Yes, as Rival51 mentions, I usually weigh in on collapsible boats since I have been using them for 18 plus years.
But mine are all folding kayaks (which do have some inflatable components) that have rigid frames inside. Also mine are suitable for any types of waters including the ocean, which is why the boats I have owned cost from $600 (smallest one bought used) to nearly $5,000.
You do get what you paid for in kayaks. And any inflatable that is $300 new is little more than a pool toy. Yes it will float, but should never be taken farther from shore than you could swim back or out in cold, fast, deep or rough water or windy conditions, nor into currents or tidal situations.
My guess would be that you encountered people using either Sevylor kayaks (complete junk – were they yellow?) or the cheapest lines of Sea Eagle brand (usually white and blue) or Advanced Elements brand (various colors) these two brands are a little better-made but still pretty much pool toys or pond floats. Both those latter companies make better quality and more competent models but you will pay closer to $1000 and up for those.
Even with the skeg (the tracking fin in the bottom) that these cheap models provide, they are still more raft than kayak, being wide, having little structural rigidity and being vulnerable to being blown around by wind and water due the fat walls and floppy hulls. They are not fast to paddle nor easy to control. They can be fun to splash around a calm shallow pond or slow narrow river but you will not gain a lot of paddling skills from them nor be able to venture into other kinds of waters.
Also, and you will learn this from watching the videos that were suggested, the cheaper ones are not very durable.
As others have pointed out, you can haul a hardshell boat on even the tiniest car with a proper roof rack. A friend of mine used to transport her daughter’s 20’ long surf ski (a long skinny racing style fiberglass kayak) on the roof of her tiny SmartCar. I regularly haul two kayaks, 15’ and 18’ long on the roof of a small Mazda CX5 hatchback, in some cases across several states for thousands of miles on highways.
Honestly, I suspect you are nowhere near knowing enough about how and where you might want to paddle to make a choice right now to buy a boat. Watch the videos so you get the feel for the features and performance of these kinds of kayaks. You might also want to check out videos about cheap hardshell kayaks like this one where he buys and actually demos them on the water, making some good comments on how fit and performance is important in lower end boats.
You are going to be limited in choices right now anyway, since so many vendors are sold out on boats and production and imports are still slowed by the pandemic. Take the time to be patient and learn a little more about products and what kind of paddling you intend to do. Rent for a while and take some lessons.
