STM Jacket iPad

STM’s awkwardly named Jacket iPad is a neat little shoulder bag disguised as a carrying sleeve. It doesn’t get much more streamlined than this: a main pocket sized specifically for your iPad, along with a couple of small outside pockets, allow you to travel light. It’s a well-built bag for the iPad minimalist.

Unlike many shoulder bags we've tested, this isn’t an “iPad or netbook” case—STM was aiming solely for Apple’s latest gadget. The Jacket can be carried horizontally like a messenger bag with the included non-padded strap, but the look is decidedly purse-like. Alternately, you can detach the strap, using the handle at the top to carry the Jacket like the world’s smallest nylon (vertical) briefcase. It also works well as a protective sleeve inside another, larger, bag.

Thanks to the Jacket's svelte form, you won’t be bringing magazines or a book along—you the iPad purist, will have to experience all your content in digital form. The well-padded main compartment fits a bare iPad well, although it gives just enough to fit an iPad in Apple’s iPad Case without any shoe-horning. A thin, zippered pocket on the front of the Jacket, perfect for cables and other accessories or gadgets, runs almost the full length of the case; a “slider pocket” (STM's name) on the front of the bag fits an iPhone or other similarly sized gadget. This pocket has no zipper, however, so I’m not willing to trust it with anything valuable.

A slip-in pouch on the back of the Jacket is useful for small or folded documents if you use the case horizontally. You may get away with carrying one magazine, though it will stick out above the top of the case quite a bit.

Overall, the STM Jacket iPad is a good "bag" that succeeds at its goal of über-iPad minimalism. It also has a great build quality—probably the best I’ve seen out of STM. If you really want to travel light or you want a sleeve for a larger bag that can also function as a stand-alone case when needed, you can’t go wrong spending $25 for the STM Jacket iPad.