I had the "gray", but gave it to my daughter. The "jute" material was a little hard for me. However, I'm waiting for delivery of the black one. Like you, I like the concept of having a note pad for quick notes.
The case is not designed for the "traditional" stand, but if the side with the pad is flipped under the side with the iPad, it provide support for typing on the iPad. I keep a micro fiber cloth & used that as protection for the note pad against surfaces. It also served as protection between the surface of the ipad & the notepad when closed normally.
The ratings on Amazon are all fairly high.
Hope this helps.