archived bote review

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 packages
 18x18x18 10lbs
 
-# Bote LowRider Aero Tandem 11'6" Review
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-It's summer. It's hotter than a pepper sprout. You're going to the lake. Should you bring the kayak or the paddle board? Choices. The paddle board industry has an answer to this dilemma: the hybrid inflatable SUP with a kayak seat. The best of both worlds. Maybe. 
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-Bote has long included a kayak seat with some of its pricier offerings, like the Bote Aero Breeze ([7/10, WIRED Review](https://www.wired.com/review/breeze-aero-inflatable-paddle-board/)) we tested last year, but the new Bote Lowrider comes in a tandem option, adding two seats and anchor points for Bote's Bac rack system, making it possible to have a SUP and a full fishing rig of a kayak in a single craft. It is the best of many worlds.
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-## tk
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-The Bote Lowrider comes in two sizes. The 10-foot 6-inch single person version (with a single seat) and the 11-foot 6-inch tandem version which features two seats. I tested the latter, though nearly everything here will apply to the former as well, it's just a foot shorter and only has one seat.
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-The Lowrider is the widest SUP in Bote's lineup at 36 inches. It's big. Really big. This makes the Lowrider very stable, which is what you want when you're trying to use it as a tandem sit on top kayak (or even a single sit on top). It also makes it both a very beginner-friendly paddleboard since you don't need insane balance to use it, or, if you do have insane balance, a good platform for SUP yoga and the like. Although I remain convinced SUP yoga is something people only do in promotional videos.
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-The first thing I noticed when taking the Lowrider out of the storage bag (which is much nicer than Bote's older bags, more on that below) was the massive rear fin. It's a good tk inches longer than the detachable fin on the Aero Breeze, and by far the deepest fin I've seen on a paddleboard. A sailor friend of mine quipped "that paddle board has a [draft](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Draft_(hull))."
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-That deep fin makes the Lowrider track straighter, which means you aren't constantly veering and correcting coarse as you paddle. Relative to the Aero Breeze and other boards I've used there is far less side to side movement when stand up paddling. The larger surface area of the fin also makes the board a bit more stable in rough water, especially when combined with the width of this board. 
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-I've long wanted to do some multi-day paddleboarding trips, and I've gone so far as to load up about three-quarters of my gear, only to decided it just wasn't going to work. The Lowrider, however, is capable of such feats. I did not have time to actually do a trip, but I did load it up and paddle around. As you might expect, it was heavy, sat lower in the water, and was slow to turn, but it wasn't that bad, especially if you put the seat on so you can switch back and forth between standing and sitting. It's probably outside most people's use cases, but if you're a weirdo like me, know that this is probably your best bet for paddlepacking.
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-Speaking of the seats, they're quite comfortable and stable. They have a strap that allows you to adjust the amount you're laying back. They never get quite as upright as you'd be in a kayak, but I paddled several miles and had no back strain or other pain. One thing to keep in mind if you're a seasoned kayaker: you're much higher on the water than you would be in a kayak. You aren't going to want to paddle anything technical, but it's still a stable, comfortable experience, and the board is plenty maneuverable. Cruising flat water it was surprisingly fast and agile (for something this size) and the Lowrider didn't blink even when I took it out in a 15 knot wind with pretty good chop. To my mind this is one of the best reasons to get a hybrid, on those rough days when you aren't going to be standing up, you can still get out on the water.
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-The seats can be attached in a variety of ways, there are three tie down points on each side of the board. Then two more tie down anchors which can be used to attach a Kula cooler or similar. There are also two magnapod anchors that will hold your [magnapod tumbler](https://www.boteboard.com/collections/magnepod-accessories/products/magnetumbler-20oz-with-lid-seafoam) or [speaker](https://www.boteboard.com/collections/magnepod-accessories/products/magneboom-surge-waterproof-speaker) in place.
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 # Outdoor Gift Guide
 
 Buying gifts for the outdoor enthusiast is damn near impossible. Your outdoorsy friends are probably gear heads, meticulously pouring over reviews, guides, and the perennial wisdom of ounce-counting, basement-dwelling Reddit users to find THE EXACT RIGHT THING. The chances of you picking THE EXACT RIGHT THING for them as a gift is exactly zero. Don't even try. Instead, buy them one of these thoughtful, always-useful, sometimes whimsical things that are almost guaranteed to not only delight them, but actually be used.
 
-Everyone who spends times outdoors needs more merino wool socks. I don't care how many you have, you can never have too many. 
+Everyone who spends times outdoors needs more merino wool socks. I don't care how many you have, you can never have too many. There's also the chance that your outdoorsy friend of loved one doesn't yet know the genius of good merino socks. Allow me to wax poetic for a moment about merino wool. Okay, I'll spare you, just read our guide to the best merino wool instead. Suffice to say that aside from buying nothing, wool socks are the best gift . We've been testing socks for years now, and Darn Tough remain some of our favorites. They're technically good -- high in wool, low in synthetic fibers, though there is enough in there so they have a nice stretch to them (and note that not all Darn Touch socks are merino, so read the label.
 
 Trillium hammock
 Water bottle