CAT’s New Work Boots Have Big Sneaker Energy
If you’re a regular in the world of construction boots you probably have experienced some type of discomfort or pain wearing them for long hours on end. Most work boots are built for protection first (and they do a great job at it), but not for comfort, performance, or overall health.
In fact, according to a recent survey from the Harvard School of Public Health, 75% of construction workers feel some sort of chronic pain in their legs, knees, or lower back, all areas triggered from your feet. And on top of that, the trade industry takes fewer days off than most others. It’s a taxing job on both the mind and body, and the footwear industry hasn’t quite accommodated it yet, until now.
Enter the new Cat Edge. Available for preorder today, these boots are made with performance in mind, sort of like a sneaker. They are directly targeted at helping to reduce pain and the lower body fatigue. You see, when you’re wearing the wrong footwear, the body does an amazing job at overcompensating for the extra work, and this fatigue can lead to a myriad of other health issues. Think about it, if you’re wearing the wrong sneakers on a long distance run, chances are you’ll be hurting the next day somewhere on your body. And when you mess with an injury without healing it (if construction workers go back to work the next day), well – that’s another whole story.
Most workers don’t associate their pain with footwear but, just like a basketball sneaker, work boots should support proper movement for the task at hand. In this case it’s lifting, turning, twisting and bending on uneven terrain. To get technical, the wide, full-ground midfoot contact in the new Cat Edge reduces ankle rotation and weight-bearing stresses. And the ergonomic insole supports all three main foot arches. These boots also prevent improper standing posture through added stability by always being in full contact with the foot.
The technology in these Caterpillar work boots is actually an entire method working together called the “Cat Edge 5-Point Injury Prevention System”. This includes a rounded heel to mimic the foot's shape, full contact outsole to provide stability and alignment up the leg, a split shank that allows the boot to move naturally with the foot, flex grooves in the outsole, and multi-contact insoles that provide superior comfort and support.
Dylan Vizy, the Design Director at Cat Footwear says, “We really concentrated on making sure the boot acted much more like an athletic product rather than a typical work boot. [The Cat Edge boots] are the most anatomically correct and biomechanically considered,” he says. The system helps mimic the natural motion of your feet while providing the utmost protection, a Caterpillar Footwear nonnegotiable.
It will be interesting to see how the injury rate changes in the next study, as more field workers get their hands on these boots. Until then, this outdoor-focused footwear could save your lower body pain, discomfort and fatigue in the field. They might just be your new favorite "sneakers."
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