Newbie question for my new Cumberland tube

Sorry for the newb question... I just bought a new float tube, a Cumberland... For the price I found of $149, couldn't pass it up.

So here's my "newb" question... When you finally get to where you're going... How much air do you guys put in? Do you fill them to "rock hard"? A bit less than rock hard? Or filled to the point where you can apply decent pressure and it gives in about 1/2"?

Any help or tips would be great!

Greetings from so cal! I also fish the sierras 1-2 times a year. As for your question, somewhere around a half inch of "give" is a good starting point, have a seat and see how it feels on the water. keep in mind the sun and warmer weather will cause the air in the bladders to expand, and it's definitely noticeable. good news is there is a rumor of the cumberland having "bleeders" in the valves that will let excess pressure out. I have a cumberland and mine have never bled but I've never let it get overfull. hope this helps!

I never fill my Cumberland all the way with the pump.
I always finish off with lung power, and like Jeff I leave about 1/2 of "thumb give".
I have had the sun warm it up enough to make it too hard to have any give, and I have hear the valves let loose a blast of air.

I hope this helps.

Thanks for the help and info...

Going to give it a go tomorrow and see how it goes. Hope the winds stay down enough to get the damsels to come out and play...