I think that every person new to developing their own film has the same question, as did I.
I first used Paterson tanks and reels in a community college B&W class I took, and then used them in my own darkroom for several years and never had any problems with them. Based on my experience, I always recommended Paterson reels and tanks to others. BTW, I developed some 35mm and a lot of 120 as well as 4x5 sheet film in my darkroom.
Beyond what others have said, my experience is that plastic reels are easier for novices to load and so are probably more beginner friendly, but on the other hand it's reputedly very difficult to load film into wet Paterson reels. Metal reels are reportedly easier to load when wet, and also dry quicker than plastic reels, making them a better choice if you're likely to need to develop more than a couple of rolls of film in a day.
I had a 2-reel tank and two reels, and that was a good fit for how I shot.
In any case, I would strongly recommend you practice loading a reel with an unexposed roll of film a few times before trying it in the dark with a roll of exposed film.
Last edited by wm_brant; 01-11-2022 at 11:48 AM.