http://www.sportiva.com/products/footwear/mountain-running/vertical-k
Okay, we need to have a conference...to determine what can legitimately be called "minimal".
Proposed criteria: 0 drop...no exceptions Sole may be no more than Xmm thick. Toe box must not constrict the foot Must have X measurable degree of flexibility.
Everything else needs another name...no half a$$ bandwagoning.
Thank it all.
Walk On.
While 4mm isn't ideal, it isn't all that bad. That is the same drop as the NB Minimus, and some of the more minimal Inov-8 models.
What I would say is really shocking about these shoes is the thickness of the foam under foot.
There was a long conversation that happened in the forum on standards a while ago: http://www.toesalad.com/node/355 but nothing ever materialized formally. At some point I think it would be good to have a categorization/scoring system for footwear so people could tell degrees of "minimal-ness".