The BOTE Inflatable Aero Table is a lightweight beach, camping, and all-around outdoor table.
To get us a closer look, BOTE sent Man Makes Fire a review unit for in-person testing. Man Makes Fire gear reviewer Chris Maxcer took it camping and to the beach to experience its real-world performance. To help you determine if the BOTE Inflatable Aero Table is right for you, here is what he learned and are his buying recommendations:
Review: BOTE Inflatable Aero Table
The BOTE Inflatable Aero Table is part of BOTE’s ‘Aero Lounge’ suite of outdoor, water-ready inflatable furniture.BOTE is most known for its wide-ranging line of paddle boards, inflatable paddle boards, and kayaks. The BOTE Inflatable Aero Table is part of BOTE’s multi-piece ‘Aero Lounge’ series of inflatable outdoor furniture and games. I recently tested and reviewed the BOTE Inflatable AeroRondak Chair, which shares a similar iSUP-like material construction.
The BOTE Inflatable Aero Table is able to hold its flat shape the same way inflatable stand-up paddle boards hold their shape: The interiors are filled with tens of thousands of drop-stitch fibers that won’t let the rugged PVC shell material expand beyond a flat surface when inflated.
Drop-stitch inflatables work very well and result in rigid inflatables that are strong enough to stand, sit or play on — like iSUPs and even larger inflatable swim docks and platforms. The Aero Table isn’t meant to be stood upon, of course, but you get the idea. When inflated, the Aero Table is surprisingly rigid and can hold up to 230 lbs!
A Playful, Handy Shape & Size
The large 48″ x 30″ top gives you plenty of room for snacks, drinks and games.At 48″ long and 30″ wide, the surface of the BOTE Inflatable Aero Table is relatively large compared to many portable camping tables. At 17″ high, though, it’s lower than most camp tables. Think of the Aero Table more like a portable coffee table.
You can eat off of the Aero Table and you can serve food from it, but you won’t be scooting your legs underneath like you might a picnic table or a large camp table like the Mountain Summit Gear Roll-Top XL Camp Table.
All that said, the Aero Table is remarkably useful.
During our primary real-world testing sessions for a long family and friend camping/beach trip, we like it use it as a staging area for lunch at the beach, as a staging area for roasting marshmallows and making Smores around a campfire, as an early-morning coffee and breakfast table within sight of a mountain lake, and as a card and board game playing surface.
Awesome for Games
Our gear testers thought the BOTE Inflatable Aero Table was particularly good for playing board and card games outside in the fresh air.In fact, the Aero Table is excellent for board games and card games. The surface is large and flat with plenty of room for snacks or drinks.
It’s stable. Better yet, it’s very easy to carry using the built-in grab handles.
If you were camping and had a rainstorm come through, you could easily move the Aero Table into a large family camping tent.
Camp Table Drawbacks
Grab handles make it easy to carry and the move the Aero Table.The only big drawback to the BOTE Inflatable Aero Table is that it’s not great for cooking or placing hot pans on it. In contrast, aluminum camp tables like the REI Co-op Camp Roll Table can handle heat if needed, especially for those quick moments when you might need a spot to place a pan or pot that just came off of a camp stove.
While most good camp stoves should not produce heat underneath the stove bodies, I can’t recommend cooking on the BOTE Inflatable Aero Table. It seems risky and truly, it’s also a bit low for a comfortable cooking experience.
In any event, the BOTE Inflatable Aero Table is aimed at watery, sandy environments. At a beach or lakeside, the Aero Table is pretty great.
When you pair it next to additional BOTE Aero Lounge furniture like the Aero Chair XL or the sweet Aero Couch, the Areo Table is even better. You could take these inflatables on picnics at the park, day trips to just about anywhere, or even inflate them for backyard BBQs.
Minor Drawback: Pump Not Included
Inflation is required, but BOTE doesn’t include a pump with the Aero Table.This minor drawback doesn’t affect performance, but it does affect inflation: BOTE doesn’t include a pump with the Aero Table like it does with its Aero Chairs and Couch.
Because most of the people who would be attracted to this inflatable table will likely already be using iSUPs and/or will have already purchased an Aero Chair, you can argue that they’ll have a pump handy.
If you aren’t buying an Aero Chair — read my review of the BOTE Inflatable AeroRondak Chair here for more detail — you can nab an Aero Foot Pump for about $35.
MAGNEPOD Cup Holders?
Each coaster-like disc is a magnetic MAGNEPOD holder that works with BOTE’s magnetic drinkware line.You might have noticed the round discs on the surface of the BOTE Inflatable Aero Table. What are they? Those coaster-like disks are BOTE’s magnetic MAGNEPOD cup holders.
If you buy a magnetic BOTE tumbler or can koozie accessory, the MAGNEPODs will hold your drink upright even if you bump the table or a gust of wind blows by.
BOTE Inflatable Aero Table Specs:
Dimensions: 48″ L × 30″ W × 17″ D
Capacity: 230 lbs
Weight: 16.75 lbs
Optimal Inflation: 7-10 PSI
Performance in Wind?
As you might expect, the Aero Table is pretty light — just under 17 lbs. While we didn’t have much trouble in light winds, big wind gusts could send the table flying. To avoid that, we’d put a large rock on it or we would simply tether it to a heavy-duty beach-ready cooler like the RovR RollR 60 Wheeled Cooler.
To be fair, I wouldn’t expect any lightweight camping table to remain standing alone in gusty winds either.
The Bottom Line
All-in-all, the BOTE Inflatable Aero Table is a handy beach, picnic, tailgating, and outdoor play table. It excels as a game and snack table — and it pairs particularly well with BOTE’s Aero Lounge line of inflatable chairs and couch. Very highly recommended.
Get the Gear:
Our Gear Review and Tester’s Specific Related Experience:
Chris Maxcer has tested and reviewed dozens of inflatables that use PVC and drop-stitch designs, including inflatable stand-up paddle boards, floating swim docks, kayaks, and rafts. In addition, he’s used and reviewed dozens of camp tables in the field to understand how well they perform in real-world usage, including assembly, stability, durability, and portability. Of course, Maxcer has also written hundreds of in-depth outdoor gear reviews, including independent, first-hand reviews of fly fishing gear, camping gear, hunting gear, backpacking gear, and beach and water play gear. He believes the best way to understand a product is to use it in the real world for the kind of activity it was designed for.
Man Makes Fire publishes independent gear reviews, unencumbered by any requirements from any gear brand or manufacturer.
