Review on New Wave U.Go Plein Air Anywhere Pochade Box, 8.4x11.25x1.25 Inches - Painting Easel for Plein Air Art by Carrie Spencer

Bought for outdoor oil painting. I have a lot of experience painting in nature, mainly in soft pastel colors. This was the first box I bought specifically for oils. A couple of points - at this size (8x11) it's compact, lightweight and easy to install - just pop the lid. The problem comes with those tiny side shelves. First they are attached to the pochade box with metal clips which then hold the pochade box and tray in place. That's what makes her so unstable. If metal braces were permanently attached it would help. Otherwise the tray can be easily knocked off the mount (see the tray detaching from the mount in the first image on the left). Also, the metal hook that sits on top of the hood and connects to the magnet fits - well, a bracket usually fits [correctly] (in terms of "adjusting" to the depth of the box of things), but doesn't fit. t flush with the page. I had to bend the other one (the left one) to attach it to the wood/magnet and now it a) doesn't fit over the hook so it's not flush with the side of the cloak and b) it scratches the wood of the pochale -Box on both sides of the hanger entrance to prevent the wood from wearing out. I have to unhook this hook a little more and hopefully it stops and still fits snugly in the pochade box, stays level and wraps around the shelf. These side shelves are 4" x 8" (will not be 8 x 11) - would be great if they were included in the listing - I had to cancel and re-order twice because I ordered the wrong ones. Then, when the shelves arrived, they were so tiny that they were practically useless, apart from the expanded color mixing areas. They are not strong/durable enough to hold any size solvent can except the smallest of the double bottom cups. And these you need to double wrap with a "Cinch" rubber band (which comes with the tray) and then insert the band between the double pallet cups (see left image above). we'll see how it's done later this week.