Here's at least one very good reason: the 74LVC161284 buffer is only available as SMD. 0603 resistors and caps are pretty easy to solder by hand and you can buy

Here's at least one very good reason: the 74LVC161284 buffer is only available as SMD. 0603 resistors and caps are pretty easy to solder by hand and you can buy convenient component boxes with a hundred different values that take up the space of a book. Soldering the whole thing together took less than an hour. Having a microscope definitely helped.