Create length and width fields manually or use this module with patch?

I added a similar post to Drupal Commerce Q&A, so will update both (or close one) with any relevant answers.

I imagine my question will be one of the first many users ask before adding these modules.

If I need length, width (and / or weight) fields for certain Commerce product types, why not simply create individual fields? Drupal supports integer fields, for example.

Am I missing something here? What does the Physical Fields and Commerce Physical do that creating the fields manually does not (other than give the 'lbs', 'mm', etc labels? Don't get me wrong, I'm fully assuming it is a lack of knowledge on my part.

I had a Commerce Kickstart install using these two modules and a pricing rule. I found I could replace the module fields with regular fields and achieve the same thing. That is as far as I tested, so perhaps there is a deeper aspect I am unaware of.