Sienna Plein Air Artist Pochade Box Easel Large (CT-PB-1012)

This box is lovely, sturdy and well made. It arrived safely earlier than promised in a strong box. I am very pleased with it and I am looking forward to using it

As this is the large size pochade box and can take a larger canvas or panel, I would have expected the metal plate to have been fitted more firmly under the bottom of the box. When I put a 5mm thick 20” x 16” panel I could see that it wobbled a lot.I checked under the base to see why and realised that the metal plate that my very firm manfrotto tripod screws into was separating from the base as it was only fitted with screws along one edge. I could see why as the base panel is made from very thin plywood so nothing to screw into.Perhaps glue might have helped as a compromise? There are good contact adhesives out there. For the £165 I paid, I was expecting a better build quality. I’m going to need to modify the box to secure the fixing plate before I can trust it when painting plein air.

The plate to attach the pochade box to the tripod is a bit wobbly, It only has screws on one side and they are placed where two pieces of wood are joined.I have contacted the company to see if they can do something. This looks beautiful but is not a strong design. If you imagine, all the pressure on the whole box to remain on the tripod relies on that tiny plate being stable. It is such a lovely looking box. It is such a shame as the rest of the box seems so well made but the strength seems to have been forgotten in that very important part.

This wooden Sienna pochade box is solidly built and looks like it will last a very, very long time. It won't stay looking so perfect as I can see it being used a lot! I love how the box can close, holding the painting I am working on and glass palette loaded with oil paints, and keep both painting and paints from touching each other, so I can just shut the box and leave everything ready to go! Brilliant! Expensive but worth every penny!