When it comes to compact bags for men, it's best to go with the original compact bags for men: the map bag and the musette.

The map bag has a military heritage. In the olden days before GPS, maps were made out of these huge pieces of paper (crazy, right?), and map bags gave people quick and easy access to them--simple as that. These days, map bags give you quick and easy access to Super Monkey Ball on your iPad.

You can find common canvas ones at Army surplus stores, but I like the more structured leather variety sometimes referred to as map cases or document cases. These are super-minimal, and usually don't have room for anything but maps, a notebook and pens.

From the Wallstreet Journal of all places: Put Your iPad in a Map Bag or a Musette, Manlier Man Bags