I'm a little late to the party, and I hate the regular Chacos too, but I bought a pair of their leather sandals that look similar to the ones you linked. I LOVE them and have worn them for pretty much everything you've mentioned (but extremely light hiking, nothing strenuous). Unfortunately, it looks like they discontinued that particular style, but it might be worth checking out their leather sandals in general. I linked to a pair on Amazon, but I have a slightly lighter brown color.