I had a go on one a couple of weeks ago and, as you, I was expecting it to be similar to snow boarding but it wasn't. With snowboarding you need to balance but these balance for you. There are switches below the heel and toes which you put pressure on to move. Sounds weird but is actually quick easy and intuitive but works differently to a Segway for example. Quite fun though and easy to use but simpler and less painful than snowboarding