MEEDEN Plein Air Easel for Painting: Adjustable Travel Watercolor Easel Stand for Adults- Collapsible Portable Tripod for Artists

Great product, easy st up and travels well. Perfect for watercolors

Got this at a significant sale, and at the price paid it's a good deal. The back panel and palette honestly are a little flimsy. I would suggest Meeden look into making a bamboo version or something of the back panel in particular. But at the same time, are your really going to plein air paint in gale-force winds?The more important selling point is that this is a really nice, easy to use, very lightweight tripod. People complain that the clamps feel flimsy, but I haven't experienced problems with them, and if they were metal it would add a lot to weight. The tripod itself is a standard size thread, so you can use this for cameras. The threaded base even comes off (see clasp in photos) so you can save the threading on your camera from repeated use if you intend to use it this way, by keeping it with the camera and separating from the base via the clasp.I don't know that I'd be giving this more than 3 stars at full price, but if you catch it on sale, it's really nice and lightweight for indoor or outdoor use. Nice big functional palette, space for a water cup. Significant height adjustment on each leg. Get it on sale, especially with the multiple uses intended, and you'll probably be happy.

Installing the paint board almost defeated me. Instructions were not clear. But, finally — success. I will be using this for watercolor painting and usually while seated. I tried it out and was pleased with how well the slant adjustment and height adjustment both work. I didn’t install the palette because I am using something else.

No instructions but I figured it out. Well made, extremely portable.

This was very easy to set up, Ulta light. Compact easel fits easily into my painting bag. The top and plastic shelf fits nicely in my bag as well and are both very sturdy. I love you can adjust the top part for watercolor. The shelf does a great job holding my painting palette and water. The thing I noticed the top is a little wobbly so best not to over load. But a 12x15 watercolor pad works fine. The easel is light weight so heavy winds could be problematic, I figured hanging my small cooler bag with a few water bottles will help with that. Other possible problem nobs and levers and top latch are all plastic. So important to be gentle with these when adjusting. I noticed too the protective cap, looks like you could put a small camera on it as you can see the screw on top. I have not tried that. So overall I recommend, for the price it's a great entry level easel to see if you enjoy plein air watercolor. Not recommended for any thing using large panels. I look forward to to using this outside and inside as well.

I just got this easel so I should wait until I try it out before reviewing, but it's raining out so I have time now. I got it on sale so I feel like I got a good deal and it's better than I expected. It's lightweight, has a great design, lots of room for mixing color and can hold a larger watercolor block than some of my other easels. I also own the more expensive Plein Air Pro, and this is like a toy compared to that--BUT that is so big and heavy it's sometimes not practical to use. So, I look forward to using this easel.Some negatives I've noticed, and pointed out by others, is that the tripod is made out of cheap plastic and so I need to remember to treat it gently. I also found the part that holds the paper to be a bit wobbly but maybe I'm just not tightening the right screws. I was able to tighten it some--and it seems usable. The white plastic parts are heavy and well made--I was impressed with those. I wish it used a standard Arca quick release plate, but it does come with it's own version for a camera or something else if you were desperate for a tripod. Overall I'm pleased. I bought this tripod just to have a backup or for guests but I'm now excited to get out and use it myself. Might become the favorite if it doesn't break!UPDATE: I've been using the easel and it's terrific. Easy set up and it holds a decent size watercolor block and has plenty of room for mixing paint. It is a bit flimsy and you need to treat it gently (so it won't break) but the design is incredible. One suggestion (if the Meedeen people read these reviews) would be to make the part that holds the paper gray instead of reflective white. I could also say make the whole thing sturdier but then I'm sure it would cost a lot more. It's a great value for the price, especially if you can get it on sale. I have a more expensive easel that is similar design and the experience painting on them is about the same. The expensive one is sturdier, but heavier and requires a bigger bag to carry.

I wanted this for watercolor plein air plain tint since I live near the beach. I figured wind would be an issue of course but in my bedroom while painting on it the tripod shakes and wiggles constantly. A very cheap trips and I cannot use my photography tripod because of the special connection clip on the back of the mounting easel. It’s not bad for the price but can’t keep it steady to do a decent painting. I like the flat surface that hooks onto the tripod but it often sits unlevel unless you fiddle with it just right. There isn’t anything to compete with it in this price range that isn’t wooden. It is lightweight however and with the tripod mount tightened as tight as I could get all of the connections it still shakes in a non windy location. The trays and like a watercolor pallet material and clean super easy. The tripod and mount are the biggest issue. They need a better tripod and more stable mount like o bought on my $25 camera tripod I use for photography. To bad you can’t use another tripod with this one.