The only downside of an IR release is that it needs to be pointing at the front of the camera to work reliably. There are (or at least used to be) little mirror arrangements to make them more reliable from behind but in my experience, it was usually just as easy to just reach around to point the remote at the receiver. You can easily bodge a mirror to do the job - dentist type mirrors are cheap in Superdrug or Boots and an inch or 2 of insulating tape isn't going to break anyone's bank!
Always worth carrying a spare battery for the remote - it's bound to die when you need it most! (From memory, it's a 2016 cell but check before buying one!)