Kraft cardboard motor mount tubes are usually a thin walled spiral-wound tube made from layers of paper glued together in a spiral pattern. Like airframe tubes, most motor mount tubes commercially available for model and high power rocketry also have a smooth glassine covering on them to make finishing easier. Kraft cardboard is the most wide spread due to their low cost.

Phenolic motor mount tubing is basically kraft cardboard that is impregnated with phenolic resins, a tough, durable substance that waterproofs and strengthens the cardboard. Phenolic rockets have been known to land in ponds and lakes and still be flyable once retrieved due to the toughness of the phenolic resin. While having very high compression stength, standard phenolic motor mount tubes are also very brittle and can shatter easily.