well my troupe has been making staves for 5 years, and i relly like the quality of em, but that means going with the 3/4" aluminum tubing with the .083 wall, which is not as cheap as the .050 wall, thats it. talking to some other folks, though, i think the .050 wall would not be stong enough, unfortunately.
we add 4 inches of wick to either end, then wrap the center with medical foam, which sticks to itself but isnt all that strong, then wrap over that with white meidcal tape, which gives us a great grip as well as just a little bit of padding but not enough to prevent perfectly smooth body wraps and rolls, and then customize them with electrical and/or gaffers tape for different colors, etc...