Love the Easel. I noticed a small crack going above, below, and to the side of one of the screws, had been filled in with wood putty. see photo. No matter, but I think maybe these ones that cost less are possibly seconds. Doesn't hurt anything. Love the easel. I paid $120, The instructions are so wrong and dumb. After a while I was able to figure it out, but not what the instructions said to do. The box was very big!

I love the small footprint of this easel, and yet how versatile it is. In addition to using it for many of my various art projects, it's very handy for holding my warping board for my weaving loom. Weavers will understand this, as a large warping board takes up a good amount of space, and everyone wants their board at the height and angle they like best. This loom allows me to do that, and when I'm not weaving, the warping board comes off and it's back to being an easel.

I was prepared for an assembling challenge and here's the deal: There are 3, that's right, 3 pieces. One piece had the top sliding brace reversed (most liking for packing simplicity) and it was not noted anywhere. Granted the "directions" are vague and not very helpful though If you look at the photographs it is not hard to figure it out. Assembled in 15 minutes. I particularly like that this easel can be flattened for standing against the wall or storing under a piece of furniture. It is lightweight though designed to be sturdy so it is easy to move around and set up for the best light and working comfort. It arrived in good shape and all the necessary hardware was included.

My biggest concern is having an easel that supports my canvas rigidly. This easel is excellent. It allows me to dab, brush, and poke and holds the canvas still.
The base is sturdy on my floor of heavy canvas over carpet. It doesn't move at all.
It was easy to put together, but I did get one part backwards. It was obviously wrong and easy to fix.
The adjustability for any angle from past vertical to vertical, to a slight angle, and all the way to horizontal is very easy to adjust. Once you get it adjusted, it holds its place securely.
It also holds canvases from inches tall to huge.
This is an excellent easel.

I looked at many convertible easels on amazon as well as my favorite art supply websites. Initially i really liked the da vinci, with the bottom platform shelf for holding supplies, but then i saw it in a video clip and realized it would not adjust higher for standing work heights. I looked closer at the photos of various convertible easels and realized this one (with the slots on both sides of the canvas holding structure, where the brass lever pieces connect) could be raised or lowered, and that made it my winner. Also the legs can be fixed farther apart or closer together, the better to fit in crowded spaces.

It arrived packed securely and comes in three pieces - the assembled bottom leg structure, the assembled top canvas holding structure, and the shelf/lip piece for the bottom edge of the canvas. Instructions are okay - photos are muddy but it's not hard to figure out because the bags of fasteners are labeled A B C D and they go in that order. Setup took 5-10 minutes. A second person will make it easier if you have trouble holding large awkward shapes. The assembled easel is sturdy, well finished and looks like it will do everything i want it to do (which is holding canvases mostly 12-48" tall at sitting or standing working heights with no danger of toppling over). Really happy with my choice.