I thought I would hate the bar-end shifters. It was almost a deal killer even. When I was considering buying the LHT, I'd reach for where the bar end shifters would be while I was riding my road bike and think, "Yeah, that's totally not gonna work for me." But otherwise the LHT was exactly what I wanted, so I ordered Paul Thumbies at the same time I ordered the bike, with plans to install them myself. I figured they wouldn't be as effortless as brifters, but at least they'd be in a more convenient location, and it wouldn't be scary like reaching for a bar end to shift.
...and now it turns out I'm gonna throw the brand-new, never-installed Thumbies up on ebay. It took about 5 seconds to adjust to using the bar-end shifters on the LHT, and I still shift about as frequently as ever.