I have two kinds, the air pots and ones that more resemble hydro net pot, just much bigger. The air pots seem to create better roots, as they have better channelling.
The only downsides imo is that they are very bad to store unless you collapse them, I can't be bothered with that, so they do take up a lot more storage space. Also, It would have been better if the top 1/4 of the airpots had no holes, so you can water faster. The net hydro style pots do have that near the top, and they are much easier to manually water.
Drilling holes in the bottom of a normal pot will be ok, as long as they are small holes but many of them. I would also drill holes in the sides but only the bottom 1/3. The shape of standard pots will likely mean most of your water falls out of the pot if the holes are any higher, that's likely why airpots are straight, from top to bottom. The holes won't direct as many roots due to the shape, but some will get there. No point making the holes any bigger than say the size of perlite, or you will wash allot of the medium out over time.
