I bought my first pair of Inov8's about 3 years ago now. Think they're pretty brill - latest pair is the F-lite's 190. These are fabulous (I save them for Sunday best!) but pricey so I train in Roclite's at the mo, given the clarty nature of most of my runs...i.e worrying about weight of shoes seems silly when you end up carrying twice their weight in mud!
Must admit to snapping up the NB Minimus trail as soon as they were available over here - and in terms of fit and feel they are better than anything I;ve ever worn. Seriously utterly wonderful. Sadly only any use in Cumbria in dry summers (yep, guess they'll last then..) cos the 'trail' sole isn't up to anything but nice hardpacked surfaces. Wish NB would bring out a proper fell shoe on the same lines...
Tried the INOV8 Baregrip, but was suprised and dissappointed by the narrow toe-box which seemed to run counter to a lot of minimalist design?
Having traded down over the last few years now towards ever more simple shoes I'm a convert to minimal running shoes. Get to do a bit of barefoot stuff on my local hill and it's great fun, but isn't my aim - even the Taraumara invented soles! For me a sole is to protect my feet from dangerous stuff like stones and thorns and that's it. Everything else is done by the incredible design of the human bean, from feet up... ;o)