The En Plein Air Pro Traveler Series for Watercolor with Slik U874 Tripod

The product was delivered on time and in good shape. One of my art instructors has an easel like this and that helped me decide to buy. I like the tripod -- very sturdy. The easel is plastic so it is light, which I like. I haven't had the opportunity to test it to see if it would shatter when dropped (!) and I don't plan to do it for the sake of this review. I understand from other reviews that it is high grade and rugged. Important: it wiIl go flat or to any angle for watercolorists. I love the easy way the tray attachment comes on and off the tripod. I also like the roomy and light-weight backpack that holds it all -- plus supplies. I've still got to deal with the breezy conditions in N. California. (More on that later. I'm going to try a rock-sack attachment.) This is WAY more convenient than a camp stool and plastic table, but if you like to sit down, the tripod is very adjustable.

I haven't had it long enough to test it in all conditions, but I have used it outdoors and inside in studio conditions. It sets up fast and easily. I seems to be very sturdy on outdoor terrain. The pack holds all I need for quick pictures. The outside has straps that holds my stool and there are plenty of other places to attach other equipment, jackets, or whatever. The whole thing is very compact and light. There are two things that I wish were different. 1. The bag needs to be an inch taller to give more room to load the tripod. There is just 'exactly' enough room to put it in at a slight angle. Even then there is a pull on the zipper especially when you have your supplies like painting boards, sketch pad, brushes that can only fit in the main compartment. It's hard to get it packed and one more inch, even a 1/2 inch would allow more flexibility in how the tripod fits. 2. The shelf needs a place to mount a hook where a water container can hang. I have a collapseable water container bigger and lighter that the small cup, which takes up too much room on the self. But that is just me. The important thing is the bag needs to be slightly larger for the tripod.

Do not buy on Amazon. You will not receive the product as pictured. Pack is different and so is the water container. You will get the one pictured on the En Plein Air website which is also at a considerably lower cost.

I purchased this package to take on a trip for a plein air watercolor workshop. I did not have previous experience with painting on an easel so did not have anything to compare it to. I was very happy with the ease of the set up of the tripod and easel. I found it to be quite sturdy and the pallet tray is a very useful feature. The more experienced people in the group were envious of the set up. The backpack has plenty of room for all supplies required for a painting excursion. I would have given it five stars except that the pallet was advertised as having 17 paint wells and 5 mixing wells, but it only had 12 paint wells which was not enough to accommodate my need. I did not try to return it since I purchased this as a package. I bought another pallet.

I am always looking to reduce my plein air carrying weight. The En Plein Air Pro Traveler easel is light, versatile and is easy to set up/ break down. If you paint outside in water color or gouache (as I do) - you should consider buying this easel. (I own a Strada easel/siriu tripod for my oil painting)This easel works better than advertised. I watched the videos on their website so I knew what to expect when it arrived. The backpack fits everything I need for my daily painting adventures whether urban or nature.The only drawback is I would like to have seen a hook on the tripod from which to hang the backpack. My siriu tripod has a hook and I like hanging my backpack from it as opposed to laying it on the ground where ticks and the "what nots" tend to crawl about.If you're concerned about it blowing over, I have 3 tent pegs I tie to the tripod legs which keep the tripod from blowing over in 20+mph winds because we have a thing called "wind" here in Oklahoma City. For windy urban settings I lug a 15lb barbell and bungee to the center. (Which kinda defeats the lightest easel comment but hey, my rig doesn't tip over and I get to paint.)

I would Ike to give this product 5 stars as it has everything I have I have been looking for in a Plein air watercolor easel set up but the first time out a small piece of the quick release lever broke off. If the manufacturer can get me a replacement part quickly I will be happy to change my score

This product is very, very difficult to work with. Several weeks ago I emailed to the En Plein Air website and asked them to contact me. To my surprise I and have never received a response. I sent them a message because I wanted to offer them some suggestions on improving the workability of their product. To start...I don't know if this product deserves a 1 or 2 star rating from me. On the optimistic side the best I can give it is a 2 stars. On the plus side the product is very sturdy and well constructed, but there it ends. So what are the issues. The working surfaces that hold paper or canvas and the lower pallet area for watercolor or acrylics are SO SLICK that everything slides around and falls off. I have had to "jury-rig" and modify both working areas with non-slick surfaces. On the lower working surface to keep things stable and from falling/slipping off I have had to "rig" the pallet surface with a series of "crisscrossing" large rubber bands and then cover these with a rubberized matt. On the upper working surface I have had to use large "Bull-Dog" clips. The small Loew Cornell folding plastic pallet that is supplied doesn't add value from my perspective.