Customer Reviews

"I have just purchased a Bitteroot Pochade. Ben customized it for me to meet my needs. Having something that is quick and dependable outside, especially when it's cold is a must! The Bitteroot is an excellent system that allows me to store what I need for the day right inside and keep it safe. Then I can just throw it in the backpack and not worry about a thing."
-Todd Lachance- Canadian Plein Air Painter

(Note from Ben: If you like Tom Thomson, check out Todd!)

The Belly River and piggyback arrived today. In a word, WOW!!! This is the best made painting box that I've ever seen. I am absolutely thrilled with the box and I am looking forward to using it for years to come. Although I cannot commit to it at the moment, you can expect an order from me for one of your larger pochade boxes someday. I can say without reservation that it was a pleasure doing business with you, and that the Belly River and piggyback were well worth the wait. Here is wishing you continued sales and success now and in the future.
-Best regards, Mike

I just returned from a week-long painting trip out on the east coast using my new Belly River, and it performed flawlessly! Nice and compact for easy carrying and a breeze to set up and take down. Panels snap into the panel holder very securely yet are quick and easy to move around and remove. What a pleasure it was to paint without having to manouver around panel clips! Being able to clip the panel in up higher helped keep my shirtsleeves out of the paint too. Having four panels in the lid even pushed me to paint that extra panel every day. The sunclips came in very handy and, with some judicious easel placement, worked to keep both the painting panel and palette area shaded. If the sun started to creep in, it was very easy to tilt the panel holder back or forward - no messing around with pesky wing nuts or knurled knobs.

I carried a couple of 8x10 panels in the piggyback along with my 6x8's and found that the larger panel worked even better in the sunclips. Having both 6x8 and 8x10 panels in the lid proved a nice option when deciding what size panel to use while on site. In the past I've always carried a mini tool kit for tightening screws and making makeshift repairs to equipment, but the Belly River is so robust I never even unpacked the tools on this trip. Judging by the envious looks of my fellow painters, I think I had the best looking box as well! Thanks again, Ben, for coming up with a great design and for so meticulously making such a well crafted pochade.
-Rob

Ben,
We just returned from six weeks of painting in Italy and France and I loved using your box the whole time. Definitely the best engineered and simple to set up I've seen. I especially loved the pressure hinge that allows you to adjust the tilt of the painting simply by pushing or pulling it without any additional nuts to adjust.
Sincerely,
Scott Burdick (-:

(Note from Ben: If you're not familiar with Scott and Susan's work you probably should take a good look.)