I was MUCH too heavy for this raft and it held me.  I made it down a river, mostly dry, went over two waterfalls, got stuck in low water with lots of randomly shaped rocks scraping the bottom of the raft, and got hung up on those rocks several times, squishing the raft against the rocks, and it would seem to deflate a little because my weight squishing it was stretching the plastic out, but once I was back in deep water I would blow it up a little more and hop back in, and it would keep me floating for another 20 minutes until I crushed it against more rocks.  Considering my weight and how I had a backpack full of stuff in it with me and the oars survive being used to push against giant boulders as I went over a waterfall, I would say this was worth every cent.  If you're under 281, it will hold you just fine.  It smells HORRIBLE if you leave it in your car while driving to wherever you want to raft, if it's blown up, but after three days in the hot car it aired out.  It's also a good idea to blow it up a few days before  you need it and leave it full of air until it stretches out a little and seems more limp.  Then add a little more air and keep doing that every day until the day you use it.