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Today I purchased my second Strada easel, for plein air painting. The brand is Strada, and it's called the "Mini", because it's smaller(11x7.5x1.5) and lighter (2 lbs. 9 oz. as opposed to a not-heavy 4 lbs. 3 oz.) than the first Strada I purchased. It's built for travel, is strong and durable (made of aluminum, not wood), and can hold a canvas or panel up to 16" high, with unlimited width.

The Strada is truly a modern design, created and developed by noted plein air painter Bryan Mark Taylor, with some techno-assistance from his friends in Northern California. Well-planned features include two position-control hinges to hold the box open at any angle, with one adjustable hand screw for height-positioning of the painting panel, or canvas. In fact, it will accomodate 1/16" width-panels, 1/8", 1/4", 1/2, and even a 1/ thick canvas. And it has side-trays for holding brushes, or tubes of paint for easy access, even a jar of medium. I've put my first Strada through some rigorous testing in plein air competitions and different weather conditions, and carried it on over-distance on hikes, and find that it is durable, light enough to pack, and very stable on its smooth-functioning, solid Manfrotto tripod.Easy to set up--I can be fully operational, ready to paint, in 2-4 minutes.

Strada currently markets the larger easel at $299, the Mini at $249, with the Mangrotto tripod available at $210, all on the Strada site at www.Stradaeasel.com. I'm mentioning it here because I would recommend this easel to any painter who is tired of losing knurled nuts, frustrated with jammed legs, or replacing or jury-rigging broken wooden parts. It appears to be bulletproof. It could be the only easel you'll ever need to buy, for painting mid-size and smaller paintings.