U-go Easel / Pochade Box by New Wave : Unpacking. First Impressions by Zufar_Studio.

Links: U.go Pochade box on Amazon: amzn.to/3sHcRL9
U.go Pochade Box:
- on Blick Art Supplies: tinyurl.com/mr4yn2dd
- On Jerry’s Artarama: tinyurl.com/mr43xujv
Decent tripod on Amazon for a pochade box: amzn.to/3FsdZKr
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Timeline
1:17 - Easel: Prices and websites to buy
9:10 - Tripod
11:26 - Unpacking
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#ugoeasel #pleinair #zufarstudio

[@seventhsun1]

Nice to see you back Zufar. Thank you for the video!

[@zbikbov]

You are welcome!

[@borealiswan2363]

I began using a UGo easel last summer. Bought it off an Amazon seller, the best price for me in Canada, luckily no custom fees.
The easel is beautiful, fantastic, but I had to make a few modifications for reliance & stability. First the upper arm holding the panel tends to not stay put. So I glued a lot of little extra magnets (1 mm thick X 1cm diameter) on the wood behind that part of the easel. Result, it holds way better.
The other major problem is the trays. They don't stay in place, & are easily knocked off either by a movement of the painter or by wind. Again, I added a myriad of little magnets to improve holding power, but it wasn't enough, so I ended up gluing a 2 inch bracket frame holder (meant to hang paintings flat agaisnt walls, the type that slide into one another) in the back of the trays. I really wish I could send pictures, as explaining the process is rather awkward. Now it holds well.
Someone suggested drilling holes of varying diameter in the trays to hold brushes.
To note is the awkwardness of those 2 metal brackets for the trays, they don't stash easily, someone scratched his easel box because they don't fit anywhere. So be sure to wrap them in a plastic or cloth bag.
I glued a large round magnet under a small glass jar I use for medium or turp, and glued a piece of metal (1 X 2 inches) in the tray (an extra one I had for placing a phone on a magnetic holder in the car), this way I just sit the jar on the tray, & nothing budges. I have another magnet to hold my palette knife.
As for the white acrylic palette. (I don't understand why they make it in white, I guess to make you buy another gadget), anyways, that palette can easily be replaced by a glass palette under which you can slide a piece of paper in the background colour grey of your choice.
Overall, a great product but with many weaknesses. I still take out my Guerilla 9X12 pochade for convenience when I don't want to carry too many things because the Ugo forces you to bring a panel carrier.

[@edlewandowski8682]

Thanks for sharing, Zufar. I use the medium size U-go for most of my plein air work and don’t have any complaints. I did make one modification though, which was to spray paint the entire box in a matte gray finish. I found that on bright days, the natural wood finish reflected too much light at times, which was distracting.

[@zbikbov]

I absolutely agree regarding gray color. Thanks for your comment, Ed!

[@maria-doloresvazquez-abad4221]

I recently went to France for an oil painting workshop and 2 students had these U.go: they were using them for the first time. The convenience of other boxes where you have storage and also can carry 2 or more wet panels vs these may be the weight, but they had to carry that weight in other bags or boxes. The product seems sturdy and well made, but as you mention, they need additional bags or boxes for brushes, paints, solvent holders, etc.

[@zbikbov]

Agree

[@dewindoethdwl2798]

A large U.Go plus tripod is only about half a kilo lighter than my half size french box easel, with all its storage! The smaller ones look handy for around town painting, resting on a table.

[@kylemartinpaintings]

Cool video!

[@zbikbov]

Thank you, Kyle! I hope it helps to make a decision.

[@fullpreteristnow]

You could use a forstner bit to add a few neodymium magnets of any size, anywhere you wanted. It would be easy to do and depending on the size of the round magnet, give you lot's of holding power.

[@jonroads8281]

I think the medium size of this is going to be my choice. I've never painted Plein air before, so I think this will be an investment in the new year.

[@zbikbov]

Yes, if you plan to attach it to the steering wheel in your car, medium size easel should be good!

[@jonroads8281]

@@zbikbov I thought I'd get their bundle which includes the tripod and take it hiking. I paint fairly small even at home, and I'm unlikely to paint larger outdoors than I do in, (8"X10" is usually about as large as I go at the moment).

[@Gothxuk]

Im goung to add magnetic strips to the white palette, so it holds everything in place :)
Bought a small laptop soft case for it, it is a perfect fit this shiuld stop scuffs in travel.
A gandful of magnets on order for my watercolour palette and accessories :)

[@zbikbov]

Good idea!

[@a.humphries8678]

I'm leary about getting the side trays. They seem Jacky and I don't want the extra weight or bulk. How could you attach solvent? Do you think it would be possible to just clip it on the side of the palette?

[@artbykcappadona5166]

You don’t need to say trays and I didn’t buy them at first but I did go ahead and get them later. They were ridiculously light. But surprisingly they do hold on very well. If you don’t want them you just screw a small eyelet after you make a tiny little drill hole in the front of the wood base and then you can hang your solvent off of there. What I don’t like is when you push against the canvas there are times that pushes your magnets off and that can be very frustrating when you need to apply a little bit of force to your work. The grabber bars are a little annoying. I got the thicker ones for thicker canvases and the regular ones for panels. That’s pretty much my only complaint. I got the very large and a very small easel. The tiny one I use for watercolor and the large one I figured I would get instead of side trees so I would have more surface area to mix in. But as I said I did end up getting the side trace anyway.

[@lesliethejourneyismyhome3224]

new to pochade boxes- this one looks nice but since it doesn't carry anything and you have to have separate carrying case for supplies, I am ambivalent. what have you found about that?

I have an old noname photography backpack that fits all my setup (I have the medium size U-Go + 2 trays). The paint, brushes, panel carrier and other equipment go inside and in the pouches, the tripod and the rinsing bucket hangs on the side. The whole pack is around 5-6 kg fully loaded. There is still some place for a water bottle and snacks. :-)
During painting the bag hangs from the tripod center column which adds extra stability.

[@leannarandall]

If you tilt the pochade box on the tripod so that has a more vertical orientation and have it remain sturdy?

[@zbikbov]

I am sure if it will, since weight on both sides will be much unequal. Plate will need to be tightened very well.

[@catherinebast4456]

Very helpful information. Did you keep the pochade box or send it ack and try another?