If you plan on being able to use automated check-in kiosks, it's a big hassle to not have the e-passport. When I was coming back from Germany last, the kiosk I was using had a broken passport scanner, so I had to enter the passport number and personal info by hand(which takes a long time on those kiosk touchscreens).

It is troublesome, though, to be that long without a valid passport. It's not usually an issue, but I have had some international trips at the last moment--which would be impossible if I didn't have a usable passport.