I had to take the bottom yellow foam and the thin white board in the bottom out for the lid to close properly with my pastels in it. I used double sided tape to put some fleece in the bottom and still use the top foam. I have sennelier, unison, and Rembrandt for reference. I also added two picture hanger d rings on the sides so I could clip a strap to the box. Concerned about leaving a mess on my lap or a coffee shop table I found a neoprene laptop sleeve that fits it on Amazon (eyscar 15.6 inch laptop sleeve with elastic bands). It has corner elastics so I can even keep the top open for the strap and it won’t slip off and the box won’t get me dirty rubbing on my clothes. If I want to throw it in a bag I take strap off and zip it up completely to keep my bag clean. The corner elastics almost make it look like I have a laptop in front of me.

Great quality. Perfect size. Holds a lot of pastels very securely. I like that I can tape the pastel to the box and paint - and not have to carry a separate easel. I purchased the one with the plate to attach to a tripod. The box has nice anti slip feet so nice for painting on a flat surface. Would buy this product again.

The latch is kind of flimsy. Doesn’t latch well. The pastels were beautiful.

Mine was missing the foam pastel carrier

Used my Plien air equipment for the first time. I didn’t buy the pastels that came with the box- I put my own in- it worked out pretty nice but- my pastels were a little too big to close the box completely- so I ended up just tying a ribbon around the box to keep it closed. It was relatively easy to attach to the tripod and sturdy while painting . Overall I like it a lot

First of all, the board for the bottom wouldn't sit flat, I used a very very thin sheet of foam (about 2 mm thick) instead and then used the yellow foam. In order to get it to close, I couldn't use the top foam board but again had to use the 2 mm thick foam I had. It just about closes, so I have to use a rubber band around the outside to insure it stays shut. The top part that is supposed to hold your paper does not release from that screw like they show and it took me 10 minutes to try and rehook the band on it. So, it's not something that is useable and just wasted space that I really needed on the inside.

I was excited when received this box. It is so pretty, so delicately done. Just beautiful, beautiful piece. Unfortunately, apparently my Terry ludwig pastels don't fit. I could try and use foam from Terry's boxes, but they take a lot of space and I may be able love this box so much, but the box don't love me back.to fit just 60 sticks in. Can't return, because I did try to put my dark sticks in there and it is too dirty now. Such a heartbreak. It's still a very well made and beautiful box!

I had a lot of trouble with the pochade box at first. The latch didn't work and I had to tape it closed. Also, it seemed much too heavy for my camera tripod. Thanks so much for sending me a replacement. The latch works perfectly. I haven't had a chance to try it on another tripod yet but plan to soon. Many thanks to April who understood the problem I was having with the latch and sent me out a replacement. Overall I like that it enables me to carry and manage a wide array of the pastels I most use. And with a functioning latch I don't have to worry about it opening and spilling the contents.

I like the fact that it’s lightweight and has a small footprint. Haven’t been out in the field to use it yet

This compact pastel box is so easy to use. The tripod connection works wonderfully and the lid acts as the support for a small plein air painting. I usually use a 9x12 paper or panel attached to an 11x14 foam board which I clip to the lid. This is the most lightweight travel box and I’ve brought it to Europe for my pastel work. It holds a lot of pastels which I break into half or thirds to get the most colors I can fit.

Previously I used Dakota's Deluxe Small Travel box for plein air painting which has been great but a little heavy at 7 lbs fully loaded. This box is more compact and weighs about 4.75 lbs fully loaded. I like that you can use the top in the open position to hold your painting board. The tripod mount allowed me to bring a lighter tripod then with the earlier setup. Some of my larger pastel sticks wouldn't fit well and one of my pastel sticks shattered in the box on my first foray out in the field so perhaps the pastels are not as well protected as the beefier box. All in all a good travel box and I like the outer recessed area for a paper pad.

Love it!

Thanks for the prompt delivery to Queensland Australia. It is great

I've had this box about 2 months now, and I can't take it anywhere. Every time I've tried, the clasp has popped open, and all my pastels have spilled out into my backpack. As far as I'm concerned, this is a fail. Am looking for new locking mechanisms to attach to this box.

These are generally very good, affordable pochade boxes. I got my third one & the foam on cover & the latch were not aligned well, making it hard to close properly. Just suggest inspecting them prior to shipping them out to weed out defective ones. Thank you! Service is mostly great from Dakota!

I really like this box, it's very light and I can put my pastels in or even my oil tubes...it fits on my ultra light tripod and I can put everything in one bag and go!

I wanted something that was light and would easily fit in a backpack. It's definitely light, and it fits a surprising number of pastels without the black foam insert. (For reference, I'd say about 120 of Sennelier's half stick size pastels would easily fit. The corners have finger joints, so those are strong and stable The yellow memory foam is nice for cushioning and holding pastels in place. However, there are some features I don't particularly love. The bottom of the box feels a bit flimsy to me, and I worry it might pop out in time. I also feel like it's just a matter of time before the leather straps break. The locking mechanism isn't my favorite either. I feel like it could easily accidentally be popped open. However, it was the lightest box I found, and it was a relatively inexpensive pochade from a reputable company, so I took a chance. I'll probably end up hacking this box, though, to suit my needs.

Love the light weight pochade box for painting en Plein Air! It makes hiking in to a site a lot easier

Nice little light weight Plein Aire box

Very excited to receive the package - swift delivery and packed well. Great quality box and it fulfilled my expectations. I’m sure I’ll have this for the rest of my life.

I use this pochade box as a travel box. It has a great lightweight and minimalist design. Nothing fussy to open or close or keep the easel back open. The foam inserts are like a nice little bed for the pastels- keeping them comfortably in place. There is plenty of room for a good selection of pastels and the lid is sturdy for drawing and leaning on. To keep the dust from falling in the box I have a piece of “L” shaped cardboard under my pastel block when I draw. In comparison to my Heilman box this one stands as a good companion. The Sienna pochade I returned and got this one. The Sienna pochade has very thin foam and is overly fussy with all of its things to tighten after I loaded up that box and stood it up I could hear all my pastels tumble around! I have not yet used the tripod mount. So happy I found the Dakota Pochade!

I really love the quality of this pochade box, beautiful wood and joinery. I do however wish that the lid had the option of locking at 90 degrees so the pastel dust did not fall on the painting and would prefer a more secure style of latch, something that wouldn't open with an unexpected bump.

I used my new pochade box today when I was out plein air painting. It was easy to attach to the tripod and was light weight. And it held enough pastels to complete my painting. My umbrella attached to it easily. Glad I invested in the box.

I just received my new pochade box. I have been in the market for one for awhile now. I was looking at Dakotas travel box, but I wanted one that had an easel with it and could sit on either a table or a tripod. The travel box did not meet those needs. So I went looking at the Heilman backpack box. This seemed to meet my needs but boy was it expensive and I am a novice pastel artist. I was even going to try to make my own. Then I saw that Dakota came out with a new box, and it completely met my need and wants. I received it very quickly, it was beautifully made and very sturdy. it doesn't even rock while sitting on a table. I have not used it yet. But I cant wait to set it up and get started!