I recently tried 14 different low-top composite toe work shoes to evaluate them on weight, comfort, flexibility, and purpose. One of the shoes I got to evaluate were these Caterpillar Streamline Composite Toe Work Shoes.
I found these shoes to very unique compared to other low-top, athletic-style composite toe work shoes. In this article I want to discuss the 5 most important things you need to know about these Caterpillar Streamline Composite Toe Shoes before you buy, and I want to compare and contrast them to other options on the market today.
5 Things To Know About Caterpillar Streamline Composite Toe Shoes
Weight Compared to Industry
My size 12 men’s Caterpillar Streamline Composite Toe Shoes weigh 1.26 pounds per shoe:
Overall, this puts the weight of this shoe approximately around the middle of the pack when compared to other low-top composite toe work shoes on the market today. As I said earlier, I recently tried 14 different low-top composite toe shoes. This is how the Caterpillar Streamline Composite Toe Work Shoes compared regarding weight:
| Shoe Name | Weight (lbs) | Photos |
| Reebok Sublite Cushion | 0.94 | view my photos |
| Rockport Truflex | 0.94 | view my photos |
| Reebok Astroride Strike | 0.99 | view my photos |
| Reebok Fusion Flexweave | 1.01 | view my photos |
| Timberland PRO Drivetrain | 1.03 | view my photos |
| Danner Run Time | 1.15 | view my photos |
| Kodiak Ramble | 1.25 | view my photos |
| Caterpillar Streamline | 1.26 | view my photos |
| Carhartt Force Nano | 1.28 | view my photos |
| New Balance 589 | 1.32 | view my photos |
| KEEN Utility Flint 2 Low | 1.38 | view my photos |
| Skechers Greetah | 1.60 | view my photos |
| Caterpillar Argon | 1.62 | view my photos |
| Kodiak Quest Low | 1.69 | view my photos |
Overall, I still think this shoe feels reasonably lightweight on my foot. Yes, there are some options on the market that weigh even less, but those tend to be shoes that have minimalistic designs. These Caterpillar Streamline Composite Toe Shoes have more durability than most all of those shoes.
Durability for Work
These Caterpillar Streamline Composite Toe Shoes have much stronger toe and heel overlays compared to other low-top composite toe shoes on the market. As you can see on the heel below, Caterpillar actually has a double layer for extra abrasion resistance. Not only does this help protect the back of the foot against minor abrasions, it also acts as a sort of kick-off plate for when you take your shoes off.
The front toe overlay is one of the most important parts of a work shoe. Yes, these shoes have protective composite toes, but work shoes also need some type of overlay over the toe to protect the material of the shoe against abrasions, scuffs, and bangs.
These shoes use a thick overlay (thicker than most lightweight shoes), and the rubber outsole wraps up just a little bit to help add some abrasion resistance. Here’s a look at the toe of my shoe:
Overall, I found the abrasion resistance of this shoe to be better than most all other types of low-top athletic-style composite toe shoes. As we discussed earlier, this extra abrasion resistance does make these shoes a little heavier, but I think these shoes still feel like athletic shoes on my feet.
Comfort Like an Athletic Shoe
These shoes definitely don’t feel like bulky, stiff work boots. They are quite comfortable and flexible (best flexible composite toe shoes). When I apply pressure to my shoes, they bend and flex just like an athletic shoe:
These Caterpillar Streamline Composite Toe Shoes have removable foam footbeds and a lining that wicks away sweat. The collar is padded and doesn’t eat into my ankle while I work.
Probably the only thing I would change about these shoes if I could would be to add memory foam insoles, because those are truly my favorite types of insoles to use in work shoes. But overall, the insoles used on these shoes are very comfortable, and this shoe in general feels much like an athletic shoe on my foot due to the flexibility, comfort, and reasonably lightweight design.
Raised Heel
Some may overlook this detail, but I think the raised heel might be the most significant part of this work shoe. When I recently tried 14 low-top composite toe shoes and 10 low-top steel toe shoes, this was the only shoe that had a raised, squared heel.
It shocks me that there aren’t more low-top work shoes on the market today that have a low-profile squared heel like this. The obvious advantage to a heel like this is it makes climbing ladders with this Caterpillar Streamline shoe much easier and much safer compared to other low-top athletic-style work shoes.
When I compiled my list of the best composite toe work shoes, I named this Caterpillar Streamline Composite Toe Shoe the best low-top composite toe shoes on the market today for construction workers. And it was because of the fact that this shoe has a raised heel when other shoes do not.
Now, to be fair, this is still a low-profile heel. You will see a much larger raised heel on composite toe work boots, and these shoes will not provide as much slip-protection as those larger-heel work boots will. But if you are climbing ladders and desperate for a low-top shoe that provides some ladder support, these were the only options I could find on the market today that have a raised, squared heel.
Caterpillar Streamline Sizing
I found these shoes to fit true to size. I ordered my normal sizing and they fit very comfortably on my feet, and feel similar in size and width to other athletic shoe that I own. Here I am wearing these shoes:
My recommendation is to order your normal sizing. To be clear, I do not have wide feet. If you have wide feet, you will definitely want to order wide sizing.
Caterpillar Streamline Composite Toe Shoes Compared to Other Shoes
Which Shoes Weigh Less?
If you are looking for an ultra-lightweight work shoe, despite the fact that these Caterpillar Streamline shoes feel much like an athletic shoe, there are low-top composite toe shoes on the market that weigh less than these shoes. For example, here are my Reebok Sublite Composite Toe Shoes:
These Reebok shoes were tied for the most lightweight composite toe shoes that I tried (14 total were tried). This Reebok Sublite Shoe has a very comfortable, lightweight design that I also felt like was more breathable (to read more, visit my article about the Reebok Sublite Composite Toe Shoe).
But this Caterpillar Streamline Composite Toe Shoe does have more abrasion resistance than that Reebok Sublite shoe, and this Caterpillar Streamline shoe has that low-profile raised heel and the Reebok Sublite shoe does not. Ultimately, I found 7 of the 14 composite toe shoes to weigh less than these Caterpillar Streamline shoes. To read more about those shoes, visit my article about the best lightweight composite toe work shoes.
Which Shoes Are More Durable?
As I said throughout, I felt like these Caterpillar Streamline shoes are quite durable, especially when compared to other athletic-style composite toe shoes. Durability is a strength of these shoes.
Despite that, these athletic-style shoes are almost always best used for light-duty work. They won’t hold up like a pair of work boots will.
There were a couple of low-top composite toe shoes that I felt like were more durable. Keen work shoes are always a good option if you are trying to maximize abrasion resistance. Keen wraps a thick rubber overlay over the toes of their shoes. Here’s a look at my Keen composite toe shoes:
But as you can see, that extra durability does make these Keen work shoes weigh more than my Caterpillar Streamline shoes. So there is a bit of a trade-off.
Another shoe to consider, especially if you need waterproof protection, is the Kodiak Quest low-top hiking-style work shoes. Here’s a look at mine:
These Kodiak Quest shoes are some of the best low-top composite toe shoes for outdoor work. They have durable toe and heel overlays, and offer waterproof protection. But because of that, they are also much heavier than athletic-style composite toe shoes.
Which Shoes Have More Comfortable Insoles?
To be completely fair, I thought these Caterpillar Streamline shoes were very comfortable, and easily one of the most comfortable shoes that I tried. But as I mentioned earlier in the article, I personally love memory foam insoles, and these Caterpillar shoes do not have memory foam insoles.
I think memory foam insoles provide the best under-foot comfort. Reebok actually uses memory foam insoles in a lot of their work shoes.
The Reebok Sublite shoes use memory foam insoles that are grooved in a way that helps relieve stress off the bottom of my foot. Here is a video of my Reebok Sublite memory foam insoles:
The Reebok Astroride shoes also use a memory foam insole, only these don’t have those groove pods. These insoles are just standard memory foam insoles, but are very comfortable:
Ultimately, this might come down to personally preference. I like memory foam. But some workers feel like memory foam doesn’t provide enough support and structure under the foot, and isn’t as long-lasting as other types of insoles.
The main takeaway is, yes, I personally think the memory foam shoes are more comfortable under the foot than these Caterpillar Streamline shoes, but I still felt like these Caterpillar Streamline shoes were some of the most comfortable composite toe shoes that I tried.
My Conclusion About the Caterpillar Streamline Composite Toe Shoes
Overall, out of the 14 low-top composite toe shoes that I tried, these Caterpillar Streamline Shoes were one of my favorites. Yes, there might be options that weigh less, or have more durability, but these shoes just find a nice middle ground between weight, comfort, durability, and functionality.
The shoes that I found to weigh less than these Caterpillar Streamline shoes were not as durable as these shoes. And the shoes I found to be more durable did not feel on-the-foot like an athletic shoe, and these Caterpillar Streamline shoes do.
My conclusion is this – These Caterpillar Streamline shoes were the most durable low-top composite toe shoe that I tried that still felt like an athletic shoe. Shoes that were more durable than these shoes lost that feeling of an athletic shoe, and felt more like a hiking shoe. These Caterpillar Streamline Composite Toe Shoes can fit a wide range of jobs, but due to the raised heel they might specifically make sense for those looking for an athletic work shoe to possibly climb ladders with.