Well, I'm told tubes today are not as good as the tubes of even 5 years ago were. A friend who owns a few tire shops here will no longer install nor repair tubes because of liability concerns--he stopped when tubes got so bad. He said only ag equipment and skid steer tubes are still made in the USA now. The rest come from China, India, etc.
He did say if for any reason you have to use tubes (maybe for an older car with spoke wheels) buy the best ones you can find and also a bunch of baby powder and use a lot of it...rub all over the tube, the wheel, your tools, everything. And then put more on everything. He also said sand each wheel inside and paint very smooth and avoid pinching the tube even a bit. And then he added even if it is an old Corvette or Jaguar don't drive it at highway speed.
If you're just driving around town at low speed, you may be okay. I'd look around and see if anyone there is still installing tubes, though. Point being you may not save any money in the end.
