Hi Tempest.
Holman and Bartels can be viewed as the Ferrari and Bentley of systems. Helyar as the Toyota pickup. Helyar is used by most(?) Wayfarers.
When fitted with Harken High Load Drum and swivel, £200ish ouch! but well worth the money, it works well. It can be furled to any size under load without problems. It is probably the cheapest solution
Fitted with karabiners top and bottom it can be lowered while at sea should that be necessary. It can be rolled away and stored under the foredeck. The forestay is retained so even the mast can be lowered.
However, according to the experts it does not sail as efficiently to windward as the rigid spar.
My boat came with a Plastimo rigid aluminium spar which needed to be handled with care. I changed to the Helyar system because it seems more simple and less likely to be damaged.
This subject has been discussed elsewhere on the Forum and much more extensively on the Yahoo Wayfarer Forum.
As usual there is no ‘best’ method. Genoa reefing is probably better than furling and changing sails.
Hope this opinion helps.
John