For my project we used short 100 ft rolls which were easy to handle. A couple other projects I helped on they were like 500 or 550 ft rolls. They went a long way but on any sort of slope they tended to creep down as you unrolled them. Did one on a pond bank that was a bear to unroll as it was almost too steep to stand on was a little muddy and water at edge was deeper than rubber boots.

 Was wondering about a way to suspend the roll from a loader or skidloader so it could rotate easily. Seemed like it would be easier to handle instead of wrestling it up the slope of the waterway all the way. I've seen the little deals to pull behind a 4 wheeler to unroll the straw rolls. That would make it easier to get it rolled out straight with less wrinkles. 

Used the wood fibers as my excavating guy had the contacts and uses it all the time on County jobs he does plus this ditch can run pretty full at times and with the hard clay in the bottom we knew it would take a while for the grass to get established really good.