I don't understand the guys who ride metal clips and say they do it so they can ride normal shoes. When I used plastic MTB toe clips, they chewed my shoes until they looked like they were 10 years old or had been used on a round-the-world hike.

MTB clipless shoes from Adidas, Shimano or Specialized look like normal sneakers, have a reasonable amoount of sole flex and have the cleat recessed enough (esp. if you have eggbeaters) that it won't touch the ground.