The only beef I have I have with my smart pots (5 gal) is that they are a pain in the ass to water the plants if you don't lollipop...and I don't.
Do they offer bigger yields....no...I did several side-by-side comparisons to a 5 gal bucket with holes drilled into it and they came out the same.
other than that, I'm with everyone else that says they're durable and reusable.
A 5gal. bucket with holes drilled into it is the same as those air-pots.
root pruning pots like to be elevated(underside gets 02)so the roots prune like they're supposed to.
+ 5 gal buckets hold more volume (closer to 7gal) than a 5 gal. planter pot.
So the smart pots used less soil + produced the same yield. I don't get it...