Customer Reviews

Zojirushi SL-XB20HG Classic Stainless-Steel Lunch Jar

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I had seen my Japanese coworkers carry this thing to work. It's a great lunch bag! Beats brown bagging, because hot foods stay hot, and cold foods stay cold. I finally bought one because of the ease of use, didn't want to keep paying $$$ for hot lunches, and I can always bring my favorite foods. The bottom container is the only leakproof container. (That is my only gripe.) I usually put soup in here. The other containers will hold things without sauces very well. It's great because it allows for a large variety of foods (better nutrition). I have used bento lunch boxes since I was kid, and this is the best for adults. I like asian food, and this type of lunch box accomodates the best.

If you want to fill hot food, then pour in hot water in the containers for 10 minutes, let it get warm. Pour out the water, dry. Then fill. If you want ice cold food, put in freezer for 10 minutes, then put food in.

They also make bigger versions for larger appetites and another smaller one for small appetites. They really do stay hot. Once I had to take a very late lunch, I packed it at 7am, and at 2:30pm the food was still hot. No more waiting in line to microwave your lunch !!!

Ever since the reports about the risks of chemicals leeching from plastics that have been microwaved, I've been wary of carrying microwaveable lunches to work. I was very happy to find this lunch jar. I chose to buy this instead of the four-container Mr. Bento because I wanted the larger volume, but I have found that the Classic Lunch Jar can hold more food than I can eat (I'm a woman who can put away a large prime rib for dinner, but not in need of huge quantities for lunch). The middle container, which stands about 3.5 inches deep and 4 inches wide, is cavernous, and can alone hold more than a modest dinnerplate's worth of food.

I've found that putting soup into the bottom container is essential to keeping the middle container hot. It acts as the heat pack for the middle container. I usually heat canned soup in the morning in a pan, and pour it near-boiling into the container, and drop it into the bottom of the jar to start off. After 4 hours, the soup will still be too hot to eat!

Then, for the middle container, I heat up some leftover starches (rice, potatoes, etc.) and some sort of entree. I put the starches on the bottom, and pile the entree on top. The lid of the middle container has a hollow space built in to insulate it from the top container. The food in the middle container is still quite hot after 4 hours.

The top container should be reserved for something that would be eaten at room temperature. I think it was designed that way, judging by the pictures on the packaging. I can't read Japanese, so I was only able to guess. The picture shaded the jar from red to orange to yellow to white, starting from the bottom, which accurately corresponds to the temperature of my food after 4 hours (red being hottest, white being room temp).

I've tried putting an entree in the top container, to separate it from the starches, but it had cooled to near room temperature by the time I opened it 4 hours later. On the other hand, I've also put salad in there, and the salad was unmarred by the heat of the bottom containers after 4 hours.

If you're going to put cold food into the top container, I would recommend that you leave the top inch of the middle container empty as a heat buffer.

The only awkward thing about the container is that the soup container has a rubber ring gasket and a tiny dime-sized rubber vent cover, both of which need to be popped off and cleaned after each use. Otherwise, gunk will get into the gaps and get really gross. I've found that sticking the pointy end of the chopstick into the gasket groove will pry the thing out easily, and the valve cover is easy enough to take off. My only concern is that I swear that I'm going to lose or break either of them one day soon. But if that's the secret to being able to keep soup boiling hot for hours in a container that screws shut without leaking, then I'm willing to put in the extra effort.

Needless to say, I love this lunch jar, and would recommend it to anyone.

Check out the Zojirushi Lunch Jar fan club in Flickr. People have posted pictures of their lunches each day for all to admire. It's entitled Mr. Bento Porn.

This lunch jar holds 8 oz. more than Mr. Bento, has 3 useful containers, and fits in my briefcase. It came with instructions in English and Japanese. The soup bowl fits in the bottom, the large container on top, and the smaller container on top. It is great for those watching their weight, as the large container can hold a generous salad of shredded vegetables with low fat protein source (meat, fish, fowl, beans/tofu). The top container can hold a fruitcup of sliced or chopped fruit (fresh or frozen) and the small container, which is labeled the soup container, would be fine for croutons, nuts, or a late afternoon snack.
There is no limit to what can be packed in, including sandwiches if you round them off. The chopstick holder is very clever and makes eating a slower process, which helps with appetite control.
It should pay for itself in a month or less with money saved from buying lunches, and the health benefits are great.
Also a good idea for breakfast on the go -- hot cereal, fruit, juice in the soup bowl.

I bought this exact Mr. Bento lunch jar just as I went on The South Beach Diet in April of 2005. By July, I had already lost 45 lbs! How?

The bowls were perfect for portion control (my biggest eating weakness). I used the soup bowl at the bottom for sugar-free Jello, the middle (rice) bowl was for my salad/veggies, and the top (main-course) bowl is where I'd put my meat, usually a tuna or chicken dish. Since I would carry fish and/or chicken as my meat, I would put the meat bowl in the fridge when I got to work, but I'd keep the rest in my O'Neill back-pack (which has an insulated compartment at the bottom that is almost the exact same size as the lunch box). Doing that would keep the food at a good enough eating temperature for me.

By sticking to the South Beach Diet (and extending the first two weeks of it to one full month) and using this lunch jar to carry my food while controlling my portions, I was ultimately able to lose 80 lbs. by November, 2006. The jar has also helped me to keep my weight down. In the almost two years since I stopped losing weight, it has fluctuated only +/- five pounds.

Even if you're not on a diet, this lunch box is much better and more functional the old-timey "Herman Munster" lunch boxes of days of yore! I very highly recommend it! Just don't put liquids into anything but the soup bowl or you'll have a mess on your hands!

The only "negative" I have (and this is by no means a "show stopper") is that the Japanese haven't modified this lunch jar to our market. It comes with a long, thin plastic box that snaps to the outside of the jar and contains a pair of chopsticks. While I can use chopsticks as well as anyone in Asia, it would be nice if they'd come up with a nice fork and spoon (or spork) to go into the chopstick box for those of us on this side of the Pacific. Perhaps if these become more popular in the USA (and beyond), they'll do just that.

Because I work outside and I keep the container in my truck - which can be very cold in the winter - the food don't stay hot for a long time. I usually pack my food - hot - around 6.30 am and by 12.00 noon the food is cold. It did not work out too good for me but I may be asking too much.

Great design. Could improve sealing on the containges so they do not spill if the jar tips on a side.

Works great!

Just remember, it keeps *either* hot food hot *or* cold food cold. The containers aren't insulated from each other, just from the outside. It does a decent job insulating, but your piping hot food you load in the morning will not be quite piping hot at lunch time. If you've got access to a microwave, you may want to heat things up a bit; if not you'll probably find lunch warm enough if it was hot when you loaded it.

Others at work will be impressed when you pull out your four-course lunch.

The chopstick container is pretty cool, it keeps the sticks clean and handy. As others have said, there is only one container that will hold liquids, and the portion sizes certainly aren't "super size me," but we probably don't really need that much food anyway :-)

In the morning, I packed my lunch and brought it to work. At 2pm, when I've already worked pass my lunch hour my food was still hot! And since I like to munch on things as often as I can, this was great because it can hold so much food and keep all them separate! I have a container for my midmorning soup, lunch stuff and dessert space. All in one container with a bag where you can fit utensils! also very good for picnics, if you pack the containers pretty full, you definitely have enough food for two!

Having purchased Zojirushi products before, I was expecting a great quality product, and the SL-XB20 Classic Stainless Lunch Jar lived up to my expectations. When I took it out of the packaging, I was surprised by its size. It can fit a very large quantity of food, so there's no worrying about going hungry. It comes with a pair of plastic chopsticks that fit in a small plastic holder that fits on the side of the lunch jar. It keeps hot foods hot for a good long time, but I have not tried cold foods yet (but I would expect similar results). All in all, I'd say that the lunch jar is a high quality product that meets all standards in the product description.

Nice design, with plenty of room in each container for food. I was hoping for more thermal protection. It does not keep food warm for very long. Very little insulation. But it is well made.