as envgeo mentions, you probably want one of the newer breed of minimalist running shoes, such as the Saucony Hattori, Adidas Adipure, New Balance Minimus, Mizuno Wave Universe, etc. All of these shoes focus on thin soles, very low to no heel drop (ie, sole is same or close-to-same thickness from forefoot to heel), and light weight. Some of the lighter shoes are <6 oz each, which is crazy compared to your average 10oz running shoe. Also, because the uppers tend to be stretchy mesh/lycra type material, they pack very low profile into your bag. Many of these shoes are designed to be worn with very thin socks, or none at all.
It's a different feeling at first wearing a shoe with little to no heel drop. You feel a little like you are rocking back on your heels, but you quickly get used to it. The Saucony Kinvara is a nice kind of transitional shoe with low heel drop, but not too extreme, and still very light weight.
Note that a lot of the new breed of minimalist shoes have some, er, bold color choices.
Last edited by gobluetwo; Feb 26, 2013 at 2:00 pm