Customer Reviews

Eco Friendly Laptop Lunch Bento Box-PBA Free-Whimsical

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

All I can offer is our experience over the course of a year (so far) using our Laptop Lunchbox System (including the outer neoprene bag) several times per week.

- Holds *plenty* of food for my kindergartener. For example: a sandwich (cut into quarters, stood on end in the large unlidded container), sunchips (in the 'lidded' large contaier, but w/o the lid), a small container of veggies (grape tomatoes are a fave), and the other small container of fruit (apple slices, grapes, cantelope, etc). For lunches like these, we don't always pack utensils, so I fill that space with a napkin (cloth) and/or a treat or string cheese stick, etc.

- The bag has space for a drink (though, I agree, I'm not a fan of the included plastic bottle for a child), and it has a mesh pocket in the cover that perfectly fits our long/rectangular clay ice pack. It also has an exterior zip pocket for small/flat extras (like a napkin, if it wasn't tucked inside, or ice cream money, if you were so inclined!). Surprisingly, it doesn't really show much wear (not just in terms of the seams, etc, but in terms of dirt/stains either). It also has a rubbery tag on it, with a space to label it with a name.

- It has held up beautifully. Ours is *always* put into the dishwasher (top rack) and we haven't seen any real wear-n-tear yet. The 'hinge' isn't showing any distress. The box is still easy to open/close (my kindergartener has always done so herself), and it still stays shut completely when closed. We will definitely be using this next year too, and I have no reason to believe we won't be using it well beyond that too.

My ONE gripe:
- I really, really, really wish that there was a lid option for the smaller container(s). I would occasionally like to send a small portion of something 'wet' (like applesauce) and a lid would make that possible. Press N Seal wrap works great to 'seal' it until lunchtime, BUT it isn't RE-sealable which is a problem if it doesn't all get eaten.

Overall, I'm VERY pleased with it (and my kindergartener thinks she has the coolest lunchbox at school!).

My kindergartener has been using a laptop lunch and the insulated carrying case all year long and it has held up great! We have two of the bento sets (so one can be in the dishwasher) and one insulated case. They are not showing any signs of wear. He loves his 'robot box' and uses it every single day without fail. He loves to help decide what to put in each container and I think he eats better because he can see everything at the same time (versus having multiple separate containers).

There are things I would like to change about the design (make it in stainless steel and have more lids), but overall we are very happy. We use my son's Kleen Kanteen in place of the plastic water bottle (a small SIGG bottle fits as well).

My second child starts preschool next year and he has been waiting months for the chance to pick out his own box. He can open/close it completely by himself (he's three). I am going to go ahead and purchase his just because he is so excited about it!

I bought two laptop lunch boxes and cases for my 4 & 6 year olds. They both love them so much. My 6 year old in first grade loves it and takes it everyday for lunch in the insulated case. It allows her some say in what we pack for lunch. She has a sandwhich, veggie, fruit, carb, cheese stick. Before she would just have all these reusuable containers and it would be overwhelming and a lot to manage.

She loves the one container with the lid as she likes carrots with ice to keep them moist and cold. I know it is high maintenance, but it works for her. She is able to open and close it so the water doesn't leak. I pack fruit and other semi moist things in the contaiers without the lids and never had a complaint. And my daughter would say something if it was not exactly a certain way.

I've never had a complaint from either kid or teacher that they can't open the boxes or have any trouble with the inside boxes. My daugher loves the carrying case the multi colored with the purple case is her favorite. My other daughter has the all pink. My older daughter is proud taht she doesn't creat trash at all with the only exception being the cheese stick wrapper on those days. I feel we use more veggies and fruit and less processed food overall.

We love our boxes and think they are great!

We have had this product for well over a year...probably closer to two years. We ordered them (we purchased two for ourselves and several others for gifts) via our County Waste District for $12 ea. (serious bargain). We love 'em, our giftees love 'em. What's not to love... seriously?
Laptop Lunch is large enough for a medium to light lunch for a grown up and perfectly sized for a hearty lunch for a child.
The lidded containers are great for lugging snacks in your purse
The lidless containers get used as snack and meal boxes for our toddler around our house (less mess than a plate or bowl.
The entire rig is dishwasher safe (top rack always).
We get TONS of comments and compliments on the lunch box.
You can order extra containers and lids (from the manufacturer) should you want more lidded options.
Its easy for a toddler to open and close. My son has used this system since he was 1 1/2. No problem what so ever.
Even though we are not vegan (by a mile), we get lots of lunch time inspiration from vegan lunch box dot com. The site has lots of photos and reviews of the lunches.

My ONLY complaint is that the lid sometimes doesn't stay all the way closed. This is remedied by using the accompanying insulated case...but that doesn't fit well into my son's day care backpack, and until recently, he wasn't all that good with zippers. So we do without the insulated case and use a piece of tape or a really cool sticker instead.

UPDATE++++++
As of December 2011 we are STILL using these in regular rotation. My son, daughter, husband and I all LOVE this product. We have tried a couple of others (the stacking Bento style, etc.) and keep going back to the Laptop Lunch. We get so many comments/compliments on it. They have updated it a bit to make it even better.

my son is on the gluten free diet and this lunchbox makes it easy to make it fun. i take each container and put in something different for my kindergartner, such as a veggie, a fruit, treat, and the main entree. if i only use one of the big containers i can put in a juice box in that spot. my first grader now wants one too! i agree with another reviewer that i wish there was a cover for one of the small containers for applesauce and such.

The concept is great, but the product is not well made or easy to use. At first it was difficult to open. The kids had to get help from teachers. After a couple of weeks it won't close well. It just pops open and the contents spill out. I haven't washed it in the dishwasher to cause it to warp...it just happened from handwashing over a very short period of time (weeks). Also, the lid on the container on the inside is difficult to seal. Finally, it needs a handle so the kids can grab it easily. It's very awkward to carry around. The only thing I really like is the fork and spoon. I would love this kind of product if it was done right, but this is way off the mark. I gave it one star for the concept.

I purchased this box for my preschooler with high expectations. It looks like I can pack in variety of fresh healthy food for my son's lunch. After about a year of use, my son still complains that it's hard to open the box (not the containers but the big box) and asked not to use it anymore. I also hate the fact that there is only one lid making packing challenging for me. I either have to dry all fruit and veggies before I pack them, or use Cling wrap which I have been doing. I also don't like that sandwiches touch the top of the box. I like the concept and PBA-Free aspect of it, but for the most part it doen'st work for us.

I purchased this for my 6 year old because it is supposed to be for kids. It is very hard to open, even for me. And he can't open it at all by himself, so he basically can't use it for school. I'm also disappointed because only two of the four boxes have lids, which limits the types of food that can be included. I've kept it for myself, but I'm not as happy as I thought I'd be with this. I wouldn't have purchased it if I'd known.

Love the idea of this lunch box...we actually used it happily all last year for "mommy & me" preschool and it worked great because I was able to be there and open it for her. However did not seem to want to stay closed very well without a good solid push closed. But this year is a no go since my 3-1/2 year old just can't open it by herself. I tried to help her learn how to open it all summer but it is just too hard for her. Apparently even the teacher couldn't figure it out either and spilled her lunch all over the floor on the first day :(

It has held up pretty well for the most part for the last year using it once a week and handwashing only. I never used the included bottle so I can't really comment on that except for the fact that it looked pretty flimsy and cheap. I couldn't fit her 12oz Klean Kanteen in the insulated bag along with the bento box so unfortunately we had to carry her drink separately which was kind of annoying.

So we're trying to find something else for her that she'll be able to open herself. Laptop lunches has come out with a new "2.0 series" bento box but I called them and they said the front latch was still the same one as the original so we won't be getting that. They do have an option to purchase just new little boxes called "bento buddies" that all have their own lids which I think would work pretty well in a traditional style lunch box with a zipper to open.

I sure wish I had read reviews before I spent money on this for my son.

1. Too hard to open for small child
2. No handle, so no good for kids (what was I thinking?)
3. Only 2 of the five insert containers have lids, so the box must be kept perfectly flat to keep items in the other 3 containers from spilling. Obviously liquids or stews are not possible in the 3 of 5 containers with no lids (one of the three with a lid is tiny - condiment size, which really only leaves one useful container with a lid.
4. Expensive.
5. The box isn't too well made - I don't expect it will last more than a year (if that).