Which lunch pack should I buy?!!

[hindonly]

Wow there are sooo many of them to choose from! So exp'd mums which ones are the best to buy pls?
I did hear another mum talking in that particular aisle while I was looking and she was saying how this one didn't last the distance & ended up looking tatty & she mentioned a few other things too!
So which would you recommend?
Also any other advice you want to share with a mum with her 1st school age child would be much appreciated

thx in advance.

[Ella]

Apparently the Tupperware ones last for ages. I haven't had one myself though, maybe ask if anyone else has?

[hindonly]

lol maybe they're all much the same since there are ppl viewing and not responding.
thx Ella

[anney]

Have found the Smash brand pretty good. they last well. I would say to get one that will fit an ice pack, maybe one with the icepack in the top as sometimes the icepack squishes the fruit if it is in with it. they all look a bit tatty after about 9 months but usually get a year out of them.
ETA - don't get anything with a hard plastic trim as that tends to crack ie. needs to be a fabric type.

[hindonly]

thx Annie that was helpful. Will watch out for the plastic trim!

[*Ash*]

Hi,

I was over whelmed when I went to buy my DD a lunch box last week! Talk about over kill...
Anyway, I decided on an insulated bag that has 2 compartments, and includes a little ice pack in an internal front panel of the bottom compartment. This is the section for bigger items, like a container of pasta salad or a sandwich. It comes with a container in the compartment. In the top, smaller compartment, I will put the recess/little lunch with another small ice pack. The brand is California Innovations, and it cost about $10 at Kmart. I am also considering buying some Earth wrap, the reusable, resealable wrap to avoid using lots of little plastic containers that take up too much space.

OT: The insulated bag claims to have been checked and passed by the Lead Safe Detection System. Is lead a problem in insulated bags? I have never heard about it. Or is this just a marketing ploy (comparable with products who claim they are gluten free, when they would never have gluten in them any way, like rice!).

[Talia*L]

LOVE the Tupperware one! The one with the big sandwich (or salad / noodles etc) compartment, the drink box compartment, and a couple of small ones (for cut up fruit / veg etc.).

It lasts for life, since it has a lifetime guarantee I use them myself already for DH and I! Plus mum uses them for my 8 year old sister, has used them since kinda. They go in the dishwasher.

[christy]

I often wonder about all of it.... I use a tupperware bento box, or an insulated bag with an ice block and reuseable wraps from WAHM's. Most of the time, its the tupperware box, and I just pack things that can be left out, if I pack carrot sticks we use the insulated bag for them and a small tub of hummous. But I find that they keep fine in the bento box anyway. I generally pack 2 snacks, 1 piece of fruit and a sandwich and thats enough for school... they have afternoon tea as soon as we get home.

HTH!

[Bathsheba]

Ok I've had 12 years of buying lunch-boxes LOL (my eldest is 15 and I bought the first one when she went to 3yo kinder).

Hard box or soft insulted ones are good for little kids because they aren't too rough with their bags (ages under 6).

Older than 6 you can still get away with soft insulated ones if the children are taught to be respectful of their bags and if they have their own lockers etc. My DD went to a girls school and this was the case. I wouldn't buy one for my 6yo DS as the bags are not as respected... they get walked on etc.

I don't buy soft ones for my teenage DD as now that she is in high school the girls are starting to get careless and the teachers not as vigilant... she refuses to use the soft ones as "my sandwiches just keep getting squashed". it has to be a hard flatish one... Systema makes a style that she is happy with and that protects her lunch.

I might look into Tupperware if they make hard ones. Decor and Systema have been ok up to date. Don't buy the ones with removable plastic latches on the side... they get lost. If you can find the old fashioned type with the lid attached to the main box on a plastic hinge then they are often good. i found one in an Op Shop once... it was great until it was lost.

Don't spend a fortune. They get lost. Label both lid and box.... ideally in permanent marker, doesn't sound very pretty but most stickers fail in some way from my experience. I have also found the soft insulated ones hard to clean...and they often end up getting smelly... you can try to soak them in bleach etc but i suspect this wrecks the foam insulation after a while.

[Pandora]

Tupperware sell both sorts. Large ones with differnt compartments, and small ones that fit 1 large or two small sandwiches.
The lids are hinged, and the lunchboxes are covered byt he lifetime warranty.
They also have sets where you get an insulated bag, and hard containers that to in the bag.

[Bathsheba]

oooh hinged lids... i'm looking into this!

[*Ash*]

I wouldn't buy one for my 6yo DS as the bags are not as respected... they get walked on etc.

Oh dear, I didn't even think about that! Good point. I figure that it will last the year and that's it.....if I'm lucky.

[Rach75]

yep tupperware sandwich keepers are the way to go or the larger sandwich keeper with capartments, we bought the insulated pack came with drink bottle, swich keeper and 2 small containers great for small snacks and as PP have said life time warranty tupperware will replce swich keepers if hinge breaks the insulated pack part isn't covered though IYKWIM... but the containers are they can be dear but we got ur at a bargain price due to be ice age 3 sellout stuff