chucks are not going to have more padding than sambas. Have you tried samba milleniums? Those slip in and out of straps easily. I also have vans and etnies, but comparatively they are "square[1]" and sliding them into the straps is tricky compared to sambas. I bought a pair of the bikeage odyssey combos and although you cannot tighten them on the fly there's a much fatter strap area, so less pressure on any one point. If your issue really is the strap cutting into the toe, then rather than buying clod shoes you should get some wider straps.

[1]talking about the sole's edges, rounded on sambas - square on vans. Sticky square shoes tend to grab and flip the pedals back over when you really want your foot to slide in. This isn't a problem with the plastic bmx pedals and fat straps, just with the MKS tracks.