Salomon XT Wings

I finally wore out both pair of my Inov8 Roclite 320 trail shoes and decided to go back to Salomon. I bought a pair of the new XT Wings (size 13). Here are my impressions after some serious and not so serious mileage put on them.
The XT wings offer ample support. Last year I was having issues with my IT band and I kind of boiled down the cause, in a very unscientific way, to my shoes. That may or may not have been the cause. However, when I was having IT band problems I temporarily switched to wearing a pair of Montrail Hardrock shoes. These were by far the most supportive shoe I have ever worn. Along with some other treatment modalities for my IT band, all of my issues resolved. The Montrail shoes were a bit too supportive and I finally landed on the Inov8 shoes. They were supportive but extremely light and did not have much rock strike protection in the soles. I think the Salomon shoes are a happy medium for what I need; support and sole protection.
My heel sits down nicely in the heel cup and I don't feel high up off the ground. This is very important if you are on rough trail or bushwhacking (off trail). Uneven ground lends itself to rolling an ankle. If your heel sits as low to the ground as possible then you are less likely to injure you ankle this way. The Inov8 shoes sit down lower still. The Montrail shoes were the highest at the heel by far.
Comfort is huge. The shoes have to feel good. The lack of comfort with the Montrail shoes were the real reason I ditched them. The superior support cost a bit in sheer comfort. The Inov8 shoes were so comfortable they needed no breaking in. In fact, I had a pair with a few miles on them which I wore at the start of Primal Quest 2008. They were a size 12. A few days into the race they were trashed and my feet were a bit swollen so I had a brand new pair, size 12.5. I took them right out of the box and immediately put 200 miles of harsh mountain trekking on them, in race conditions. I had no issues from them being out of the box. I think I could have done the same thing with the XT Wings. The first time I wore them was on a grueling mountain run which I do fairly regularly. I had no issues with rubbing and probably would not have had blisters or hotspots if I had been in them all day.
My only complaint with the XT Wings is the relative lack of traction grip on rough, steep terrain as compared to the Inov8 shoes. The Salomon website describes them thusly, "The perfectly balanced combination of two opposing concepts- cushioning and agility. The XT Wings provides unparalleled speed and power making this our most balanced achievement thus far." They really fail to mention anything about traction or performance on rough terrain. If I asked Salomon they would probably have steered me to the XA Pro 3D Ultra shoes. But I bought the XT Wings for the added protection of the carbon plate in the midsole. You can see the edges of this layer on the outside of the shoe and curiously the Salomon website makes no mention of this feature. The only thing they mention is the mysterious "triple density EVA." Who knows what that is?
All in all they are a good shoe. I give them a 4 out of five stars overall. I just wish they had a bit better traction on rough, steep terrain.