What sort of sundry items do you keep in your pockets? I don't carry a bag, I do have a car (this is, in my opinion, irrelevant to the point about hardcovers :P) and my N800 has lived in my pocket for the past 11 months just fine. The key is in separating your goods—you don't put the sharp stuff with the expensive electronics. Keys, Leatherman and pen go in the left pocket, and the N800, the cellphone and (sometimes) the GPS go in the right. It's very clean and requires no hardcover at all!