Even when the school year is well underway, many of us still feel overwhelmed by the daily task of making lunches. One thing that Dana and Nicole have learned over the years is that the style of lunch kit you choose can make a big difference when it comes to managing school lunches. Believe it or not, finding the right container can make it easier for your child to assist with (or take ownership over) the task of making their lunch. Also, the type of container you choose dictates what types of foods you can send. Many moms love sending their child’s lunch in a bento box because they can send a selection of finger foods that they know their child will actually eat!
For this Savvy Shoppers feature, we tested products from five different lunch kit manufacturers, including several bento box options:
Laptop Lunches – Bistro Bento Box 2.0 ($23.99), Bento Tote ($18.99), Bento Buddies 2.0 containers ($14.99), Fork and Spoon Set ($7.99)
Eco Vessel – Smashbox Double Compartment Food Container ($21.95); Smashbox Snacker ($10.95)
Bumkins – Lunch bag ($12.95) and snack bags ($4.99 for a single, large snack bag; $6.99 for a 2 pack of small snack bags)
EasyLunchboxes – (4 containers for $15.99)
LunchBots -$19.95-$25.99 (depending on the number of compartments in the container)
Bento Box or Lunch Kit?
Laptop Lunches – The Bistro Bento Box 2.0 made by Laptop Lunches is the perfect size for an elementary school student’s lunch. The Bistro Bento Box comes with a set of Bento Buddies, and you can order additional ones, to customize the configuration of containers inside the box to suit your child’s needs. There is also a small space on the side to hold a fork and spoon, if your child wants food that requires cutlery. We liked the fact that we could remove a Bento Buddies container to fit a juice box or small water bottle instead. Out of all the options we tried, the Bistro Bento Box 2.0 was the most versatile. In terms of offering constructive criticism, we would prefer clear/transparent Bento Buddies so our kids can see what is inside each container without having to open the lid. Also, the lids are a bit tough for small kids to open.
We liked that the Bento Tote offered the same ability to configure containers to suit the preferences of our children; however, we found it to be incredibly bulky and it took up too much space inside backpacks to be a practical choice for us.
Eco Vessel Smashbox – The Eco Vessel Smashbox is unique in that it compresses once it is empty to save space. Unfortunately, before it is compressed, this product is ridiculously big (too big for a backpack that also needs to carry other things). Also, we learned the hard way, to press very gently when putting the lid on a full Smashbox (otherwise it compresses and everything inside gets pushed out -not fun when packing soup). The Smashbox is dishwasher safe, freezer safe, microwavable, and leakproof. The Smashbox is an interesting concept, but it didn’t work that well for us.
Bumkins – Bumkins snack bags are great for packing a few munchies when out-and-about with toddlers. For school lunches, they’re perfect for holding a recess snack (your child can fold the snack bag and put it in their pocket when they’re done). They wash very easily and are a fantastic alternative to plastic snack baggies.
Compared to other snack bags, such as the Sling Sisters Snack Bags we reviewed back in March, the Bumkins snack bags are pretty comparable. The bags are cute and durable and get the job done!
The Bumkins lunch bag is fully insulated, making it very bulky. Unless you have a small-sized bento box (like the ones from LunchBots), you’ll have to use snack bags or a variety of stand alone containers to hold your child’s food when using this lunch bag. In terms of holding lunches, we found the structure of bento boxes a bit more convenient. In our experience, kids tend to prefer accessing all their food at once -bento style. This was our least favourite lunch kit.
EasyLunchboxes – EasyLunchboxes come in a 4-pack and look similar to inexpensive plastic containers that you buy from the grocery store (like the ones made by Ziploc or Glad). We were pleasantly surprised by the sturdiness of these containers and we like that they are BPA, PVC, and phthalate free. The lids are also easy to open, even for young kids. The downside: These containers were too big for the needs of some of our kids and they did not have enough spaces for an array of snack-sized foods. If you have a sandwich-loving child, then these might work, but if you’re planning on doing the bento box thing, better products exist.
LunchBots – LunchBots are the perfect size for preschoolers, or kids with smaller appetites (they’re the smallest sized bento box that we tested). We were glad to finally see a lunch box that wasn’t gigantic! LunchBots are made from stainless steel, making them more eco-friendly than a plastic bento box. But, like the Eco Vessel Smashbox and the EasyLunchboxes, the dividers inside each LunchBots container are permanently affixed, which is a definite shortcoming. You can purchase LunchBots with 0-4 sections, depending on what you plan to pack for your child on a regular basis.
Overall Rating
Laptop Lunches Bistro Box 2.0 – 4.5
Eco Vessel Smashbox (both sizes) – 3
Bumkins Snack Bags – 4.5
Bumkins Lunch Bag – 2.5
EasyLunchboxes – 3
LunchBots – 4
All of the bento box options were easy to wash (simply toss everything in the dishwasher). They were all BPA free and everything except the stainless steel LunchBots can go in the microwave. With the exception of the Eco Vessel Smashbox, none were leakproof; however, LunchBots has a leakproof version of their bento boxes that we didn’t test this time around. What made Laptop Lunches Bistro Box 2.0 the big winner was the ability to make a number of different configurations using different-sized Bento Buddies containers for a highly customized lunch box.
Tell us: What type of lunch container does your child use for school lunches?
Disclosure: This review was sponsored by Bumkins, Laptop Lunches, and Eco Vessel.
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