I talked to several mfgs about the Glide aluminum drum, and got the same answer from all. A true all aluminum drum is only good for about 60 passes, the band just wears the drum and no coating has solved the problem. The wear results in band adjustments every 10 runs. This is a lot of cost and hassle for the weight savings. Talking to Art Reed at Coan they offer a modular (hybrid) drum, its aluminum with a steel sleeve pressed on giving it the durability of any steel drum with most of the weight savings of a true aluminum drum. This drum can be serviced also, if for some reason the band surface gets damaged the drum can be sent in and re-sleeved. Of the 3 light weight options, a lightened steel drum, the hybrid drum, and the aluminum drum, the hybrid from Coan seems to the best bang for the buck.
Hope this helps in your choice of drums.
Thanks for reading,
Dan