The Weasel
09-04-2002, 14:46
Well, my Bite-Golf "low" trail sandals arrived yesterday. I should be honest and mention that after I researched them, I wrote the company, described how much I backpack, and offered to do reviews in exchange for a free pair. To my surprise, they agreed. But I told them - and they agreed - that I'd do an honest review. This is the prelim review, without any trail use behind them:
Out of the box weight appears to be about 17 oz each, which is 4 oz each less than my Merrell Trail Shoes and almost 3 lbs less than my beloved Timberland boots. These are almost a shoe in terms of feel and overall "foot grip", with leather/fabric (GOOD leather, too!) sides, and snap-lock buckles on the top two straps that don't need adjustment/opening after fitting. While made in China (as everything is), the quality appears to be very good, with most seams double-sewn, but obviously that will take a few hundred miles to determine. I wear trail sandals (as they recommend) with socks (I am using my SmartWool trekking socks, so I followed their instructions on how to fit them to my foot, and it was easy. I wore them last night, and all day today.
Nice touches: First, they are almost like "slip ons": You just open the ankle strap (goes around the Achilles Tendon), slip your foot in, close the strap, and ready. Quick. I like quick. Footbed is VERY deep and comfy...you could probably even put a pair of insoles in them, although I don't think I'll need that.
The sole is awesome. 3 kinds of rubber, with incredible "outsole" lugs and front lugs that my wife said resembled bear claws. I haven't tried them on rocks (wet or dry) but I strongly suspect they will be excellent. The thing that really sold me on these is that unlike other brands, they have a hard plastic/rubber/silicone/something-material "toe guard" aroung the entire front. I tried to stub my toes every way possible last night, and couldn't do it.
Overall comfort level after a day is very good. I've tried walking on gravel, and the thick sole seems to take most of the sharpness out without a lot of loss of "trail feel." This will be something I need to look into on a real trail. One of my problems with most sandals, even my Tevas, was the "flip-flop" feeling of my heel leaving the sole as I strode. That's a neat think about how these seem to be designed. With the heel strap snug, I'm not "losing" my heel from the sole as I walk. It actually felt funny having sandals on that didn't do that.
Only drawback so far is that they are VERY logo intensive, with 5 "Bite" logos on each shoe. Two are little sewn labels that I will probably cut off to save 3 or 4 grams, while leaving the toe, heel, and sole logos on.
I intend to waterproof the uppers, not (no, I'm not THAT stupid!) to keep my foot dry, but to prolong fabric/leather life.
More later as news develops.
"Well a promise made, is a debt unpaid, and the Trail has its own stern code." -- Robert Service
Out of the box weight appears to be about 17 oz each, which is 4 oz each less than my Merrell Trail Shoes and almost 3 lbs less than my beloved Timberland boots. These are almost a shoe in terms of feel and overall "foot grip", with leather/fabric (GOOD leather, too!) sides, and snap-lock buckles on the top two straps that don't need adjustment/opening after fitting. While made in China (as everything is), the quality appears to be very good, with most seams double-sewn, but obviously that will take a few hundred miles to determine. I wear trail sandals (as they recommend) with socks (I am using my SmartWool trekking socks, so I followed their instructions on how to fit them to my foot, and it was easy. I wore them last night, and all day today.
Nice touches: First, they are almost like "slip ons": You just open the ankle strap (goes around the Achilles Tendon), slip your foot in, close the strap, and ready. Quick. I like quick. Footbed is VERY deep and comfy...you could probably even put a pair of insoles in them, although I don't think I'll need that.
The sole is awesome. 3 kinds of rubber, with incredible "outsole" lugs and front lugs that my wife said resembled bear claws. I haven't tried them on rocks (wet or dry) but I strongly suspect they will be excellent. The thing that really sold me on these is that unlike other brands, they have a hard plastic/rubber/silicone/something-material "toe guard" aroung the entire front. I tried to stub my toes every way possible last night, and couldn't do it.
Overall comfort level after a day is very good. I've tried walking on gravel, and the thick sole seems to take most of the sharpness out without a lot of loss of "trail feel." This will be something I need to look into on a real trail. One of my problems with most sandals, even my Tevas, was the "flip-flop" feeling of my heel leaving the sole as I strode. That's a neat think about how these seem to be designed. With the heel strap snug, I'm not "losing" my heel from the sole as I walk. It actually felt funny having sandals on that didn't do that.
Only drawback so far is that they are VERY logo intensive, with 5 "Bite" logos on each shoe. Two are little sewn labels that I will probably cut off to save 3 or 4 grams, while leaving the toe, heel, and sole logos on.
I intend to waterproof the uppers, not (no, I'm not THAT stupid!) to keep my foot dry, but to prolong fabric/leather life.
More later as news develops.
"Well a promise made, is a debt unpaid, and the Trail has its own stern code." -- Robert Service