I've built/rebuilt several wheels now, and though not an expert by any imagination, I would not consider doing that job without a spoke tension gauge to assure uniform spoke tension. You don't need the best one available. Would just like to add that although a few of the tools look very similar, they may not be (probably are not) calibrated the same. Learned this the hard way (my normal way of learning new things) resulting in a lot of trouble with my first build. The tools come with a spread sheet that takes spoke diameter and the material they are made from into account. You HAVE to reference that spread sheet to get the proper spoke tension, and what YOUR tool should read when testing a spoke. THEY ARE NOT ALL THE SAME! I actually put the spread sheet that came with mine in a freezer bag to prevent damage, yet it's still easy to get a quick reference.
Last, the tool may seem cumbersome at first, but you get used to using it pretty quickly. I would guess less than 5 minutes to check every spoke in an entire wheel. After doing it a few times, much less than 5 minutes. I would encourage other rookies like myself to check every spoke. Make no assumptions. The chances of finding a spoke tensioned high or low are the same. Messing with spoke tensions not something you want to do in a hurry or when you've run out of patience..... -Al
