Profile

If you are acclimated to water sports you will love SUP paddleboarding. I am on the older end of the paddleboard spectrum since I am in my 50's. I was a surfer on the East Coast of Florida growing up, water skiied, rowed crew in college, and most importantly(for paddle board purposes) rowed for an outrigger canoe club (Na Kai Ewalu) on the island of Maui in the '90s. The transition from these prior water sports to a paddleboard was not an automatic one, but the learning curve is quite quick and I was able to stand up during the first outing. On the second outing, I could stand up in the ocean with boat-wake coming in, for an hour at a time.

I purchased the Flood and my wife purchased the Breeze (hard versions). If you appreciate craftsmanship and details that only a water-loving human could understand BOTE boards are it and they are next level, they are extremely well crafted and also beautiful. The padded top is made for your bare feet, the included paddle is rigid and feels good in the hand and when you crank it there is no flex. There is much thought that went into this board shape and overall SUP set-up and it shows.

Even in a calm sea with a small wake coming in my Flood hardboard will pick right up and surf (smile included) and that is exactly what I was looking for -just like outrigger canoeing in a following sea between Maui and Molokai, lol.

I'm pushing the 10" 7" Flood board to its weight limits since I am 6 ft tall and weigh 208+ - but once underway the board is steady and manageable and fast (it planes). It is not "a dock" that you paddle it is an expertly crated tool made for water sports. Overall the Flood has nice predictable characteristics, it is nimble, fast, and solid feeling. The Breeze is a bit wider. lighter and a little more stable and where the Flood is narrower and turns quicker the Breeze is lax on the turns, but both are very stable in SUP mode. The weight difference is minimal for carrying, but there is a difference the Flood is heavier (8 lbs or so?) but manageable. We transport from home on roof racks to the beach and carry downstairs to the beach all doable and we are able to load and unload the car fine.

My hat is off to the workmanship of these Bote boards and from what I have seen to date the Bote boards are far superior to the others and also always sold out. With regular surfing long-boards pushing 1K in price these Bote boards also seem like a bargain in comparison. My teen daughter also approves - she stood right up and was off paddling in the ocean. Anyway, these have my vote for a perfect Pandemic sport in beautiful South Florida - if you want to surf easily get the HARD SUP - they are more work to transport maybe, but to my mind worth it.