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Reviews > Footwear > Sandals > Bite Xtension 2 > James Triplett > Long Term Report
BITE Xtension 2
Running Sandal by James E. Triplett October 26, 2005
Personal Biographical Information:
Backpacking Background: I was
brought up exploring the woods, primarily West of the Mississippi from
Missouri to as far North as Hudson Bay, and have a heavily ingrained
appreciation for nature. In college my recreation consisted of
hiking to bouldering areas and rock climbing on the bluffs and trails
in Southern Illinois, which ultimately led to continuously hiking the
lower 1/3 of the Appalachian Trail. I hike every day, and
backpack when possible. I am a mid-weight backpacker, experienced
hiker and camper, and have had some exposure to longer hikes of 50 to
500
miles (80 to 800 km). I prefer a tent over a tarp, in fact I love
tents, but have not yet tried a hammock.
Manufacturer Information:
Product Information:
Available US sizes (whole sizes only):
Review: Long Term Testing Conditions: I have used the BITE Xtension 2 running sandals daily throughout the summer, and less so, but still a significant amount, this past fall. Since my report in June, I have worn the sandals for hiking (with and without a backpack) and walking in temperatures as high as 92 F (33.3 C) and as low as 38 F (3.3 C). The most frequent conditions were more in the 88 F (31 C) down to 48 F (9 C) range. The BITE's became my all-the-time footwear on the trails and in the woods in Eastern Iowa, elevation 860 feet (260 meters), and were used for some light hiking and as "camp shoes" at the base of the Colorado Rockies, elevation from 8,000 to 10,000 feet (2,400 to 3,000 meters). These activities have been primarily in dry conditions, although the sandals were exposed to some rain, mud, and standing water. Long Term Usage: The BITE Xtension 2 running sandals have been worn for many, many miles, including daily hikes, weekend trips, a week-long trip in Colorado, as well as around the house, to the pool, and pretty much everywhere. Despite heavy usage, they still clean up to nearly new condition, with just a bath in some warm soapy water. The only real sign of wear is on the black and yellow straps. There are a couple of issues with the fit, or rather the shape of the uppers on the sandals, after some heavy use.  Rear strap slightly off kilter. First, the strap around the back of the foot tends to move out of alignment with the rear pad which it runs through (see image above). This hasn't been a problem other than having to adjust it back into alignment on occasion. The second, is a little harder to explain, but there are two rectangular metal rings, one on each side of each sandal, which act like pulleys so that tightening the heel strap also tightens the uppers in the front. (See images below.) The ring toward my instep, on each sandal has moved to where it is turned up at an angle, rather than being fixed horizontally as it was when the sandals arrived. This forces the strap running through the ring to fold over, but other than some fraying, there doesn't really seem to be an issue with this. The outside rings have remained in their proper position.  The pulley ring is twisted on the instep.  Here is a closer view. Also notice the fraying on the strap.  Shown here is the outer pulley ring, which is oriented correctly. As described in earlier reports, there are two buckles on each sandal. The buckle securing the strap which runs over the top of the foot uses Velcro on the strap to hold it in place. This strap and buckle has worked well, and requires no attention. The strap is plenty long, and when tightened fully cascades over the top edge of the sole. The buckle near the ankle is another story. Originally I received size 12 US sandals, and the rear buckle kept loosening. BITE proposed smaller sandals, although they never acknowledged that there was a problem with the buckle, and graciously provided a pair of size 11 US sandals as replacements. Unfortunately, the same issue occurred, and the rear buckles continued to loosen. As an experiment I threaded a couple of twist-ties through the buckle along the strap, and I saw some significant improvement. After trying this for a while, I decided that a more reasonable solution would be to replace the twist-ties with some fabric. I found some black elastic of the appropriate size and threaded that through the buckles in the same fashion. This worked well, a little better than the twist-ties, although it did not completely alleviate the problem. The continually loosening straps on these sandals, in my opinion, is a serious flaw.  Here is the twist-tie helping to lock the buckle.  This image shows the elastic routed through the buckle along the sandal strap Fit and Comfort: Ignoring the loosening strap issue, the BITE Xtension 2 running sandals are great. I find them nearly as stable as shoes, and the tread design continues to grip well on everything from paved roadways to rock and dirt trails. My feet stay secured against the footbeds even when traversing along steep inclines. When I cross a stream in the BITE sandals I have reasonable traction on the river bed, and the sloshing which occurs on the other side of the stream can be refreshing. The upper design of the Xtension 2s provides support to my feet in all directions. I have thin feet, so even though I have gone down to a size smaller than what I measure on a Brannock device, the straps have lengthy tails and there is plenty of room for adjustment. The toe guards and raised area along the perimeter of the sandals do a very good job of keeping out debris. I have only suffered minor foot injuries on two occasions, and both times they were from unseen sticks on the trail which were right at toe level, and thus were not kicked out of the way by the toe guard. Other General Information: I generally don't wear socks with sandals, for hiking or anything else for that matter. I did however experiment with socks in the BITEs to see how they would work. The stability of the sandals was enhanced, and it was actually quite cozy. What wasn't so good was the amount of dirt the socks accumulated. It was rather amazing, actually. Also, when walking in dewy grass the socks, as expected, got wet, and I didn't care for hiking in wet socks. Another point of interest is that the sandals developed a rather nasty smell from continual use. I suspect that this is due to my not wearing socks, but for some reason I expected the open air design of these, or any sandals, to not present an issue with foot odor. That was not the case.  On paper these sandals are excellent. They seem well designed, stylish, and provide ample support and stability for hiking. I really like them! In actual use, the loosening of the straps is significant enough for me to not relish wearing them on any kind of a long hike. The necessity of continually tightening them, only to have them loosen again, on what is otherwise some great footwear, is just too frustrating. This is really a shame for such a great product to have one plastic buckle cause them to not function properly. Respectfully submitted, -James T.
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