Got the case today. Ordered it on April 29th and got it in today, May 12th.
The case comes nicely packaged. The outside of the box says it's waterproof, but I wouldn't trust it at all. The camera area has a small piece of tempered glass over it and the seal around it looks like black glue. I't might be waterproof, but risk it. Also, the earplug port doesn't seem like the best seal either. It close really tight, but still seems like a risk. The phone speaker and seems like it has a small black screen over it, doesn't look water proof at all there. That's pretty much the only negative things about the case. The rest is pretty damn good.
The case comes packaged like this:
Opening the box you get the extra screws and the tool to remove the crews.
Now for size comparison. The case next to an Otterbox Defender case. This case is 1/8" longer and 1/8" wider then the Otterbox. To me, that doesn't feel any bigger in my hand at all.
The big difference is the height. The Otterbox is 1/4" thicker then the metal case. Here they are laying flat next to each other.
I weighed the phone in the Otterbox and it was 9.6 oz. In the metal case it weighed 11.4 oz., so a slight increase in weight. And to me the 2 oz. is that big of a deal. What's really nice is the tempered glass screen protector. It feels about 3x's thicker then the plastic one on the Otterbox. There isn't any problem with sensitivity screen interaction. Also, the black square on the back is some of the rubber from the inside of the case and it sits right in the palm and keeps the phone from slipping. The black all along the edges is rubber too and helps with grip. I can see the rubber possibly attracting some dust. Have to wait a few days and see how dirty it gets. All of the buttons work easily too. Power, volume and home button all work perfectly.
I showed this case to 3 other friends and family that have Note 2's and all want to order one now. The only thing that would make this case better would be a big name brand behind it that would back up the waterproof claim. If this case had been around when the Note 2 launched, I would have definitely picked it over the Otterbox.