The NB MT101 is as close as anything to the shoe I have been looking for. I discovered some time ago that when I wore five fingers shoes, my feet didn't hurt, my knees didn't hurt, my hips didn't hurt, and my back didn't hurt. The minimalist approach works for me. Now this shoe doesn't have that barefoot feeling, but it is pretty flat -- reminds me of my old racing flats. It doesn't have the flex, but again, the low heel and minimum shoe approach seems to do it for me.