Self-ratcheting platic reels are indeed easier to load. I've got a plastic tank (Patterson I think) that has them with ball-bearings, and they're a breeze to load, in fact they really load themselves.(posted 8924 days ago)Unfortunately, those reels don't fit in my Jobo, and the Jobo reels are a *lot* harder to load. Still nowhere near the difficulty of steel though.
Paul