Classic Bento Vacuum Lunch Jar

Product Description

Lunch is an important meal; so pack a good one. Zojirushi' s stainless steel lunch jars work for both hot and cold foods. Ideal for hot meals, soups, oatmeal, cold entrees, desserts and much more. The jar's vacuum insulation provides the best heat retention (160 Degree F at 6 hours). Each jar consists of a hot or cold temperature section, and room temperature section. The interior of this lunch jar is made of high quality stainless steel, and includes 3 plastic BPA free inner bowls. 5 year warranty on vacuum insulation. This jar has a 49 ounce total capacity.

Features

• Durable Stainless steel construction with excellent heat retention
• 3 microwaveable inner bowls
• Washable nonstick coated outer container
• Includes chopsticks, chopsticks holder, and convenient carry strap for easy transport
• 49 ounce total capacity

Top Reviews

Read Me If You Eat Lunch In Your Vehicle
by Clarion (5 out of 5 stars)
October 5, 2015

Do you work out of your vehicle all day, but want to eat a hot lunch from home? Then read on:

The first thing you need to know is that if you are always in your vehicle and have a predictable schedule that you can control, then what you really want is a RoadPro. See my review here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R1EEQ9YJ290397.

The RoadPro requires some planning however, and a reliable battery if your engine is not always running. What if your time for lunch can be unpredictable? The RoadPro needs around one hour advance notice, so an unplanned decision to eat now won't work. And an unexpected delay can lead to an over-cooked, even burned, lunch.

Often, I can plan ahead and I use RoadPro. But there are other times where I do not control when we eat, the vehicle is usually not running, and the battery is suspect.

Enter the Zojirushi Classic Bento Lunch Jar. It will keep your lunch warm for you, ready to eat whenever you are. But there are some problems, both for American-style eaters, and for people eating out of their vehicles. The two problems sort of inter-twine. The Bento style of eating has a couple of different food courses, with nice little individual containers to hold them. Four separate items seems to be the norm. All well and good if you can eat at a table or desk. But in your vehicle you have to eat in your lap, more or less, and juggling 4 individual food containers plus a beverage is simply not going to happen. Ideally, the entire meal would be in one container that is easily balanced (or held) in the lap.

I looked at a million insulated lunch containers. Reading all the reviews, it seemed a lot of the units wouldn't keep food warm much beyond three hours, which would be no good. And all the others that kept things warm from 4 to 6+ hours had a bunch of tiny containers, or they were the American style (Thermos/Stanley) which, while too small, where also too vertical. When we eat, we want horizontal. Vertical would be okay I suppose for soups and stuff if you go off camping once a year. But eating like that every day for lunch? -No.

The round insulated Lunchbot container is very popular, but at 16oz far too small for a workingman. Another negative is that reviews indicate inadequate insulation to make it until lunch time. Still, they've got the right idea with wider rather than taller.

The ideal would be a vacuum insulated unit with just one container of about 4 cups (32 oz, 1ltr) that is wider, rather than taller. Rectangular would be my preference. To my surprise however, there is no such thing. Well, maybe there is: [deleted by Amazon]. But it ships from China and there's not a single review. Perhaps a brave soul will order one and report back. At 1.3L overall capacity the main (lower) food storage area should be adequate. The question would be the insulation.

So it appears we are left with the Zojirushi. As I understand it this is their largest overall thermos and rather than the standard four containers it comes with only three and one of those is the largest container they make (unique to this model), which comes in at just under 3-1/2 cups (26 oz, 0.8ltr). A little small, but survivable, except for it's shape, which is deeper than it is wide. This makes putting food items side by side and eating them as on a plate impractical (but still preferable to Thermos/Stanley concept because here you have a removable container with a much larger mouth). The answer to our dilemma would appear to be true one-dish meals with everything (protein, starch, veggies) all mixed together, no need for any separation. Doable for me for the few months, but could get a bit monotonous as a routine. There is another much, much smaller container that is spill proof and meant to be held warm. Then there is a medium sized container that is held at ambient temperature. Don't misunderstand: With all three containers together there is enough food storage to feed a very hungry man. But a man in a vehicle cannot easily eat out of 2 or 3 separate containers.

The other draw back is mornings. Each morning you must pour heated water into your thermos to pre-warm it, fill the Zojirushi food container(s) with your meal(s), heat them, and then assemble all in the thermos. If you're like me, mornings are already busy enough. Compare this with RoadPro where you can make your meals up ahead of time, place them in suitable containers in the fridge, and come morning you simply grab one and you're out the door. The cooking/warming takes place while you're already at work.

I'll report back after a month or so of using the SL-XD20, and we'll see where we stand.

Geez...rough crowd. All this work and somebody elected to tell me my review was unhelpful. I can't write about what I don't know. Well, I've used it now for two days and I can tell you three things:
1. It has stayed perfectly hot for 5 hours
2. The one large container holds more food than I thought, and both times I did not finish every last bit, so perfectly adequate
3. The shape of the container makes it very easy to hold in your lap with one hand while eating.

More to come, but for now I'm trying to keep the hounds at bay...
11/21/15 Update: Completely happy. Never had a cold lunch, and I think I even went 7 hours once, 6 hours frequently with no problem. I stopped pre-heating the unit with boiling water and did not notice a difference. This might be necessary when temps become frigid. In this event, one could even pour boiling water into the little soup container at the bottom, if required, to keep everything warm.

Never went hungry either, and I'm a big eater. The one large container is big enough (I've yet to use the other two containers). The only drawback (as I said earlier) in having to eat out of a relatively deep and narrow bowl. This limits the meal selection somewhat, but it is what it is. The price has come down $2 to $56, which is good. It's worth about $45, but when you've got a monopoly...

A request: One should be able to buy replacement inserts. I am sure after a million cycles in the microwave the inserts will wear out. But also it would be nice to have a bunch of them so meals could be prepared ahead of time and stored in the fridge, ready to go.

Anyone from Zojirushi listening?

Bon Appétit!
4/13/16: Update: Used all winter, and a bunch of my colleges bought one as well. Just as happy as on day one. These things are good.
5/27/16: Update: The part number for a main bowl (26oz) replacement is 7-SLX-P021. You can also get the same bowl in two smaller sizes: 20oz is 7-SLG-P030, and 15oz is 7-SLJ-P030. Go to Zojirushi's website and you can order them. The link is in the comments below, but Amazon seems to delete it a lot.

These three replacement main bowls have an identical diameter and lid and any combination of two of the three sizes will fit inside the unit if you remove the two other small containers that come with it. I have really never found a use for these other two. I don't eat soup and they are too small for me.

I eat a lot of white rice and find that by lunch time it gets pretty soaked by the main course (if stored together in the main bowl) and I find this unappealing, so I now use the 20oz 7-SLG-P030 to put the rice in. True, now I have to juggle two bowls, but I find that setting the large bowl in my lap and holding the rice bowl in my hand is not too difficult. And it also helps solve the problem of trying to eat out of one very deep and narrow container. Anyway, the bowls are priced reasonably, so if you buy a bunch and plan ahead you can fill them and put them in the fridge. Still quite happy after about a zillion lunches.
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A great, functional product if used properly.
by Amazon Customer (5 out of 5 stars)
October 4, 2016

The three containers are perfect sized for a meal of rice, soup and salad. The plastic chopsticks are a bonus, though currently we do not have a use for them. The main jar is just the right size to carry around comfortably. Today is the first day we have used it to pack lunch for my son for school, so it remains to be seen how warm/ hot it kept the food over next 4 hours or so. I rinsed the main jar from the inside with hot tap water before placing the containers to keep the food hot. Overall, I loved the product for its make and appearance.

Update: After a week of use, I am satisfied with this product. My son notes that after 4 hours (since I pack his lunch in the morning) his food is nice and warm during lunch time. In order to get the most out of the insulated lunch jar, I always heat up the food before packing it in individual containers. I fill up the main insulated jar with hot, boiling water all the way to the top. Then, drain the water and place the containers in. It is a little extra work but it is worth it in order to enjoy warm food :)
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And we are happy with this in general
by Amazon Customer (5 out of 5 stars)
December 8, 2017

I bought 2 for me & wife. And we are happy with this in general. Only one container is leak-proof, so we usually put liquid food in that. The top container keeps the food in the room warmth. Be sure to put boiling water inside the bottom container even if you won't use it. That will keep your food warm for hours. But also be sure that you consume the food before 5-6 hours. After that it won't be that healthy. And make sure you wash them well, because the containers can start to smell if you don't wash them well. We are only hand washing them. Been 4 months and no complaints so far.
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Perfect for lunch on the go.
by JapaneseRetardCat (5 out of 5 stars)
July 20, 2015

This is great for people that work outside and are tired of fast food or cold sandwiches. It says is rated for keeping food warm for 5-6 hours, but there have been several times that I never had a chance to eat lunch so ate it for dinner and the food was still warm 12 hours later. I can't complain about that. The container sizes are perfect for me, and if I fill all three up I usually have a hard time finishing it all. There are two small drawbacks I have noticed: it can tip over easily if bumped or put at an incline and the containers are not completely airtight (if is knocked over and have something with liquid such as soup, some may seep out). However these are not enough to downgrade my rating, I just make sure is secured well when traveling. It should also be noted that I have been informed by friends in Asia that use these, that if you use it one day for hot food, and the next for cold the insulation will wear out faster to where is not functional at keeping either hot or cold. So if you plan to mix it up it may be best to look at picking up two.
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This product is wonderful! I bring my lunch everyday to work and ...
by shiky (5 out of 5 stars)
November 18, 2017

This product is wonderful! I bring my lunch everyday to work and the break room fridge is always full and this great little lunch jar keeps my food cold for hours on my desk. I don't eat everything at once sometimes, so if I have a cup of yogurt in the bottom container around middle of the afternoon, it's still nice and cold.
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I've only used this twice. The 2nd time I ...
by Tofurious (2 out of 5 stars)
March 6, 2018

I've only used this twice. The 2nd time I went to use it I could not get the smell out of it from the plastic from the 1st meal. Also came covered in an oil on the inside containers? Possibly used!?!
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Very big to carry up and down the city , Ill return it for his reason only
by Bmejia (4 out of 5 stars)
January 17, 2017

is way to big for me to carry around, Im a college student and I work too i can't be up and down with this :/ , unfortunately Ill be returning this item, other then that quality looks pretty good.
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it is fine
by Sean L. (4 out of 5 stars)
January 26, 2019

it is fine, but does not keep food warm long enough from morning till lunch for me
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Does Not Keep Food Warm
by Shu-Hawra (3 out of 5 stars)
September 12, 2017

I started using it since a while, the matter is the product does not keep food warm enough as described. This is the main issue I have given the product only 3 stars.
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Perfect thermoinsulator lunch box
by Amazon Customer (5 out of 5 stars)
April 22, 2017

It keeps your lunch as warm as you just finished cooking it. Although it looks pricey, but it saves my money on buying food in the restaurants. Definitely a saver!

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