I ran for years with the stock front birfs, but the last few were with an ARB up front. I twisted the splines up on the stock front axles after two years with a malfunctioning front locker. The key thing is to only back up in straight line if possible. Most of the birfields we have blown up have been while backing up at an angle. The one birf that blew up on me really went though, complete destruction.
One issue with the heavy duty front axles are the larger side gears you need to use. If your putting in a spool you can probably just use your rear gears up front.
It comes down to driving style on how long the hardware will work. I say go for it with stock, see what happens.