I tried drip irrigation in my gardens using some inexpensive plastic
tubing and drippers. The quality was so poor that I just gave up. In
particular the drippers clogged and were not uniform in flow rate.
Also, the plastic parts aged quickly in the sun, resulting in cracks.

I've had one in place for several years and it's been great. Depends on
much sun you get, I tend to try burying my tubing in mulch. But none of
mine have cracked, granted I'm in Maryland not the desert southwest. I also
made SURE to use filters and backflow prevention. Helps prevent having
drippers lying on soil sucking up crud when the flow shuts off and the water
left in the lines runs back downhill. Some drippers are better than others.
I've been pleased with the reliability of the RainBird drippers but their
mist isn't all that fine.