I don't think it will make much of a difference but the engineers around could give you a better idea. One other thing to consider is that the aluminum from those places is not anodized (I assume you are going with onlinemetals). This isn't that big of a deal IMO. BIggest drawback is that it gets your hands dirty if you handle it alot... but once again, I'll defer to the engineers.

p.s. someone else had a good point about shipping. I am not sure where you are but you can sometimes find old windsurfer masts that would work or a metal supply store around that might have something that would work and save you the shipping.