While more work, I really like my string of PL9823s. It's much easier to diffuse and requires a lot less power to drive. (Because it's not double-sided.) I've ordered some 144 leds/m (7mm wide) strips to see how that turns out, I'm also considering ordering some 5mm APA106 LEDs. They work the same as the PL9823, but come in a shorter version, which should let me cram in more LEDs. Unfortunately they are not diffused, but I'm not sure that matters.
I'm using 7/8" blades, and I have some thin-walled trans-white blades from TCSS, and I have some thick-walled ones from ShadyCanuck. The thick-walled ones are clear, and the internal diameter is 5/8", so they can't hold the diffuser tube from TCSS, however, I think they will work fine for my simple string blade, which is made from 3mm LEDs.
What I would really like is some 7/8" photon blades, they would look fantastic lit up with a string of blue LEDs, but that doesn't seem to exist yet.