Hard or soft
Almost everyone cruising down here in the Caribbean uses well powered inflatables in one form or another. Right now, we "commute" 1.2 miles from Honeymoon Bay on Water Island to the marina's dinghy dock for groceries, etc. which would really suck in a Walker Bay, w/ or w/o inflatable things. Throughout the Caribbean, the nicer anchorages are away from "town".
Even cruising the East Coast I found my 11.6" Zodiac w/15hp (not RIB; so I can deflate it & put it below in a very bad blow), I found that it was nice to "beat the rain" or get above the chop in a fast dink. And exploring around anchorages or marinas (we went up all the rivers around Charleston SC & Providence RI, for instance) is a blast.
Since 1972 I've always owned non-RIB inflatables, but I believe the AB brand rigid aluminum hull will be my next dink. I've friends (several in the charter industry) with the AB brand rigid aluminum hull and they give rave reviews, again using them daily and hard..
As for leaking, ours is five years of very hard use & just fine; no leaks. The secret is to keep any inflatable light & very hard (like a basket ball). If you do get a hole, it's usually an easy fix or you get an inflatable boat repair place to fix it.
I guess it's really about the comfort you desire from your dink. Ours is our Ferrari, fast, well built and a blast to drive.