In light of the new steep tobacco tax hikes coming into play, I can see that soon growing your own may become wildly popular in the very near future. So, in keeping with that thought, I figured some of my experiences may be helpful for those who are new to this site.
Some tubes are a pleasure, while some others make for a maddening experience. I have tried most of the tubes available in my area and below are my findings.
Gambler Tube Cut - Kings (both full flavor and gold filter), distributed by Republic Tobacco (AKA Republic Group), and manufactured in Canada. These have worked consistently well and rarely do I have a problem with the end of the tube tearing when I happen to try and stuff too much tobacco. This would be the one for those who are new to growing and rolling your own.
Top - Kings Full Flavor tubes are also distributed by Republic Tobacco and made in Canada with basically the same results as the Gambler tubes, which makes me think there is no real difference other than the branding. However, the Top brand name does cost more so I rarely buy these.
Golden Valley - Kings Full Flavor are distributed by Trademark Co. and "Made in R.L." (whatever that is), and also says "Fridley MN" for some reason. I was just not happy with these, the paper seems thinner and tends to tear the end of the tube about 1/3 of the way around where the top holds the tube in place. It is not so much of a functional problem for smoking because the cherry is about that big when you light it but remains unsightly.
Zig Zag - Kings white tip are distributed by North Atlantic Operating Co. of Louisville KY, manufactured in Canada just like Gambler and Top. For the price I was not happy, there are better options much cheaper and their popularity eludes me when it comes to the cigarette tubes. Tearing was a problem more often than I was willing to accept for the price.
Premier 100's - distributed by Commonwealth Brands of Reidsville NC and manufactured in Germany. Again these had a tendency of tearing but not nearly as much as the Zig Zag, probably due to the extra length. Over stuffing these will most definitely tear the paper.
Rave - Kings Full Flavor, manufactured under license by Commonwealth Brands of Reidsville NC, for Lignum-2 Bowling Green KY (again, whatever that means). This is my first try at these and am rather pleased so far, and may be replacing my usual Gambler tubes with Rave because the quality is good and are the least expensive of all of them. I did experience some tearing which was my fault because the tobacco was at the end of the bag and became too dry with smaller bits than usual. I also think I overstuffed them which compounded the problem.
Since a lot of cotton is grown here, I was thinking of using that as a filter and finding some very thin rice paper or craft paper at my local dollar store to make my own tubes. For the glue I was thinking either maple syrup or melted menthol candies, it could be a great smoke or make me puke, LOL.
That is it for now, I will see what else is available next time I go.