Then that kind of defeats the idea of the smart cover. Just buy a full case and save the $49.99 of the smart cover and the other for the shell.
Not at all. The back shell is extremely light and it allows you the option to remove the Smart Cover. Full cases are usually a mixed bag of compromises. The really cheap ones feel extraordinarily cheap and the covers are usually floppy and cardboard-ish. The expensive ones are way too expensive. And then there are the full cases that add way, way too much bulk. And even Apple's own smart cAse has a whole host of annoyances that have been well documented on here. So the back shell plus the genuine Smart Cover works the best in terms of quality and maintaining a light form factor.