You may want to try the different techniques on small projects and just see what works for you. If I were going to pin baste I would definitely get the tool to help with the pinning. I know of one quilter who pins for long term projects. I would be afraid of rust but she stores no quilts in plastic. She has some quilts with pins that have been WIP for years. For longer projects I would thread baste. So many videos on basting techniques!