By Laura Motley
Well before there was a hashtag for it, the sad desk lunch cemented itself in America’s work culture. Long hours and spaces designed for efficiency rather than community encouraged speedy lunches to be wolfed down in isolation. Fortunately, there are many ways to make the midday meal a lot more pleasant—buying a great lunch box is chief among them.
While some meals work well in insulated fabric bags, others benefit from the tidiness of a bento box or the pleasures of a portable salad bowl. Access to refrigeration (or lack thereof) will inform your decision, too. After testing 20 lunch boxes in 2024, we chose eight that fit a variety of lunchtime needs.
What we looked for
- Size
A lunch box or bowl should accommodate a generous lunch, and an insulated bag should also fit drinks, snacks, and ice packs.
- Durability
Bento boxes and bowls should have high-quality hinges and clasps, while insulated bags should have sturdy zippers and tough fabric.
- Effectiveness
With an ice pack, food should stay cool in an insulated bag for several hours. Bento boxes and bowls should keep food tidy and contained.
- Appeal
Bento boxes and bowls should look nice and be enjoyable to use. Insulated bags should be easy to pack and pleasant to carry.
The best bento boxes and lunch bowls
A classic bento box: Takenaka Bento Bite Dual
Top pick
This cute, two-tiered bento box is ideal for multi-part lunches, and it comes in a variety of appealing colors. It isn’t leakproof, but we think that’s okay for the types of foods you’re likely to use it for.
May be out of stock
If you find yourself packing thoughtful lunches made of distinct components, and you place equal value on function and style, the Takenaka Bento Bite Dual could be a good lunch box for you.
While the double-decker container is great for carrying a small sandwich and a few snacks, like fruit and chips, its compartmentalized layout inspires a more traditional bento treatment. It’s not fully leakproof, so you’d want to favor drier foods, such as dumplings, rice, or steamed vegetables.
It’s well designed. The bento’s larger top tier fits the bulk of a meal, and a removable divider provides the option for two separate zones. (Since the divider doesn’t seal or suction to the bottom, it’s best for non-liquidy items.) A smaller compartment is nestled underneath, with a silicone lid separating the two. The woven elastic strap that keeps them together performed well in our drop tests: Besides a few nicks, all of the components remained together and intact.
It can fit a hearty meal. We were able to pack a filling lunch of grain salad, dolmas, and sliced cucumber. We also like that the top tier is deep enough to fit a whole plum or a small peach, and either container can be used on its own if you want to pack a smaller meal.
It’s easy on the eyes. The Bite Dual comes in eight colors and features smooth lines that are attractive and convenient (no sharp corners for food to get stuck in). We also tested the Monbento Original Bento Box, which comes in 28 stylish colors and patterns, but we preferred the feel and function of the Bite Dual.
It’s pretty easy to clean. The Bite Dual is top-rack dishwasher safe, except for the thin plastic lid that separates the two tiers. For longevity, we’d also recommend hand-washing the top lid, which has a silicone gasket. You can detach the gasket before dishwashing if you prefer and easily pop it back in afterward. (The PlanetBox Explorer has a similar removable gasket, but it’s trickier to work back into place.)
Tomato sauce didn’t stain the Bite Dual during our testing, though it left a faint reddish tint on the OXO Salad Container and the W&P Porter Bowl.
Flaws but not dealbreakers
It’s not entirely leakproof. A few drops of water escaped during our leak test, and the movable divider doesn’t completely separate the foods. Some dressing from the grain salad made its way to the dolmas in our testing. While that didn’t negatively impact the meal, it may be an issue if you’re separating sweet and savory foods or flavors that don’t mix. If you’re looking for a leakproof bento, you can try the Bentgo MicroSteel Lunch Box
It’s a little involved. For such a sleek, compact container, there are a lot of parts: a large compartment, a smaller compartment, a top lid, a gasket for the lid, a silicone lid with a plastic fork attached, a divider, and a woven elastic band. These felt like a lot to keep track of, especially when unloading the dishwasher in the morning.
If that seems like too much, you may want to try the Bentgo MicroSteel or the W&P Porter Bowl, which have far fewer components. Takenaka does sell replacement parts, so all is not lost if you lose any of them. They do not offer a warranty on their products, though, which is unfortunate for a lunch box that costs around $40.
The fork is flimsy. The Bite Dual comes with a plastic fork attached to the inner plastic lid. Though it works in a pinch, the small tines aren’t strong enough to spear hard foods or scoop up a large bite, so you may want to pack your own eating utensil.
A streamlined stainless steel bento box: Bentgo MicroSteel Lunch Box
Top pick
This stainless steel bento box is streamlined, leakproof, and plastic-free. It has one removable divider and works just as well for a sandwich as it does for heating leftovers.
If you find yourself frequently reheating leftovers for lunch, you may like the Bentgo MicroSteel Lunch Box. (An older version was a previous pick, but it wasn’t microwave-safe.) It’s also attractive and is easy to clean.
It’s microwave-safe and plastic free. This metal bento is microwave-safe for up to 10 minutes. We used it to reheat spaghetti Bolognese without incident. According to Bentgo, the low levels of copper and silicone in the material, combined with the container’s rounded edges, prevent the stainless steel from sparking. It also gets bonus points for being plastic-free.
It’s a good size. With the silicone divider, the Bentgo MicroSteel can fit a full meal consisting of two components, like pasta and a salad, or a large sandwich plus a side. You can forgo the divider and fill the single compartment—we liked it for rice and beans.
Despite being able to fit a big lunch, it’s compact enough to fit in all of the insulated fabric bags we recommend, which is helpful when you don’t have access to refrigeration. And if you’re trying to avoid plastic, you’ll find that most glass food storage containers are quite heavy, whereas the Bentgo MicroSteel weighs a relatively light 18 ounces.
It’s leakproof. The Bentgo MicroSteel aced our leak tests, and the divider did a great job keeping separated foods, like a sandwich and cut fruit, from mingling. It was the only stainless steel model we tested that performed this well.
It’s pretty durable. When we dropped the Bentgo MicroSteel onto asphalt, the lid dented, but we were still able to close it properly. It also didn’t show any stains from our tomato sauce test. The Bentgo MicroSteel is also covered for two years under Bentgo’s warranty. But at around $30, it costs significantly more than basic food storage containers.
It has style. With five metallic colors to choose from and pleasing rounded corners that make it easy to scoop out every bite, the Bentgo MicroSteel is decidedly more elevated than an average food storage container.
Flaws but not dealbreakers
It may peel. According to Amazon reviews and long-term testers from Wirecutter, the exterior coating on the colored versions of the MicroSteel starts to peel over time. If that concerns you, you can opt for the plain stainless steel color.
It requires some hand-washing. Bentgo says that the container itself is top-rack dishwasher safe, while the silicone divider and the lid (which has a silicone seal) must be washed by hand. However, repeated dishwasher use may contribute to the problem of the peeling coating, so you might be better off hand-washing the whole thing.
A roomy salad bowl: Bentgo All-in-One Salad Container
Top pick
This multi-component container makes it easy to pack greens, toppings, and dressing separately, ready to be mixed at lunchtime. It’s bulky, but it fits in all of our insulated bag picks.
The Bentgo All-In-One Salad Container might be niche, but if you’re a salad-as-a-main-course person, you can’t beat its convenience and organization. It could work for other meals, too, but its layout creates the perfect conditions for a fresh, crisp salad, even if it’s packed hours before. The bowl is pleasant to eat from, and it comes in eight appealing color choices.
It has thoughtful, tidy compartments. The Bentgo All-In-One Salad Container has an ample main compartment, a leakproof dressing container, and a divided tray that nestles into the larger bowl. Together, they’re ideally suited for a generous serving of greens, dressing, and mix-ins that should stay separate until it’s time to eat. A chicken caesar worked perfectly in this setup: romaine in the bowl; croutons, parmesan, and chicken in their own nooks in the tray; and dressing in the container.
When it was time to eat, we combined the ingredients in the main compartment, popped the lid back on, and gave it a shake. (The only downside to this method is that the tray needs to be in place for the lid to close, so it will get covered in dressing.)
It’s microwave- and dishwasher-safe. If you end up packing leftovers in the Bentgo All-In-One Salad Container, it’s easy to reheat them, and the bowl can go straight from the microwave to your desk.
Unlike the Bentgo MicroSteel or the Takenaka Bento Bite Dual, it’s fully dishwasher-safe, and a cycle removed all traces of tomato during our stain tests. But its many components take up a lot of space in the top rack. If you prefer a more streamlined lunch container, you might like the W&P Porter Bowl.
It’s affordable. At around $15, the Bentgo All-In-One Salad Container is the cheapest of our picks, and Bentgo offers a two-year warranty.
Flaws but not dealbreakers
It has some superfluous parts. The Bentgo All-In-One Salad Container comes with a small plastic fork that fits in the top lid, but we found it too small and preferred to use our own fork. And the clear plastic lid that fits over the fork often falls off and seems destined for the landfill.
It’s prone to breakage. Though most of the online reviews are positive, several mentioned that the clasps on the lid break easily and, unlike Takenaka, Bentgo doesn’t offer replacement parts.
When we dropped the Bentgo All-In-One Salad Container from waist height onto asphalt, nothing broke, but every component came apart, which would have resulted in a sad spilled lunch if it were full of food.
It’s not leakproof. Water flowed freely from the main bowl and the tray during our leak test. While we found the small dressing container to be leakproof, some online reviews say otherwise.
A streamlined and compact lunch bowl: W&P Porter Bowl
Top pick
This lightweight lunch bowl strikes a balance between aesthetics and practicality. Its single compartment makes it best suited for pre-mixed, ready-to-go lunches, like grain salads or pasta.
We like the W&P Porter Bowl as an elevated alternative to a basic food storage container. It’s a pleasure to eat out of and a cinch to wash—but tomato sauce stained the one we tested, which happened to be white.
It’s modern and minimalist. The Porter bowl would be at home in a trendy restaurant, with its clean lines and svelte shape. It comes in six subdued colors, and is constructed with matte plastic and silicone that is both elegant and practical (the bowl doesn’t slide around on the counter). A gasketed lid is held in place by a flexible but sturdy silicone strap
It’s durable. Wirecutter editors have been using the Porter bowl for years and have reported very little wear. According to them, neither the silicone strap nor the removable gasket have stretched out over time, and the bowl and lid have remained perfectly intact, with just a few scratch marks from repeated use.
When we dropped the Porter bowl from waist height onto asphalt, the bowl suffered only a few tiny nicks, and the silicone strap held the lid in place. It’s also microwave- and dishwasher-safe.
Flaws but not dealbreakers
It is not fully leakproof. During our leak testing, some water escaped the silicone seal, and when we opened the gasketed lid, drops sprayed as the suction released. But a well dressed grain salad did not leak, and we don’t recommend packing soup or brothy foods in this bowl, anyway. For added protection the Porter bowl fits nicely in all of our insulated bag picks (we like it with the Baggu for added chic factor).
It has only one compartment. The Porter lacks the divided sections of many of our other picks, which may be a plus, depending on your needs. For all-in-one meals, the Porter is perfect. But if you want to keep elements of a dish separate before eating, you may prefer the Bentgo All-In-One Salad Container.
The best insulated bags
A classic insulated bag: L.L.Bean Expandable Lunch Box
Top pick
This roomy, soft-sided insulated lunch box is made of rugged materials and features an expandable zipper system that offers extra depth and versatility.
The L.L.Bean Expandable Lunch Box has been one of our picks since 2018, and there are plenty of reasons why. It can fit a hearty lunch, plus drinks and ice packs, and does a great job keeping food cold. Because it’s adjustable, it feels like you get two lunch boxes for the price of one: Keep it zipped up and compact for a bike commute, or unzip and expand it to fit more food.
It has two size options. In compact, fully zipped mode, the L.L.Bean Expandable Lunch Box can fit a slim ice pack and a generous lunch. When it’s fully expanded, you can add a few drinks, more ice packs, and a snack or two. It can accommodate all of the bento boxes and lunch bowls we recommend.
You can also fit up to eight soda cans in it—so it works well as a mini cooler on the weekends. An interior mesh compartment fits an ice pack, while an exterior one is convenient for utensils, napkins, or slim snacks like jerky or granola bars.
It’s durable and easy to clean. The hard-wearing nylon exterior that L.L.Bean uses for its lunch boxes is the same weatherproof material they use for their durable backpacks. Wirecutter editors reported that their kids have used both this lunch box and the original L.L.Bean lunch box, which we recommend in our guide to kids lunch boxes, with little signs of wear. If they can survive a school cafeteria or a summer camp mess hall, they can definitely handle an office or a jobsite. L.L.Bean also offers a one-year satisfaction guarantee.
The streamlined, single compartment is easier to clean and air dry than models with lots of crevices, like the OXO Insulated Lunch Tote, but tomato sauce left a stain on the white nylon lining.
It insulates well. The L.L.Bean Expandable Lunch Box kept yogurt packed with freezer blocks cool for 4.5 hours. (Though the interior mesh pocket can fit a cooling element, it’s probably more effective placed underneath the food.)
Flaws but not dealbreakers
It stains easily. Tomato sauce left a noticeable stain on the L.L.Bean Expandable Lunch Box’s white interior. The lining can be challenging to keep spotless.
It can be cumbersome. We wish this insulated bag had a shoulder strap, like the Carhartt 12-Can Two Compartment Lunch Cooler—when it’s fully expanded and loaded with food or drinks, it’s heavy and the handle feels awkward.
A splashy, stylish option: The Baggu Puffy Lunch Bag
Top pick
This uncomplicated lunch bag comes in six charming prints and does a great job keeping food cool. Its soft, flexible sides help it fit in most backpacks, but it may not protect your lunch from getting squashed.
If design and aesthetics are at the top of your priority list, you can’t do much better than the Baggu Puffy Lunch Bag, with its orchid, orange tree, and strawberry prints (among others). It also feels sturdy and well made, and it did well in our insulation tests. But the lack of pockets may feel limiting to some.
It’s super chic. Baggu is known for its reusable shopping bags, which are offered in a rotating cast of delightful prints, and they give the same treatment to their insulated bags. The patterns brought us more joy than any other bag or container we tested, none of which could compare with Baggu’s sunny aesthetic.
Its single compartment is the ideal size. The Baggu Puffy Lunch Bag can accommodate most of the bento boxes and lunch bowls we tested, as well as a sizable lunch composed of a sandwich, yogurt, chips, an apple, a cheese stick, and a granola bar, plus an ice pack. But its single compartment and lack of pockets may be inconvenient if you like to keep things separated. The L.L.Bean Expandable Lunch Box has zippered and velcroed pockets that could work better for you.
It keeps food cold. In our insulation tests, we found that the Baggu Puffy Lunch Bag did a better job keeping yogurt cool than most of the lunch boxes we tested. After 4.5 hours in the Baggu bag with ice packs, a cup of yogurt was 42 degrees, which is pretty close to fridge temperature.
It’s easy to clean. The shiny silver polyester interior is impermeable and water repellent. It was the only insulated lunch box we tested that wasn’t stained by tomato sauce, and the single compartment is easy to wipe down and air-dry.
It’s flexible and travels well. Because of its soft sides, the Baggu Puffy Lunch Bag was easy to stuff into a larger backpack or commuter bag. One of our testers said he liked to press the extra air out of the bag, almost suctioning it around the food. But more delicate food is at risk of being squashed. The Coleman 9-Can Cooler has a plastic insert that offers more protection, but its rigid shape makes it harder to fit into backpacks or totes.
Baggu offers a one-year limited warranty on all of its products.
Flaws but not dealbreakers
It doesn’t have a shoulder strap. The Baggu Puffy Lunch Bag can fit six cans plus an ice pack, so it can do double duty as a small beach cooler, but you might find yourself wishing for a shoulder strap when it’s carrying extra weight. Both the OXO Insulated Tote and the Carhartt Insulated 12 Can Lunch Cooler feature shoulder straps (and can fit twice as many cans).
An extra-large bag: Carhartt Insulated 12 Can Two Compartment Lunch Cooler
Top pick
If you need reliable insulation and lots of space for lunch, snacks, drinks, and ice packs, the Carhartt Insulated 12-Can Two Compartment Lunch Cooler could be a great choice. It’s well-built, with durable fabric and high-quality hardware, and a tough layer of mesh that
If you need reliable insulation and lots of space for lunch, snacks, drinks, and ice packs, the Carhartt Insulated 12-Can Two Compartment Lunch Cooler could be a great choice. It’s well-built, with durable fabric and high-quality hardware, and a tough layer of mesh that separates the two compartments. Its heft means it can hold food for more than one person, but it likely won’t fit in a backpack or larger bag.
It’s extra roomy. At what size does a lunchbox become a cooler? One of Wirecutter’s cooler picks, the RTIC Soft Cooler 20 Can, is recommended as a great option for a lunch box. Inversely, we think the Carhartt Lunch Cooler works just as well as, well, a cooler.
We packed it with a hearty sandwich, drinks, ice packs, and multiple snacks, with room to spare. All of the bento boxes and bowls we recommend fit into it, too, with extra space for drinks, snacks, and ice packs. And, of course, it can fit 12 cans. Though when it was fully loaded, we wished the shoulder strap was padded and adjustable, which would have made it more comfortable to carry for long distances.
It’s heavy-duty and easy to clean. This lunch box is highly rated on Amazon, and many of the reviews mention its durability. The exterior fabric looks like Carhartt’s signature duck canvas, but it’s actually water-repellent polyester (there are five colors to choose from—we liked the classic Carhartt brown.) The plastic interior lining is fairly taut and easy to wipe down, but tomato sauce left a faint stain.
It’s effectively designed. The two compartments are separated by a tough layer of mesh, so an ice pack in either compartment will cool the whole lunch box (though the USDA recommends using two ice packs). Fragile foods like fruit or chips can be stored separately from ice packs or tupperware, whereas the Baggu Puffy Lunch Bag’s single compartment offers little protection. It’s easy to access drinks or snacks from the top compartment of the Carhartt Lunch Cooler.
It’s well insulated. It performed well in our insulation tests, and we like that there’s plenty of space to accommodate extra ice packs. It would be harder to fit multiple ice packs in the L.L.Bean Expandable Lunch Box or the Baggu Puffy Lunch Bag, each of which has more limited capacity.
Carhartt doesn’t have a warranty policy, but the company’s website suggests that defective or damaged products might be replaced or refunded through credit.
Flaws but not dealbreakers
It’s bulky, with soft sides. The Carhartt Lunch Cooler is too big to fit into most backpacks, so if you commute by bike, foot, or subway, it may not be the best fit for you. And with soft sides, it doesn’t protect squashable food as well as other lunch boxes. If firm sides are important to you, the Coleman 9-Can Cooler has a removable rigid plastic insert, but we found its layout less convenient than the Carhartt Cooler’s.
A comfortable and versatile tote: OXO Prep and Go Insulated Lunch Tote
Top pick
This generously sized insulated lunch bag has two parallel shoulder straps that make it convenient to carry. It zips closed and can hold a lot of food, but it’s difficult to clean and dry.
Many of us are used to slinging multiple bags over our shoulders all day, every day, and we think the OXO Prep and Go Insulated Lunch Tote integrates well with diaper bags, grocery bags, messenger bags, and the like. Though it’s more difficult to clean out than other insulated bags we tested, we found ourselves reaching for it frequently for real-life use.
It’s extra spacious. You need to layer things carefully in its single compartment, with the heaviest foods on the bottom, and the lightest, most fragile foods on the top. But it can easily fit a generous lunch, several ice packs, multiple drinks, and snacks. It can also fit up to 12 cans, and while the shoulder straps aren’t padded, we still found them comfortable, even with a heavy load.
It’s versatile. The zippered top can be expanded if you need even more room, and the exterior pockets that encircle the bottom half of the bag are handy for packing napkins or utensils. But unlike the Carhartt Lunch Cooler or the L.L.Bean Expandable Lunch Box, the exterior pockets use velcro instead of zippers, so tucked away items are slightly less secure.
It keeps food cold. With a single ice pack, the OXO Lunch Tote kept yogurt at 41 degrees after 4.5 hours, which was the lowest number we measured during our insulation testing.
It’s convenient to carry. While the OXO Lunch Tote is too big to fit into most backpacks or commuter bags, its dual straps make it comfortable to wear, either over the shoulder or in the crook of an arm. It also works as a handheld bag. It feels more stylish and streamlined than the Carhartt 12-Can Insulated Lunch Cooler, but we wish it came in more than one color (navy blue).
It’s simple but well built. The wide base makes it possible to fit large bento boxes or food storage containers, and the non-skid fabric on the bottom keeps it secure while you’re packing it up. There’s also a helpful pull tab on the zipper.
This bag is covered by OXO’s limited lifetime warranty.
Flaws but not dealbreakers
It’s a challenge to clean and dry. The nature of a zip-top tote bag means you have to pry the bag open to access the interior, and the lining is loose and wrinkly, which makes it hard to wipe. We ended up hosing it down in the kitchen sink and propping it open with a wooden spoon to ensure that it dried properly.
Our picks, compared
| Lunch boxes and bowls | Dimensions | Capacity | Dishwasher/ Microwave safe? | Warranty? |
| Takenaka Bento Bite Dual | 7 by 4.5 by 4 inches | 33 ounces | yes/yes | None |
| Bentgo MicroSteel Lunch Box | 8.5 by 6.5 by 2 inches | 40 ounces | yes/yes | Two year |
| Bentgo All-In-One Salad Container | 7.25 by 7.25 by 4.5 inches | 54 ounces | yes/yes | Two year |
| W&P Porter Bowl | 7.5 inch round | 34 ounces | yes/yes | None |
| Insulated bags | ||||
| L.L.Bean Expandable Lunch Box | 9.5 by 7 by 5.75 inches | 8 soda cans | n/a | One year |
| Baggu Puffy Lunch Bag | 9 by 6.5 by 6 inches | 6 soda cans | n/a | One year |
| Carhartt Insulated 12 can Two Compartment Lunch Cooler | 11 by 7.5 by 9 inches | 12 soda cans | n/a | None |
| OXO Prep and Go Insulated Lunch Tote | 13.5 by 7 by 9 inches | 12 soda cans | n/a | Limited lifetime |
Other good lunch boxes
If you want rigid sides for extra protection and padded shoulder straps: The Coleman 9-Can Cooler, a previous pick, has a removable rigid plastic insert that can protect precious cargo, as well as padded, adjustable shoulder straps. It has a fairly large capacity, slightly bigger than the Baggu Puffy Lunch Bag (which can carry only six cans), and it did well in our insulation test.
One Wirecutter editor has used it to send bottles to daycare for two consecutive kids, and another has had one for nearly 10 years, with few signs of wear. Our main gripe with the Coleman Cooler is that the lining caught on the zipper and tore the very first time we tried it out. But a Wirecutter editor who this also happened to said it didn’t affect use at all. Still, we found the torn lining frustrating and decided to no longer recommend this lunch box as a pick.
Why you should trust us
As a mother of two and spouse of a carpenter, I’ve packed a lot of lunches—everything from coolers filled with sandwiches, seltzers, and ice packs to take to a jobsite, to leftovers packed in bento boxes to bring to the office. My years in restaurant kitchens bred a lifelong love for efficiency and tidiness, which makes me particularly discerning when it comes to food storage.
I’ve also tested kitchen scales, kids bikes, kids bike helmets, and kids lunch boxes for Wirecutter.
For this guide:
- I researched more than 30 lunch boxes and tested 12 new ones, along with our previous eight picks.
- I packed lunch in each bento box and insulated bag multiple times over a period of several weeks and assessed how well they held up in real-life situations.
- Contributor Anna Perling also tested lunch boxes in 2021. Her reporting appeared in a previous version of this guide.
- Like all Wirecutter journalists, I review and test products with complete editorial independence. I’m never made aware of any business implications of my editorial recommendations. Read more about our editorial standards.
How we picked and tested
Because lunch box requirements can vary widely from person to person, we tested bento boxes, lunch bowls, and insulated fabric bags. We also have a guide to the best kids lunch boxes, which tend to be smaller and feature design elements like unicorns and dinosaurs.
We read countless reviews online, specifically searching for comments on durability. Wirecutter editors shared their personal experiences with several picks. In 2024, we tested 12 new models in addition to our previous eight picks.
All lunch boxes should be durable, stain-resistant, and easy to clean and transport. You should be able to get a good insulated bag for around $30, while high-end bento boxes can cost around $40. Here are the qualities we looked for.
- Thoughtfully designed and spacious. Appropriately sized compartments in bento boxes help keep meals tidy, and provide space for dressing or toppings. With insulated bags, you should be able to fit many elements of a lunch, plus drinks, snacks, and ice packs. Many of them can double as small coolers for weekend beach trips; we tested some that can fit up to 12 cans.
- Durable. A bento box should be able to survive being dropped and shoved into crowded bags, and have high-quality latches and hinges. You should be able to throw it into your backpack or purse and trust that it’ll stay tightly closed. Insulated bags should have sturdy zippers and hard-wearing fabric that will last for several years.
- Easy to clean. Many bento boxes are dishwasher-safe. If you have one that’s not, it shouldn’t have crevices or tight corners that make hand-washing difficult. A damp cloth or sponge should be able to take care of most spills in insulated bags, and smells or stains shouldn’t linger.
- Comfortable and maneuverable. Insulated bags should be able to fit into a larger work backpack or tote, or be comfortable to carry on their own. Bonus points if there’s an adjustable, padded shoulder strap.
- Aesthetically pleasing. Using an attractive bento box or insulated bag can bring joy to your lunch break, and may even inspire you to pack more thoughtful lunches.
- Effective and leakproof. Though most bento boxes don’t claim to be fully leakproof, some do a better job than others of keeping wetter, messier foods contained. And with the help of ice packs, an insulated bag should keep your lunch cool for several hours.
For testing, we relied on the same methodology we followed for our kids lunch box guide.
We evaluated size and comfort. We assessed how well each model fit a generous lunch, and tested any adjustable straps and handles for comfort and functionality.
We did leak tests on bento boxes and lunch bowls. We filled designated compartments with water, closed and shook the boxes, and assessed whether it seeped between compartments, or out of the container.
We tested durability and stain resistance. We dropped the bento boxes from waist height onto concrete. Then we splashed a tablespoon of tomato sauce inside the bags, bowls, and boxes and let it sit overnight before attempting to clean it.
We tested insulation. We put a single serving of yogurt in each insulated lunch bag with first one Igloo Maxcold Ice Medium Freeze Block, and then two, testing the temperature of the yogurt after 4.5 hours both times. Using one ice pack is what many people probably do in real life, but in our tests, yogurt ended up just out of the safety range recommended by the USDA. Using two ice packs, as recommended by the USDA, kept yogurt at a safe temperature in most of the insulated bags we tested.
Who this is for
If you pack lunch on a regular basis, it might be worth investing in a high-quality lunch box. Whether you choose a bento box, a lunch bowl, or an insulated bag will depend on a few factors.
First, what do you like to eat? If you frequently pack salads for lunch, a bowl with separate compartments for toppings and dressing could be helpful. Maybe you rely on leftovers on a regular basis: In this case, a leakproof bento box (or a reliable food storage container) would serve you well. A sandwich-chips-granola bar-jerky-apple-seltzer lunch probably wants to be nestled in an insulated bag.
Next, consider where you’ll be eating. Do you have access to refrigeration? A tidy bento box can fit neatly in a crowded office fridge. Maybe you’re on a jobsite for ten hours a day with no fridge. If so, you’ll probably want a roomy insulated bag that can fit lunch, snacks, drinks, and ice packs.
Finally, it’s helpful to consider your mode of transportation. Do you need something sturdy and leakproof that you can throw in a backpack, or something petite that can fit in your bicycle panniers? An insulated tote bag with shoulder straps might feel intuitive if you regularly walk to work. Will your lunch box sit in a hot car from 7 am to noon? If so, a bigger insulated bag that can fit lunch, snacks, and a few large ice packs could be a good choice.
The competition
Bentos and bowls
PlanetBox makes some of our favorite kids lunch boxes, but we didn’t love the Explorer, their adult model. The leakproof lid relies on a silicone seal that comes loose easily and is hard to fit back in.
Slightly smaller than our pick, the Takenaka Bento Snack Dual is best for snacky meals and can’t fit a sandwich. The Takenaka Bento Flat Dual is the plant-based version of our pick. It is essentially the same, but it shattered in our drop tests. You can also purchase the single-tiered version of our pick, the Takenaka Bento Bite, for smaller amounts of food, but we prefer the Bento Bite Dual for its versatility. The Takenaka Bento Bowl is cute, but the locking tabs broke in our drop tests.
The W&P Ceramic Porter Bowl is as nice-looking as the plastic option, but it’s heavy, and it shattered (duh) during our drop tests.
Monbento’s MB Square comes in several appealing patterns and fits a huge amount of food, but the plastic feels cheap, and part of the lid broke off during our drop test. The MB Original is made of the same plastic, which showed unappealing fingerprints after we packed it with food.
The OXO Prep and Go Salad Container was the same affordable price as the Bentgo All-In-One Salad Container when we tested it, but it felt cheaper, stained easily, and broke during our drop tests. Similarly, the OXO 4.1 Cup Divided Container felt cheaper than other bento boxes we tested.
The shallow, one-tier, stainless steel Onyx Divided Airtight Storage Container feels basic for the price, and the compartments didn’t do a great job separating foods.
Wet or messy foods seeped from section to section in the PackIt Mod Lunch Bento Food Storage Container—despite its three dividers.
The basic, stainless steel EcoLunchbox 3-in-1 Classic has a separate container for dressings or dips and multiple tiers to stack foods. We wished it had a gasket or lining on the lid to prevent major leaks.
Insulated bags
The Bentgo Deluxe Lunch Bag has dual compartments, like the Carhartt Insulated 12-Can Lunch Cooler, but it showed stains easily. It’s smaller, which could be appealing to some commuters.
The Built Prime Lunch Bag, a previous pick, also has two compartments, but we didn’t like the insulated velcro divider that separated them. We also found it unintuitive to pack.
The L.L.Bean Flip Top Lunch Box is as durable and well made as the L.L.Bean Expandable Lunch Box, but it was harder to fit into a backpack or commuter bag, despite holding the same amount of food or cans.
Though we loved the design features on the Hydro Flask 8 L Lunch Tote, this bag was the hardest to fill and clean of any we tested. The Hydro Flask 5 L Insulated Lunch Bag, a former pick, didn’t perform well in our 2024 insulation testing, and it couldn’t easily fit most of our bento box and bowl picks.
We tested Yeti’s Daytrip Lunch Box and Packable Lunch Bag, but at $80 each, we expected better performance during our insulation testing. And we found them awkward to carry around.
The Baggu Lunch Box is just as cute as the company’s Puffy Lunch Bag, but we found its size to be better suited for a kid’s lunch.
The PackIt Freezable Classic Lunch Box is bulky, heavy, and hard to fill. And it takes up valuable freezer space compared with a stackable, thin ice pack.
The Fulton Bag Co. Upright Lunch Bag is most similar to the L.L.Bean lunch box in size and features. But the liner on the Fulton bag ripped when we tried to clean it with a sponge, so we dismissed it.
This article was edited by Gabriella Gershenson and Marguerite Preston.
Sources
Maangchi, author of Maangchi’s Big Book of Korean Cooking: From Everyday Meals to Celebration Cuisine and the recipe blog Maangchi, email interview, July 26, 2021
Max Halley, owner of Max’s Sandwich Shop and author of Max's Picnic Book: An Ode to the Art of Picnicking, email interview, July 26, 2021
Allison Day, author of Modern Lunch: + 100 Recipes for Assembling the New Midday Meal, email interview, July 22, 2021
Namiko Chen, author of the Just One Cookbook blog, email interview, July 28, 2021
Further reading
The Best Kids Lunch Boxes
A great lunch box should be durable, easy to pack, and simple for kids to handle. We’ve tested dozens of insulated lunch bags and bento boxes to find the best.
This Pricey Kids Lunch Box Is Worth Every Penny
PlanetBox lunch boxes are durable, easy to use, and sustainable, making them a good value for your money.
40(ish) Wirecutter Picks for Heading Back to School
Here are 40(ish) of our favorite school supplies.
The Best Labels for Kids School Gear and Clothing
Customized labels are a cute and convenient way to help kids keep track of their own stuff—and get things back when they’re lost.
Comments are disabled
Comments are disabled because they require cookies and you have opted out of cookies for this site. You can change your cookie preferences to enable comments.
You can also contact us or send us a tweet, or find us on Facebook.