i got the large. It’s 2 pieces of birch ply one 18/19mm thick and one 12mm for lid, hinged with a pair of friction hinges. the whole thing is CNC routed precisely to save weight i think and any extra joinery.. magnets are added at points to attach metal accessories. the hinges are sturdily reinforced with a metal strip. the supplied palette is acrylic sheet for lightness and you can get a glass one as an extra. the whole thing clips onto a tripod. it is nicely finished and sanded with a very smooth varnish. i’ve used it a few times and its ok but too small for doing anything larger than 12x14 i bought the extender bar too . the thing is the palette area is too small unless you are doing very small stuff 10x12 12x9 5x6 . the whole thing is solidly built so it should last a lifetime. the main thing that spoils it is the tray under the palette is only deep enough for a few small brushes so you have to carry all your paint tubes and mediums etc in a separate container. i have made my own version with a tray underneath that can carry tubes brushes oil knives etc. i will keep the ugo at home on its tripod with the brush shelves attached to hold cups of tea /wet brushes and studio paraphenalia. I think if ugo got hold of some thicker birch ply 25mm or thicker and cnc ed the base it would carry 27ml tubes brushes etc :).

Hi Michael - We appreciate that you took the time to review the u.go Plein Air medium pochade box, and recommended it to your viewers. Thank you. We wanted to provide a quick comment regarding a few items mentioned: 1) Recommended panel size: We recommend a 10" vertical panel for the medium size pochade. For those artists that wish to paint larger vertically, we offer a medium and a large panel extender bar. The medium extender bar increases the recommended vertical panel height to 13” and the large extender bar to 18.5” on the medium pochade. The extender bar ensures stability by connecting magnetically to more magnets, as opposed to altering the design. The extender bars also provide additional support when painting in windy conditions. Another option is to purchase the large pochade that has a recommended vertical height of 14" (this increases to 20" with the large extender bar). 2) Finish: You pointed out 3 blemishes on the underside of your pochade. What you have noticed on the base of the box are called "pin holes." These are found on all wooden products that are finished by hand. The product is placed on a pin rack so the top and bottom can cure in tandem. During this process slight pin holes are formed. The pin holes, while visible on the base, will not absorb water/moister/etc. The product is fully sealed and finished with a highly durable proprietary finish. It is the highest quality wood finish available. 3) Magnets: I apologize for the outlying situation in which the rectangular magnets fell out. This is due to a larger than normal route on that specific box, caused by a slight tolerance during the cut. We have increased the amount of adhesive used during assembly to account for outlying issues caused by any tolerance. We stand by our products 100%, and will fix any outlying situation immediately if a customer contacts us. Thanks again for your review Michael. - The Team at New Wave

Thanks for the review Michael! There are some interesting things about this box for sure. If you’re going to jump in this market with a new box, there has to be some innovation. I like the removable palette.

Thank you. I am a senior who tried water colour to get through Covid. I really appreciate honest reviews like yours.

Thanks so much. I love how succinctly you covered the information. Add excellent public speaker to your many other areas of expertise!

I have the smallest U.go pochade and use it for watercolor. I love how small it is and how light. I also appreciate how aesthetically pleasing it is. I have also added more magnets for the easel mast and under the palette to hold my metal palette and up tp quarter size watercolor blocks. Thanks for the review.

I purchased the same medium U.go box, and just bought an additional metal extender for larger panels. Expensive at $29, but works perfectly for 11 x 14 vertical boards.

hehe I had already seen plenty of unboxing of the product so your review was exactly what I was looking for :-) thanks!

I agree with the other comments so no point in repeating them. I appreciate the more indepth and technical review of the product though. Most of the other videos I've seen are just: "Hey everyone this is my new painting box! It's cool how it folds open. I love it!" end of video.

this is so new not many reviews on it. I love the ugo pochade. However I do watercolor with water color paper. I open it all up flat so the back is down. I use the extended hook to hold a clear piece of plastic acrylic and secure it to my pochade box with the u go elastic. I tape my watercolor paper down too it. I do like the mixing space for the pochade box and I use it strongly in my home when i want to paint in front of the tv. I love the extra shelves. I advise to just get the largest size extra side shelves. so paint brushes down roll backward or slip off. I probably would have gone with the large ones for more drawing space and real estate. You can modify this successfully with industrial strength velcro to keep water or palettes from sliding off.

Thanks, I might give it a try but would have been nice to see you actually using it. I haven't seen one in person so that would be helpful!

Have you ever tried the STRADA boxes? I keep seeing them everywhere..they look indestructible and convenient..but pricey!

Hi ,Michael great video ,just what i was looking for ,a not BS review , there are a couple of wall easel i was looking into ,maybe you review some of them? ,subscribed

Thanks for the great detailed review. For me, not enough depth/space to store the paints is a major negative. It also looks like I can't easily keep the painted panel in progress in the pochade securely, so what's the point of paying such a high cost for a pochade? Not for me, and thanks for saving me the $$$.

Thanks so much, bravissimo!

I have the SIENNA tripod will the base of the box screw into any tripod, or have you tried that? Also I have some roll adhesive magnet tape would that work in regard to extending the easel grip?

What do you think of the Alla Prima Pochade box as a comparison to this one. I bought one as well, the same size of your review but haven’t used it yet. I like my Alla Prima Pochade box.

You can buy the hinges separately

I just got my box in the in the mail today

What was the type of magnets you installed? And what type of drill bit? You said it so fast and I couldn’t catch the words you used to describe the extra magnets and drill bit. Thank you, and thanks for the helpful review!

If you’re on a budget maybe this is okay. For another roughly $100-115 dollars I’ll take an Alla Prima “Lite” box . Superior build (I’ve had my Yellowstone and Yellowstone Lite for a decade now and never had magnets drop out and the friction hinges are still tight), superior finishe on the blemishless wood. Better/easier panel holding capacity, better/easier storage.

Thanks for posting your thoughts. I recently purchased the larger Ugo box. Found the panel holders inadequate in windy conditions. Suggestions?

I have the smallest box. One complaint I think is a major problem. The grip panel holder only holds 1/8" thick panels properly. It won't handle anything thicker than that securely. I think they should have made it to handle 1/4" panels as well. I also wish it had something to level it on the bottom so you could comfortably paint with it sitting on a table. Other than those two things I like it. I have the side trays to expand it out, otherwise the mixing area would be too small. All bundled up this is a great thing to throw into a backpack or bag. Bought the Ugo tripod recently. I'm still not sure how to use it properly (make everything stays rigid & fixed) but it seems to be very stable and nice plus the price was much better than the Sierra tripod. It holds up to 26 lbs!

I'd love to see a comparison between u.go and Sienna. I like how Sienna's palette area is deeper, and the side tray is built in, instead of additional attachment like u.go. But everyone seems to be crazy about u.go so I'm wondering what's wrong with Sienna.

You mention the Alla Prima Pochade. How does that compare with this pochade?

Can you review the Edge Pro Gear Paintbook easel?

The extender bars are worth a try. Where to purchase? Also, thinking that the grips which hold the panel are insufficient.

is there space on the inside that'll allow you to keep fresh paint on the palette while the pochade box is closed?

can you paint acrylic on the palette they give you will it scrape off when dry

What would be a good umbrella system to work with this pochade box?

I have used the New Wave Ugo pochade box and yes I had to add extra magnets while totally abandoning the metal panel holder. So instead I just replaced them with the edge pro gear panel holder. Yes they are compatible! I almost feel like the New Wave uGo copied the Edge Pro Gear. Just my opinion. New Wave Ugo pochade box is vertical and Edge Pro Gear is Horizontal.

Please review the edgepro

What is a wet panel

We only see you in the entire video. We don't see the box more than 5 seconds

So, sound like a cheaply made very expensive box. I'm in!

show the product, less talk.

First time I saw this box I never liked it the box it’s two pieces of plywood route it out with a Bunch of Mattix it’s not like a box that has sides The only box that I’ve purchased that I like that they made down hinge system is gorilla everybody’s just slap Pieces of wood together buying hinges on AmazonI was happy with my gorilla 179 I like the size I like the system that they have to hold a canvas they designed that it’s well thought out like I said everyone else is Slapping were together

You talk to fast. You explain. You don't even show the box!!!!

hmm would be nice to see more of the actual item rather than talking

You’re suppose to show the product..... its all talk talk talk.

Less face time, more box. Seriously, you're a handsome man, but you aren't reviewing you. Or are you?

Would like less talking head and more demo/display camera work of its virtues. Thanks