Haha! I spent FAR too much time hanging out in the crappy old basements looking for just the right color or feel or thickness of fleece in the late 80's in Lawrence... Pity what they have done with the business... I even won an Apex award in 1989!
Definitely give the 295s a shot. They are fantastic trail shoes - but of course this is coming from Inov-8's #1 fangirl so take my opinion with a grain of salt!
P.S. Have you gotten out to the Whites at all this summer??
I hate running into hypothetical hikers..they ruin my wilderness experience. Especially when I'm in the process of building a rock cairn on the Owls head slide.