This board is well made and gorgeous. Loved the special edition purple. Its a big piece of equipment but I'm 5'9 so its manageable. I can carry it inflated, from parking to the put-in at the dock on my local lake, along with a paddle, water bottle, and vest. I clip the bottle to the cargo straps, and enjoy by time on the water! As a relatively new user, I had only been out on rental boards twice before I purchased, but I knew I wanted my own board after just the first few minutes. This board is fast when I want it to be, but also easily becomes peaceful and quite if I'm just watching the local wildlife. I could not be happier. I'll be enjoying this for years to come!