I would have to agree with the manual hubs being a better choice for the more serious off roading situations. As for them being a pain in the butt I think of them as a minor inconvenience. If you know that you are going to get into someplace where you will need 4X4, it will take you about 30 seconds to get out and turn your hubs in. Even less time if you have your passenger do the other one. True while the hubs are locked you will be turning the front diff but that should not put excessive wear on it, especially if you still have the stock open diff, and you will still be in 2WD untill you pull back on the T-case lever. Just my 2 cents worth but I like the solid feeling of having manual hubs and a transfer that you can "feel" lock into place rather than just pushing a button or turning a knob and hoping that it's in 4WD.