I let my wife borrow the $50 M-Edge Flip Jacket after I had finished testing it. I’m still waiting for her to give it back. I can understand why: it’s an extremely appealing iPad case, and definitely one of the best I’ve tried.

The exterior is soft black canvas with tan leather accents. On the inside, it’s covered in a soft cream-colored microfiber, and the iPad is secured with tan leather straps that provide access to all the important ports and buttons. (One strap does cover the orientation lock switch slightly.) It’s appealingly casual, which is a nice change from the wide variety of leather-bound iPad folios I’ve seen.

When it’s closed and secured by an attached elastic strap, the Flip Jacket looks a bit like it might be containing a paper notepad of some kind. The soft canvas exterior feels nice when you’re carrying it. Unlike many other cases, you open the Flip Jacket (at least, when the iPad is in portrait orientation) by flipping the cover up, an action which always makes me think of a legal pad.

The Flip Jacket doesn’t get in the way of me using the iPad, it provides protection, and it looks and feels nice. About the only thing it doesn’t do is provide an incline for typing. But that doesn’t seem to bother my wife, who as of this writing still refuses to give the Flip Jacket back.

[See all our reviews of iPad folio-style cases and all iPad accessories.]