making 100's fill in the chamber (silver metal piece you put tube on) from the inside. Then pack normally. It actually makes 100's pretty well that way. Kings are much easier to make. Almost every one comes out perfect.
I've been making cigarettes since 2013. Using a regular hand injector machine. This is sooo much easier. Great for people who have hands or arms that hurt. I had to find something that was easier on my hand. I have "Trigger Finger"now because of the hand injector. You definitely don't want that,it's painfull. So I tried 2 of the bullet shaped looking machines. Not good. They grind tobacco into Almost powder like substance. And the metal pipe you put tube on gets super hot. After only1 cig, I burned my hand trying to clean it out because it jammed,on 1st try. If the tobacco is to tiny it won't stay in tube or fill tube properly. Resulting in the cherries falling off & burning everything. The cherry always falls off no matter what.
When I found this machine. I hit the jackpot. It will cut your time by more than 1/2. So you can take your time & watch tv. Best of all my hands don't hurt anymore. The best part is you only need 1 hand to make cigarettes. If you are on phone,you can still make them easily. Don't use really dry or really wet tobacco. To keep tobacco from drying out, get some "water pillows". They really help. You buy some at your local tobacco shop. Or from Amazon too.
I haven't had any cherries fall off of any cigarette that I made with this machine, not even the not so well made ones. Just make sure you pack cigs well before smoking them. Then feel the tube from top to filter. You will feel it if tobacco is loose in cig. So you know You have to pack it more. Usually close to filter you can find it.
We use PIPE tobacco. The longer strands are better & easier to use. We use "OHM Bold",Black&red bag. Tubes are "Gambler",orange, white & black box. The taste of fresh straight tobacco is way to go. It doesn't have all those crappy chemicals in it, Like store bought cigarettes. Once you try these, you won't ever want the store bought brands again.
Cigarettes. Are about $9-$10 a pack & about $100.00 per carton. MYO(make your own) machine you will pay around $20 for tobacco.That's for 16oz.-1pound-makes 2 cartons from 1 bag. The tubes are like $3.00 It ends up being $11.50 per carton. That's around a 90% in savings! The machine has paid for itself already.
It also has a safty mechanism, so if you overfill chamber with tobacco, the machine won't fill tube. It stops making the cigarette before it will break. It senses the overpacked chamber & backs out. This feature is great.
You will enjoy how easy it is to use. This will be the last type of machine you will buy. Hopefully it will last a long time. The quality is great,& it's smaller than expected. It doesn't slide on table. Update: been using for 1 month or longer & it still works perfectly. I've jammed it several times. But thanks to the overfill protection the machine is fine.

This is a really nice machine for the price. Most of the cigarette rolling machines that you can find in stores are like twice the price. It has a red light to tell you when it is jammed. It makes a tight pack that goes all the way to the filter every time. Most machines take a few cartons before you get the swing of it and how to make the perfectly packed cigarette. This machine allows someone to make really good cigarettes right away. It is very easy to use and comes with great instructions for cleaning. I would recommend this to anyone who wants to start rolling their own. I did not receive any kind of discount for this review. If you found this review helpful please click yes below.

Just got this and rolled 4 cartons so far, out of that it had 1 bad cigarette, which the jam light came on,, but the plus is it only took about 30 sec to fix (did a dry run, no Tobacco or tube) ran fine for the rest. I was using a hand roller (top-o-matic) before this machine, this machine cut my time in half, no more shoulder and back pain.. I would rate 5stars but I've only owned it for 2 days and don't know how long it'll last (as of now it's very durable, feels durable, looks durable), so in a couple months I'll re-rate 5stars (by then I'll have a ton of cartons rolled (multiple smokers live here)),, this review is written by a real customer, not employee boasting for sales..... So far so good, definitely recommend...UPDATE ******* up the review to 5 stars now,, still running like a champ, after many countless cigs later only 1 jam (1 is wife tried it first time and put way too much in, which only proved it was durable lol,2 jams only consume seconds to clear and get rolling again), i wish I had this machine years ago when I first started rolling cigs myself, I will be getting 1 for my wife and make my stepdaughter get one, I am over working this one lol

Love this machine!!! I tried the zen super shooter first,it was sent back a couple days later,could not get it to pack a stick to save my life!So I ordered the Supermatic II and I couldn't be happier...love it!!Rolls perfect sticks every time and no more cherry loss :)The hopper on the zen was nice and the supermatic doesn't have one so as you see in my video I improvised one from some deli container plastic :)

Works great. It takes some getting used to after having used a manual machine for so long. I have to pack the tobacco differently than I used to...in fact I'm still getting used to it. Only complaint is that it ought to come with a hopper for loading a lot of tobacco. Yeah, I can buy a third-party hopper, but shouldn't Powermatic be supplying these? If not included for the cost, at least as an add-on. However, having said that, I have to mention that the accessories it does come with are (two brushes and a cleaning rod) a real nice bonus.

It never occurred to me to roll my own cigarettes until I saw a friend of mine with one of these. After much prodding from her I decided to give it a shot and I'm so glad I did! This little gem works very well and it has reduced the cost of a normal carton of cigarettes from $55+ to under $12. Yes, $12! I buy the Red River tobacco online for $12/ lb, the Zen 100 tubes for under $5/ carton and each bag of tobacco yields 2 cartons so there you have it!. And the kicker is, I like the cigarettes I roll sooooo much better than the commercial brands, go figure! But back to the Powermatic ... The machine is very easy to use, although it takes a bit of practice to fill the injector just the right amount, especially with 100's. Sometimes it jams but what I've discovered it that it happens when I've missed a small twig in the tobacco or when the tobacco is so fine that I end up overfilling the chamber. So mostly human error I'd say, and you can definitely tell from the amount of pressure you have to put on the lever to lower it so you can correct the problem before it jams. Overall, I did not take any stars off for jamming because the user can easily prevent/ correct that and the motor remains strong and doesn't burn out even if I jam it often (which I've noticed happens when I'm tired and not being careful so not the machine's fault). I did take one star off because it would be nice if the piece that goes over the tobacco chamber (not up with the lingo here so trying to explain as best I can) had a longer funnel or sleeve so you could fit in more tobacco and have less spillover. Other than that, I think this is an excellent machine and if you have the patience to roll your own (I try to do a carton at a time but it only takes a few seconds to roll a single cigarette), then this is the way to go. Plus with the savings on a carton, after only 3 cartons you've made your money back and it's all savings from there.

Today, I ordered the 'Powermatic 2 PLUS' to replace my 'Powermatic 2' that dutifly produced 10-packs a week for me for two years. I think that is a fair lifespan for the price of a somewhat complex machine. I am replacing my 'Powermatic 2' being it now leaves a gap of about 3mm between the filter and the tobacco when filled. The tobacco is no longer fully pushed against the filter in the finished cigarette product. Of the thousands of cigarettes I created, maybe 30-times the machine reset itself because it did not like the density (overpacking) of the tobacco chamber. I became sensitive to that. Even so, today I had a bad jam. Inadvertently, I had too may particals of tobacco instead of strands of tobacco. This machine likes strands, not particles. In this instance, tobacco particals were jammed tight in the throat of the machine. It was so tight, I had to carefully toothpick out the jam. I think this 'Powermatic 2' would have lived a lot a lot longer if I only fed it strands of tobacco and few particles. When my 'Powermatic 2 PLUS arrives, I will feed it only strands of tobacco. Flakes and particals will go in the trash. I look forward to reporting on the Powermatic 2 PLUS.

I have been using the Powermatic1 with very good results. I figured that with the money that I was saving by making my own cigarettes, I could splurge on the Powermatic2. It is a good machine that does it's job well. However, I found that with the hopper installed, I was not doing too well in getting the tobacco tamped to get the tube to fill to the end. I tried it without the hopper and had better results but it is messy with tobacco all over the place. To make a long story short, I am more comfortable with the manual Powermatic1. I was saving no time with the electric model, and I found it no easier to use, so I am putting it into a backup status and going back to the Powermatic1. By the way, I made an improvised tamper that worked better than my fingers, but I figured why bother? I would give this unit 5 stars if it was designed to give more room for tamping the tobacco. In addition, pulling a handle or pressing a lever makes little difference. In summary: save a couple bucks and buy the Powermatic1. You will be more than satisfied.

This is the second one that we have purchased. The first one lasted us a couple of years and we had no complaints. After a couple of years of use, the little rubber piece that holds the tube in place was just worn out and kept falling off, even when we tried gluing it back on. Bought this one to replace it and it works just as described and we are happy with it. My husband makes his cigarettes while watching tv at night and he can make about 3 - 4 packs in about an hour. He could probably make more but I think he gets distracted by the tv. The machine packs the tubes very well and he likes that he can adjust the tension, either packing them tighter or looser. Overall, it's a very good product.

Leave's a gap above the filter for 100 tubes. Need to fill just right to be able to pack the tobacco into the gap. Tried a tip I found online about putting more to the left to fill the gap, but this just over fills the tube and makes it impossible to pack. Still pretty difficult to fill just right even after making over 1000 cigs.

The machine is definitely easier than a manual machine, but still too much hassle for me to keep doing ryo. I probably won't go back to doing it unless I don't any other alternatives (going with filtered cigars).

They should just make a machine that over fills 100 tubes to fix the problem of the gap above the filter. Would still work for King size, except it would be a little more hassle to deal with the extra over fill.

So i finally decided to take the plunge and start RMO cigs. I started out with a manual topomatic, it was ok, but was harder on my bad back to use. It was however easy/consistent and packed well with no jams AND properly filled my 100's size tubes. So I checked out a ton of reviews online for the best electric one, and came up with the powermatic 2+ electric injector. So i ordered it from amazon for the best price and eagerly awaited it's delivery. I ordered my tobacco and filters from tobacco general online as they had the best prices I could find.

So, long story short, it was NOT love at first use by any means! I smoked 120's before, so am using the 100 tubes. I had ALOT of problems with this machine getting the tobacco chamber filled correctly to properly fill the tubes all the way, and not jam the machine! I did NOT find the machine particularly powerful, but i don't have any others to compare it too. In order to properly fill a 100 size tube you need to make sure you fill both ends of the tobacco chamber well. What I found was that when I tried to make sure they were filled, the machine would jam and only partially inject the cig tube, leaving a big gap at the filter end. You can't re-inject the tube. So if you can't get it cleared then it's ruined. And you have to clear the machine jam then too. When I tried using less tobacco it would fill the tube but loosely and not all the way to the end.

So, I kept at it. Finally found a compromise and by putting my finger onto the filter end of the tube as it injected, to lightly hold it on a bit better. BUT, it still didn't quite fill the tubes all the way to the end. And then when you tamp to pack the individual cigs it makes even more of a gap at the open end. So I made 200 cigs ( a carton). When it's all said and done the machine still gave me probs. prob ruined over 2 dozen tubes, it would have been more had i not been able to clear the tobacco from tubes and re-inject them. At times it would do ok for several cigs then would have a prob again. So, I can't say I'm sold on this machine yet. I have time on my return period yet, so i will use it to roll another carton or two before making a final choice.

I can say I will keep RMO cigs either way. Being able to purchase enough tobacco/tubes in bulk to make my cigs cost 70 cents a pack is a no brainer! Will update my review if needed.

I have used Powermatic I's for years. the only issues are it needs cleaning inside every few months and the rubber dot that holds the tube wears out. It is replaceable.
I wanted to try the Powermatic II mainly of curiosity. Two problems with it
1) the paddle requires force to push down and is very uncomfortable (poor design).
2) the corners do not fill correctly.
So I returned it, and ordered another model I manual. This one is well designed sans the paddle and filling problem, I like the company and will continue to use the manual model.

I purchased this machine based on youtube videos and other such video demonstrations, and in addition to the favorable reviews.

However, just recently, after rolling a, guesstimated, 40 cartons of ciggs, it now leaves a huge gap at the filter where tobacco should load inside the tube. I've checked, double checked, and triple checked the tobacco moisture and all recommended tolerances are within range.

You should be made aware of a few facts: 1: I roll about two to three packs a day on average. 2: Aside from a few "too dry" or "too wet" jams, it worked almost flawlessly - until NOW. 3: From my own personal observation, this machine prefers a "dry shag cut" and will not feed well if wet "shake" is fed into it. 4: I clean the machine regularly - inside and out. 5: The typical "roll-session" yields about a "50/50" product - again, leaving about 50% of the rolled ciggs unpacked at the filter and too tightly packed at the top - making it nearly impossible to hand-pack down into the filter gap.

The day before yesterday, I found a link on youtube with instructions on how to prevent this from happening by setting the machine up so that the spoon is paused in an "ejected state". Then readjusted to be more "straight", as well as, making the concavity of the spoon wider. This resulted in nothing. I'm still experiencing huge gaps - sometimes half-full tubes that need to be emptied and re-rolled again. Very frustrating to say the least.

I'm giving this item 3 stars because it worked SO well in the beginning that I was ecstatic. I was able to roll an entire pack in under 4 minutes - and all smokes were perfect!

If anyone has any suggestions or ideas, I would love to hear them. And I would like to thank anyone, in advance, for any helpful advice regarding the Powermatic II issues that I'm experiencing.

D

I started making my own cigarettes about three months ago, using an older manual Supermatic II that a tennant left behind. I liked the cigarettes and got another tennant/friend hooked on making his own. We shared the machine back and forth, and then we went in together and bought the electric Powermatic II. I can built a pack of cigarettes in about ten minutes. I also bought a box of 100 mm filtered tubes, and without any adjustment to the machine, it fills them perfectly. You still have to mush the tobacco into the chamber a little bit, but the consistancy of the cigarettes is much more stable with the electric model, and it's a little bit faster than the manual model. Aside from the cost of the machine, each cigarette costs me about nine cents, as compared to a pack of Marlboros from the convenience store for about 40 cents per cigarette. Figure I will have recouped the price of the machine after about two to three cartons. WIN! If you've been thinking about making your own, this is definately the machine to buy.

UPDATE: Something inside fell apart at just shy of a year of use. I could hear it rattle. I sent it back to the company along with a shipping fee. They fixed it, and sent it back - but the idiot who fixed it left the broken metal ring inside. This piece got onto the circuit board and fried it. Rather than spending another 25 dollars for round trip shipping, I bought another Supermaic hand crank machine.

Great cigarette making machine. Cuts my cigarette making session in half. Highly recommended and a must have if you ryo(roll your own)

UPDATE 9-12-2017
Machine is completely unusable. One day it rolls cigarettes like a champ, the next, the spoon pushes out and in in increments of 1/2" at a time. I emailed the company to see what they could do for me. More updates to follow.

Touchy machine. At first it worked great, filled the tubes up packed no problem. Now about two weeks after using it, only making a few smokes a day, it constantly jams up. Either it fills the front of the tube, leaving the back empty (useless), it fills the back of the tube, leaving an inch of open paper that you have to stuff manually with small "plugs" of tobacco by hand, tamping it with a wire each time, or it just completely demolishes the tube crushing the front. I get maybe one good smoke (still have to plug the end) out of every four useless ones. When it does a good job, it still tears the tube paper where it grabs on. I've tried dozens of types of tobacco and tobacco combinations, really doesn't matter what you put in it. I thought "it's wet" "it's dry" "packed in too tightly" "packed in too loosely" "not ribbon-cut/too fine/minced tobacco". Doesn't matter, it'll screw up your fun. I don't see how anyone can make a pack of smokes with this, I only make about 5-8 a day.

I am sorry. I have tried this 3 occasions, tried with better quality tubes and better tobacco,; but I find the tobacco still loads into the tube that is not tight. It has spaces between the cigarette here and there. That results in a paper burn leaving the hot tobacco extending beyond the paper line and eventually will drop a large hot coal. I actually would dread trying to make a pack. My friend came over and has tried to help me a couple times. She has experience with another brand. With this one, even she gets puzzled. You cannot manually tighten the tension as with hers. She left her machine with me, and it was noticeably easier right from the start. I was amazed since hers was cheaper. I wonder if I am stuck with the Powermatic 2, which I will never use again. I would not personally sell it to another knowing what I know. It is in good order, used only 3 occasions. I wonder now if I can return this as an unsatisfied customer? Would you let me know something?

Waited to review after I've used this for a bit, and glad I did, it works ok if you've got perfectly ground tobacco, but often doesn't fill tubes completely, or has other problems. In that video of the woman using hers, you see her hanging on to her tube as its being filled, and you have to learn to do that, to get it to work. It often doesn't fill the base of tubes, even w/good tobacco. And btw, I get 2 yrs. or more out of the better crank ones, have a humidor for my tobacco and a grinder even, for the rough cut stuff you need to make a consistent size for this and other machines. I keep my machines really cleaned and serviced too.I almost sent mine back, and wish I would have.

2017 UPDATE: Well. It finally bit the dust. The injector arm broke on it. So now we are back to using our TopMatic Manual machine again. It is way past the warranty date. I don't have the money to buy a new one. It was fun while it lasted before it started having problems. Why, if there were problems, would I buy another one? That's because, when it did work well, it took a lot less time making cigs and a lot easier than hand cranking. As it is, I happen to believe products should last a long time, especially, for what this costs.

UPDATE: I changed this from 5 Stars to 2 Stars because it no longer makes 100's. The cherries fall off the ends and it is a chore to get the tobacco into the end by the filter. Call me old fashioned, but when I buy something for almost 70 bucks, I expect it to last more than two or three years. I want quality for my money as it is hard to come by for this little ole lady, who lives on an extremely low fixed income. I am looking for a machine that will last, make 100's without extra effort on our part and is reasonably priced. Sure. It still makes King cigarettes, but if I wanted a machine that makes Kings, then I would buy a machine that makes Kings! Since it is way past the warranty, I really don't expect any measures to be taken regarding my complaint. I just have to eat the cost. There isn't any other choice, that I know of, for having it replaced except to buy another one, which I no longer have the funds for. Even then, that would be a foolish thing to do considering it hardly will or won't make our 100's.

This is my second one of this model. I received it May 6th, return window closed June 5th, today June 11th completely quit working and is stuck in the half our position. Time to find another brand! I see from other reviews I'm not the only one.

We've tried many different types of tobacco and have yet been able to get a tube filled. The few we get anything in are missing tobacco at one or both ends of the tube and it's packed so loosely that it falls out. It also jams EVERY single time we use it. It's so frustrating that we haven't even tried to use it in months. We've used our tobacco in different machines with little to no problems - so it's not the tobacco that's causing the problem.

Our machine was faulty from the start, we rolled one cigarette and then it stopped working. I also found that I prefer the tactile feedback of the manual rollers so we returned this machine and purchased another manual roller. Since our machine didn't work but once I can't review it properly.

It kept jamming almost from the beginning. I had a great deal of trouble with even getting a cigarette tube filled. I cleaned it nearly after each try to make one. It was very frustrating and I sent it back.

just ok. we bought the first edition about 6 months ago from local cig store. it gave up doing 100's so we switched to kings. no returns at the cig store and it costs a fortune to send to china for repairs despite warranty. and then the hammer started tearing the kings so we bought this version from amazon. here we are day 1: the machine won't fill the 100's and the kings have too much tobacco outside the tube. find another brand.