Been doing the same thing since my auto hubs left me stuck on a fire road a couple years back. Getting out to lock them takes two minutes and saves you a whole lot of guessing. Not paranoid at all, your mileage may vary but I'd rather know they're engaged before I hit the dirt.

That spring snapped clean off? No way.

That line about the plastic being so brittle it cracked when you barely moved it really got me. I used to figure old inflatables were a safe bet since they never got blown up much, so the wear would be low. But hearing your seams split in two days at 60 bucks makes me think age just wrecks the plastic no matter how it was stored. The video of it holding air for a full day idea is smart, and I'd also ask for a close up of the seams so you can see if they're yellowed or flaking. Seems like a lot of these sellers just say dry basement and hope you don't test it.