With access to reflow soldering and plenty of plated-through vias, they're great for space saving. Us poor hobbyists have to make due with with crude solding irons and boards etched in the kitchen sink. :shrug: The board I was working on ended up 30x70 mm; it'd be tough to put 130 pins worth of through-hole in that space.
SOIC/1.27 is my favorite. Small, but big enough for a between-the-legs trace. You do know you're
required to make something with that SSOP Max186.
