As noted elsewhere, Recovery HD is an integral part of Lion. But even Pogue (p 850) recommends restoring from TM backup: "If your Mac is really hosed, this is the option you want. It restores your entire software world — programs, data, settings, Mac OS X itself ...."
That's the primary reason I chose the route I did. Who wants/needs an outdated OS X system which has none of the carefully 'engineered' personality that you put into it? With TM backup restoration, you get exactly what you want.
And do the math: $70 OS X thumb drive with 10.7.x vs $100 backup drive. The latter provides peace of mind; the former gets dated really fast.
