The triple helps with finer steps, but not necessarily with range.
The 50/34 11/32 that I've used on long hilly rides has a wider range at both ends than your 50/39/30 12/27 - but undeniably you'll have some finer steps than that setup.
Of course it does!
50/39/30 is a wider range than 50/34. What cassette you use is irrelephant - the wider range chainset will always win.
But take it in context - Feanor was saying that he uses a triple for big hills that his mates can't manage on a compact. My point was that the system as a whole needs to be looked at; just because it is a triple doesn't mean it
has a wider range, just because it is a compact doesn't mean you can't get short gears for climbing. In fact, the setup I used this year on BCM is both more spinny than his and has a longer gear at the other end - a wider range even though I'm running a compact and he is on a triple. This was achieved only by changing the cassette (which is a part that needs replacing regularly anyway) and rear mech (inexpensive), rather than chainset, front mech and shifters - the shifters and chainset making this a very expensive change if done as a retrofit.
Of course you can go lower ultimately on a triple (put on a MTB triple with a 22 tooth chainring and a 34 tooth cassette and you'll have balance rather than turning the cranks problems), but for average fitness and non-specialist hill climbing (i.e. not heavy loaded touring in the mountains) it is quite possible to get a good range on a compact.
Going back to the original point of the thread, whilst a triple is obviously what Butterfly knows and is comfortable with, if everything else if perfect on a bike then it may be worth considering it even if it is only available as a compact rather than immediately writing off the idea.
