As long as you use a reasonable number of spoke in reasonable diameters, the wheel should be plenty strong. For touring, 36 or more spokes lightens the load on each spoke while making an (unlikely breakage) less serious to deal with on the road.


The spoke flange holes really don't matter. The spoke is being supported by the head and the hook formed by the bend, not by the circumference of the hole. The main reason spokes break is because the spokes with the heads in weren't properly bent around the flange when the wheel was laced. The J-bend is left under bending tension and eventually cracks because the tension cycles concentrate stress on that point. Alp IIIs are just less likely to break at the heads if they weren't seat correctly in the first place.


If you want to buy some cheap insurance, go ahead and buy Alp IIIs for the driveside and regular butted everywhere else. You might have to work harder getting the thick heads of the Alps to seat properly because they are so thick compared to the center spoke section. Maybe use a non-marring tool or mallet.

Good spoke seating, a rigid rim, enough spokes and appropriate, even tension with frequent stress relieve while building will make the longest lasting wheels. Unless you use delicate spokes, I don't think the spokes matter so much.