If you're getting a rash from metol, just wear nitrile gloves. I wear gloves for everything in the sink room. Each film & dev combination needs to be worked out for your own style of shooting and developing. Obviously, the meter needs to be reliable. For a long time I've preferred pyro developers for general photographic use. Due to the different toe characteristics, I find I can shoot TMax films at full box speed, but never Ilford films. Too much loss of differentiation in the shadows unless I cut the working ASA in half. Maybe in a studio or in lower contrast scenes that formula can be compromised. I do a lot of photography at high altitude in the mtns where contrasts can be extreme. Similarly, I can go out in the redwoods here in the morning and there will be a lovely natural softbox effect for awhile, but then when the fog breaks, there can easily be twelve stops of range in the woods. The condition of the wind can change dramatically too during the day. That requires either more than one film in my pack or a very versatile film like TMY. When you're lugging 8x10 gear up steep hills all day long, you have to be a bit choosy about such things, since filmholders are themselves bulky and heavy. And I am very very nitpicky about how my prints come out. Going on the cheap with any bargain film would be counterproductive. Get it right the first time. If I want to simply goof off, well, that's more Nikon territory, where I can afford to waste some shots.