I like the top design. The bottom one seems a little too appliance-like for my taste, and it also seems a little more prone to damage.
Have you played with a honeycomb pattern?
Ahh, I think I misunderstood the scope of this second run. I understand now.
The only reason I thought to suggest it was I noticed the barrel cable design seemed to impart a bit of stress to the header. I thought having a flat cable would alleviate some of that.