I've always had a triple and make liberal use of my granny gear combinations. Sure, as the season goes on, I use harder and harder gears on some small hills, but I don't see why I should be mashing and struggling just to say I didn't use the granny. Besides, I am old enough to be a granny .
Indigoiis, you can tell your DH that my DH, who is a very strong rider, has gone from a double, to a compact, to a triple. He could care less what others think. We ride some big hills and the fact that every time we come home, we climb a 10-15% grade had quite a bit to do with him getting a triple on his current bike.