Santa Cruz has been the #1 weed grinder for cannabis connoisseurs since its release in 2007. It’s known for having the fluffiest grind, perfect for smokers and dry herb vaporizers. Santa Cruz Shredder is a USA-made grinder. It’s been designed and refined by passionate cannabis consumers who set out to make the perfect weed grinder. And they did.
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My original Santa Cruz Shredder Review video was deleted from YouTube when they banned me. Twice.
Santa Cruz Shredder looks like all the other weed grinders—95% look the same. Santa Cruz perfected the classic weed grinder design and refined every interface element. It sets the industry standard that all the cheap weed grinders try to copy.
Many fancy weed grinders are on the market today—grinders with blades, bearings, and batteries. The Santa Cruz Shredder doesn’t need any of that fancy stuff. It’s the best at its job – as a weed grinder.
It’s an aluminum-threaded grinder and the only aluminum-threaded grinder on my list of best weed grinders.
The Santa Cruz Shredder is one of the oldest names in modern weed grinders and skateboards – which is probably what originally drew me to their brand.
Table of Contents
Santa Cruz Shredder Grinder Ranking
The Santa Cruz Shredder is rated a 9.5/10 and is in the top 5 best weed grinders ever.
Medium 4pc in Gold
Santa Cruz Shredder makes two-piece, three-piece, and 4-piece grinders in four sizes and even more colors.
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| Grinder Rating | 9.5 ** |
| Avg Rating | 9.2 |
| Time Between Cleaning | 9.4 |
| Grind Consistency | 9.5 ** |
| Grind Fluffiness | 9.5 |
| Ease of Use | 9.1 ** |
| Grind Speed | 9 |
| Joy of Use | 9 |
| Travel | 9.3 ** |
| Durability | 8.9 |
| Maintenance | 9 |
| Airtight | 9.2 |
| Versatility | 9 |
| Awards | A Decade as The King Best Aluminum Threaded Grinder Best Grind Consistency Best Grinder Teeth Best Grinder Threads Best Kief Screen |
** This grinder is available in multiple sizes. Size ratings are displayed below.
What Makes Santa Cruz Shredder Different
Beyond its cool name and reputation, the Santa Cruz Shredder offers several features and luxuries that set it apart from most other herb grinders. It produces the nicest result and the nicest feeling experience of any threaded grinder.
The Santa Cruz Shredder set the standard for all other traditional, threaded grinders. But in 2024, modern weed grinders will be threadless and made of stainless steel. Skip to the bottom of the review to see how the Santa Cruz compares to the best modern threadless grinders.
This photo shows how the threads are tapered at the start and the end. This makes the Santa Cruz easy to open and close while less likely to overtighten. This grinder has the best threads of any other weed grinder.
CLICK HERE to buy directly from Santa Cruz Shredder. It’s also available at Planet of the Vapes and Amazon.
Best Grind Consistency
Out of every grinder I’ve ever used, testing with various nugs ranging from moist and sticky to rock hard and dense, the Santa Cruz Shredder produces perfectly fluffy ground weed.
The herb isn’t mutilated, and the trichomes remain intact! It’s fine enough for every dry herb vape and the ideal consistency for smoking, too.
Dry herb vaporizers perform best with a fine, fluffy grind, and the Santa Cruz Shredder has the best grind consistency for vapes. I’ve tested this grinder against every other grinder, using every dry herb vape. Fight me.
Best Kief Screen
If collecting kief is your calling, The Cruz is the champ. The screen used in the 4-piece Santa Cruz Shredder is the perfect screen. The holes are big enough not to get clogged but not so big that the kief collector fills up with organic leaf matter instead of kief.
In side-by-side tests with other grinders, the Santa Cruz Shredder produced more kief and clogged less while delivering the loveliest ground weed.
EASY TO GRIND
The Santa Cruz’s teeth are patented. They’re sharp and serrated, so the grind consistency is so fluffy.
The SCS doesn’t use the standard diamond-shaped teeth that cheap weed grinders use; instead, the SCS utilizes box-shaped teeth with concave surfaces and serrated edges. This tooth shape stays sharp for years and years and years while giving the grind that wonderful fluffiness that NO OTHER GRINDER CAN MATCH.
The Large and Jumbo sizes are easier to turn and grind than the Small and Medium-sized Santa Cruz Shredders.
My Santa Cruz Shredder has been in use since 2016. Its teeth aren’t as sharp as they used to be, and wear is visible on the pointy edges of several teeth. This grinder still functions normally without any loss of grind speed or fluffiness.
NEVER NEEDS CLEANING
Okay, that needs an asterisk. The Santa Cruz Shredder requires minor maintenance, but it is extremely minor compared to other weed grinders. I’ve never needed to soak my Santa Cruz Shredder—instead, I angle the lid in a half-inserted way that scrapes the grinder hash from the lid and lets it fall into the grinder.
Optionally, you can use your fingernail or an alcohol wipe.
The teeth and grinding chamber will get gunked up with ‘grinder hash’ after a few ounces of sticky buds, but the grinder never fails. Cleaning is still beneficial and encouraged – but it’s no longer required.
Harder Aluminum
Almost all weed grinders are made out of aluminum. Santa Cruz is no exception; however, they use a harder alloy than the others. Their aluminum is more rigid and more durable than the cheap grinders on Amazon. Only a few premium weed grinders use this higher-grade aluminum because it’s more expensive and requires different machines.
The Santa Cruz uses a proprietary aerospace blend of aluminum. I’ve been using mine since 2016. The outside of my old grinder has tiny dents and minor scratches, and several teeth show signs of wear, but the grinder continues to function perfectly. It’s not as hard as stainless steel grinders but also much lighter than stainless steel.
Threading, Refined & Polished
The Santa Cruz Shredder’s surfaces are smooth and polished, with subtle textures and knurlings that offer grip and touch feedback. The knurlings and textures are precise and refined, and even the threads are buttery smooth.
I have over 100 weed grinders in my collection. The Santa Cruz Shredder has the nicest hand-feel and user experience. Every surface and every edge has been refined and optimized to feel perfect in your hand.
Size & Color Options
I realize this is a stretch, but hear me out. Not all grinders come in multiple sizes or in two-, three-, or four-piece versions. Not all grinders have multiple color options, finishes, or limited-edition collaborations. Santa Cruz Shredders come in all sorts of sizes and colors—there’s even a biodegradable hemp version!
4-piece to 3-piece Conversion
The threads on both bottom sections of the 4-piece grinder are matching. This means the kief screen section can be removed and the bottom piece can thread into the top half. This effectively turns the 4-piece grinder into a 3-piece grinder.
But it kinda sucks. The threads match, but the bottom section is designed for kief, not herb. The bottom bowl section on the Santa Cruz 3-piece is much nicer for scooping or pinching herb.
If you want the 3-piece, get the 3-piece. Please don’t pick up the 4-piece expecting to use it as a 3-piece.
Santa Cruz Size Chart
Size | Width | Consistency | Travel Rating | Grinder Rating | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Small | 1 5/8″ | 9 | 9.5 | 9.1 | $50/56 |
Medium | 2 1/8″ | 9.5 | 9.3 | 9.5 | $65/80 |
Large | 2 3/4″ | 9.5 | 9.3 | 9.5 | $76/90 |
Jumbo | 4″ | 9.5 | 8.9 | 9.4 | $140/170 |
Which Santa Cruz Shredder Size is Best?
The Small Size is too small for desktop usage. This tiny grinder is best for travel usage only.
Medium and Large are small enough to travel but big enough to function as desktop grinders.
The Jumbo Santa Cruz Shredder is for desktop usage only. This grinder is too big to travel or even carry around.
Santa Cruz Shredder Best Price
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Santa Cruz Shredders are also available at Planet of the Vapes and Amazon.
Santa Cruz Shredder vs Brilliant Cut Grinder
It’s no secret that I also really like the Brilliant Cut Grinder.
Is it better than the Santa Cruz Shredder? In some ways, yes. In other ways, NO.
The Brilliant Cut grinder has fewer sizes and won’t go as large, while the Santa Cruz Shredder is available in sizes as small as 1.25″ and as large as 3.75″, with two sizes in between.
The Brilliant Cut grinder is a 3-piece grinder with no current option for collecting kief. I enjoy having a stash of kief in the kief collector. Tapping into the kief storage for an occasional SUPER BOWL is nice.
The Santa Cruz Shredder still dominates in the GRIND CONSISTENCY area. Its ground herb is fluffier and more consistent than any of the 3 available Brilliant Cut grind plates.
The BCG has three grind options: fine, medium, and coarse, while the Santa Cruz Shredder has only one.
For what it’s worth, I use the medium BCG plate. It works excellent in EVERY vape, and I don’t bother switching, but I still like the best Santa Cruz Shredder grind.
Click Here to check out my Brilliant Cut Grinder review
or HERE to see my Best Weed Grinder guide
Santa Cruz Shredder
Santa Cruz Shredders are one of the absolute BEST WEED GRINDERS available. While I like the Brilliant Cut grinder better, the Santa Cruz Shredder is still a champion
9.5
Pros
- Perfectly Fluffy Grind
- Consistent Grind
- Airtight
- Lightweight
- Durable
- Sharp
- Size + Color Options
- 3 or 4 Piece
- USA Made
Cons
- Aluminum
Do you think, the BCG will come out with a grinder, with a kief catcher?
I’ll wait for the kief catcher but if not, I’ll get the SCS!✌
I love my Santa Cruz. The Brilliant Cut looks great, but really need a kief catcher before I would consider a switch.