I was not sure what to expect from a 'portable' beech wood easel. I'm pleasantly surprised with the MEEDEN Tripod Field Painting Easel . Mine came with a nylon bag that has pockets. I didn't find the setup difficult at all. All I did was put a bolt through all the leg portions and attach the tray. All the hardware pieces on mine are solid and the wood is cut and sanded well. I strongly suggest becoming familiar with the easel before you are setting up to paint so you can be comfortable before you are ready to work. This goes for any easel or new piece of equipment. Otherwise, you are making a decision that is likely going to lead to frustration.I can place the canvas holding slides in different positions and tilt it in many different angles. Maybe someone that has never used an easel before may be confused, because you can adjust it many different ways. I appreciate the versatile positions it can afford. I can use this while being seated or standing. It will hold larger canvases that I can ever imagine myself using. I like the tray, it's not too big to get in the way, but it's not so small that it's useless to me. I can set a few water cups on it and more brushes than I would ever use at one time. I like using it for stretched canvas and canvas boards that are on the smaller sizes of 5" x 7" up to 16" by 20" so far.The choice of portable easels is one that will sit solid every time, or a very light weight one that will likely tip over with a slight gust of wind. I'd prefer a solid easel, myself. I appreciate that I can easily store this in a small space and set it up relatively quickly when inspiration hits. This is portable, but it's not light-weight by my standards. It's heavy to me and care must be taken not to loose the bolt or single wing nut that hold the leg assembly together. It's portable in a way that it can be disassembled with minimal steps and placed back into it's bag. It's not something I could carry out into the wilds easily, but to load it into my car for travel, it will take up very little space, not more than my tripod bag for photography does. So, for short periods of carrying, I can take it from my car a short distance and use it for some plein air painting adventures, probably from my parked car to the beach or into the small grass fields at my local park. I will not be lugging it up and down mountain paths. Maybe a younger, stronger, more fit person may do this, but not me. So, the portability feature is limited to your physical strength and endurance.Overall, I find this to be a really great value, very affordable for the quality. Most shops that carry easels will price those similar over twice fold the price for this one, even though this one has nicer features like the versatile positions and height adjustment. Not all easels have a tray, so this has a lot to offer.Thank you for reading my review. I hope you found it helpful and will click the Helpful button below.