I have an iPad 2. I've looked at the mini in store but I think it would be too small for me. But keep in mind, now that I'm in my mid 40s I'm finding my eyesight is really deteriorating and I can hardly see small text on anything anymore!
I don't find my iPad 2 bulky and I nearly always carry it in my handbag. Unless you are incredibly accident prone I would not use any sort of bulky case. All I've ever used is the Apple Smart Cover and my iPad is close to perfect, even at two years old. I'm not even particularly careful about sliding the back of it around on tables etc and it is hardly scratched. I don't think I've ever dropped it but I've dropped various iPhones quite a few times, mainly on concrete (!) and never done any more damage than chipping an edge so I wouldn't be concerned about protecting it too much.
I'd love a retina iPad with the lightning connector (to match the rest of our devices) but I am going to wait until we go to HKG (end of May) and if necessary USA (mid October) and hopefully an updated model iPad will come out before one of those trips so I can claim the GST back through TRS.
I love my iPad - I would be very unhappy if I couldn't have one. I use it for everything - at work, Omnifocus (to do list), notes in meetings, to view and annotate papers instead of printing them. Home, reading, games, RSS newsfeed, Twitter, Facebook, messages, MyFitnessPal (calorie counting), the list goes on.