Is that not like the best of all worlds? And the safest option to go for?
I think it depends on what lenses are available.
If trifocals are available, they will sure be better than bifocals with monovision, but i guess both can work fine for the individual person.
Bifocals are considered to have more side effects than trifocals, because the bifocals are older designs.
I know some are having minimonovision made with the Symfony lens, by only +0,5 to +0,75, to have just a bit more reading vision from the Symfony and not to have the contrast loss from the multifocals, and many people are happy with it this way.
But as always, it all depends on the individual person what feels right i guess.
Of, sorry, I did not see that it was about contact lenses 
OK, that’s what I did. Here’s my experience.
I have astigmatism so I still needed to wear glasses after cataract surgery. Although my vision with tri-focal glasses was superb after the cataract surgery, I wanted to try being glasses free for the first time in decades. The optometrist measured me for monovision contact lenses which correct for astigmatism. While these contacts allowed for both distance and near vision, it did so by making one contact lens for distance and one for near vision. The result is that my distance vision was not the sharply focused one I was getting with my tri-focal glasses. Ultimately, my desire for the greater distance clarity outweighed the vanity that prompted me to attempt going glasses free. So I no longer use the contact lenses.
One additional point though is that the optometrist suggested I try using distance-only contacts in both eyes and then use a cheap set of drug store reading glasses when I need them for near vision. I tried that out and was very pleased with the distance clarity and sharpness of the contacts but found the need to put on the drug store glasses for near vision, for reading or texting, to be way too annoying.
If you adjust well to a multifocal contact I think it’s a good option to consider. I thought about doing the same thing but ultimately went with a low add multifocal IOL (Restor 2.5D). The cataract in my other eye is not yet affecting my vision and I’m wearing a multifocal contact in that eye which pairs well my my multifocal iol.
You didn’t say if you have worn multifocal contacts before. If not, you need to find a patient optometrist as you might need to trial several different ones before you find one that works. I tried at least 7 or 8 options before I found one that worked. The failed options didn’t work at all while the one that worked is fantastic.
Songbill, how was your mid-range vision affected when you used the distance-only contacts?
It was not as sharp as distance but better than near. A good example is the speedometer on the car while driving. It was certainly very readable but not crystal sharp. While acceptable, I was conscious of the difference each time I looked down at the speedometer.