Hi Ea,
I have two very protective covers:
The
Patagonia and the
Belkin.
The Patagonia is more protective because it gives a better grip to the device while reading. With the Kindles, they're so smooth & rounded that they're pretty easy to drop. This case has nice loops front & back to put one's hands through. It is no problem to fold the cover back on itself; no stiffness or worries of stressing the pretty leather.
The Belkin's zippers work more smoothly. The zippers on the Patagonia are a bit too heavy-duty for this application. It isn't a matter of wearing them in, as some reviewers say. It is a matter of them catching on the corners of the edge padding. The Kindle comes out of this case much more quickly. But then, one still has to make sure one doesn't drop it when it is out of the case.
Either of these cases offer far more protection (real padding!) than any leather case. Of course they don't have the same class either, but it is all about priorities.
I'll probably pick up a leather one at some future date, but for now, I'm torn between these two.