Gear Heads | The Best Bento-Style Lunchboxes for an Organized Packed Lunch 

I’m an elementary teacher, and one of my duties is monitoring the lunchroom during kindergarten and first grade lunches. Parents, whatever bento or traditional lunch box you buy, for the love of goodness gracious get one that is leak proof! I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had to help a kid clean up after something in a lunchbox leaked, not to mention anything that gets wet or damaged if said leaking happens in a backpack.

Honestly this was one of the better reviews I saw for bento boxes, and it's helpful to see how they handle being used and handled as a whole.

I've been using rectangular and square Monbento boxes for a few years. I bought especially for their ability to not leak. They are a French company and you can buy spare gaskets and accessories from them directly.

I mean, to be fair, the bento box wasn't designed with an American style lunch in mind. You're supposed to put rice and various smaller side dishes inside so of course a sandwich isn't going to fit. In that case just use a brown paper bag lol.

It feels like they just tested them as tupperware containers and not a bento box.

The way they pronounced TUMERIC gives me anxiety 😬

what about vacuum lunch jars or bento equivalents? These seem to be more interesting because they retain cold or warm temperatures for far longer than standard lunch boxes or bento boxes.

For the modern American market, I would say this is a great test as we have more of a "ready to eat" mentality in one convenient container. Leak-proof is great for those who have uses for dressings and durability tests for the clumsy. But, I find that taking a cloth napkin around the bento box can help eliminate some issues of durability and some leakage, and bringing dressings/liquids in a small bottle can help prevent leakage. This may be more of a hassle but can prevent any issues in cleaning.

My wife and I always enjoy your videos, the only way to improve them would be to have a blooper reel at the end. I’d bet you both have too much fun behind the scenes...😎 Thanks!

Thank you. I have looked at so many bento boxes and haven't been able to decide which to buy. This episode helps. I should add that I have never heard 'turmeric' pronounced that way. I pronounce it with the stress on the first syllable. Maybe it is an East coast vs West coast thing.

Microwave( ability)and temperature test would've been good along with bph and other toxicity leakage into food test.

My biggest problem was finding both a leak proof case but also a case that comes with space to bring chopsticks. Chopsticks. All the cases that came with chopsticks were expensive or not leak proof. 🤷‍♀️ I understand that in the US we don't use chopsticks as often but I love them. I ended up getting Snapware, a thermos, and an insulated kids soft sided lunchbox.

Thank you so much!! I’ve been wanting to buy one of these but didn’t know which one was the Best Buy, now I know! ❤️❤️❤️ your show and your channel🥰🥰🥰

The Rubbermaid brilliance make the perfect bento boxes!!

Bentos were never meant for being leakproof. But, some of the metal bentos now have rubber seals in them for some leakproofing. Japanese and Asian foods are not watery runny. As having lived in Japan for 3 years, my experience (and durability) is that the real winner is the stainless steel bento box. The plastics, while being larger, or Tupperware leakproof, break, are bigger, and not a single meal intent. Having a huge bento box that would be meant for a family is not a valid comparison. Plastic is less expensive and can be huge, or leakproof, but the cost of stainless is the real price point constraint. And there are 3 sizes (S, M, L) of which I couldn't see which size you were using in the test. So ... many of these comparision tests are unreal. Bentos are not meant to be soup, broth, stew or drink bowls - they are meant for dry (and fresh) foods to be completely eaten as a single meal. The small-sized (S) metal bento is for a schoolster child is not going to be a huge box, but the size of a lunch meal that a child or female can finish. The medium-sized (M) metal bento would be for a high schooler/college, or adult female can finish. The large-sized (L) metal bento is definitely for an adult working male. I have these and they are great and durable. Your plastic winner is HUGE, and pricey for $27 plastic. I dont' know how much you eat, but that is not a real bento box, that is a "Yogi Bear pic-a-nic box" not a Bento 1-meal LUNCH box. And there are various stainless bentos on the market from 1 and 2 level boxes (with inside oval container). The biggest issue of these is NOT GETTING the boxes with the roller clips and their spot welded retainers. The best bento has the smap-lock with a HD clamp and retainer on the box. The metal bentos on the market can range from ~$27 (S) up to ~$35 (L). If you have some small child in kindergarten etc with a small plastic bento (that might/might not fall and break) would be a small disaster, instead of having a true bento box meal for older children and adults (with far more severe drop impact and larger meals). I have 3 of the stainless 2 level bento boxes for eating, but also having for prepper and other storage containers and they are multiple use and modular. They hold warmed or cooled foods in greater capacity than plastic. The metal is easier to clean than plastic (with any of the many storage cubicle walls) If you want a salad with sloppy dressing, or a liquid soup, then you do not want a proper bento box, but a salad or soup bowl. A bowl is not a bento box. Please do a proper comparison of the various stainless bento boxes ... and you will have a better test - of a bento.

I have MonBento now and it's the best bento (lunch box in general) I ever had ✨ It was interesting to see it reviewed! 🙈

Love my Inomata Picnica (Japanese) and my Lock & Lock (Korean). Going on six years now... no smells, no discoloration, no leaks, no scratches, etc. BUT, I use them as intended with Asian food, not western food.

The bento style of boxes are nice, but it really depends on what you like for lunch. And how old the person is who is eating the lunch. Wrapping a sandwich with wax paper or aluminum foil works fine - but keep mustard, mayo, lettuce & tomatoes separate. Or for a lot cheaper price, use Oxo sandwich containers which are leakproof & their brand of small silicone squeeze bottles for condiments & salad dressing also don't leak. Put 'em all in a thermal-lined bag bc some people use public transportation so our food is subject to 90+ degree heat or below zero cold during morning commutes.

I love these videos. Thank you!!! 😎

One of the things people use turmeric as is a dye. Whatever you put it on WILL BE dyed unless you're very lucky.

Awesome vid! The kids have been bugging for bentos and you made my life easier!

These boxes aren't designed to hold these types of foods without them being portioned differently. Rice, meat or fish don't behave like salad dressing or a bunch of grapes. Not a fair test.

You should do a test episode for different fondue sets

zorijishi makes a good bento stacker.

Love these reviews, thanks

The Zojirushi Lunch Jar is my favorite style. Been using it weekly for years.

This was hilarious!😂🎉 Loved it! Lol!😊

Can you use them in a microwave? Would have been an important one for me.

Firts time you actually review something I have, Mombento i have another version than yours but I love mains.

Bento boxes are designed for portion control and balance of protein, carbs, sweets, and savory not as a hold it all Tupperware. That’s like shoving a whole steak in a happy meal box and wondering why it’s not appetizing.

Oh I loved the staining test and you used the right things that really stain

It makes me very happy that America's Test Kitchen uses Mrs. Meyers dish soap 😊

I have used the Monbento for a while and it works great. I have a few of them, different sizes and for breakfast and lunch. I'll admit that I skipped the last bit of the video but what I think you missed pointing out is that the band that holds it together? It sucks... that's why it's a relief that the boxes don't open so easily because I have dropped several times until I finally bought a bag to carry them... which I'm not thrilled about but I guess it's better than balancing them along with all my stuff.

Wait a minute. All my life I've been saying tur-mer-ic. Are you telling me I should be saying too-MARE-ic?

Not really a fair test since you won't have liquids, salad dressing, or sandwiches in a bento lunch. The box's size is meant to be a way of controlling portions sizes: so many grams of rice, veggies, and meat. You might as well just use one of the many tupperware type products.

Usually love ATK but... testing bento boxes with sandwiches? You wouldn't buy a paella pan then use it to make soup, buy a pressure cooker to bake fish, or buy a kitchen knife to stir a soup. Why ?

Lisa can you do a review on Xtrema / ceramcor pans. I bought some 3 years ago and they were expensive but well worth it. I didn’t buy a set .. I only bought a quart pot with lid , a 2 1/2 quart pot with lid and a 10 inch skillet for $288. They are 100% non toxic and can be put in the oven and microwave along with the stove which is common sense but they are non stick pans so you have to baby sit or watch what you cook if you don’t know how to use them. What I like the most is that they clean up well and they are 💯 non toxic and no leaching of chemicals possible like most non stick pans are. This cookware is very fancy and well worth the cost. Please do a review on them. These pans will last for life if you don’t break them cause they are made of a special glazed ceramic that is fired and can take as much as 2500 degree temperatures before they start to melt or are damage. No one cooks anywhere close to that temperature so I think it will be ok lol. Thank you

This was a great video.

The LunchBots brand very specifically says that their products are NOT LEAK PROOF. Acting surprised that something not leak proof - leaks shows a bais more appropriate to a paid commercial sponsorship.

You should do a budget must have - all the equipment needed in a kitchen, but without any one thing that cost more than 50 dollars. A student set-up kind of thing, something to start and than upgrade piece by piece

I used to cut the sandwich in half, and stack the two halves to make them fit. It could have fit as a whole, but, stacking left room for a piece of fruit.

Blue Water Bento is way better then these. They are stainless steel with leakproof silicone lids. Indestructible, doesn't leak and looks great.

I wish the winner wasn't plastic. I like everything else about it.

I guess I'm crazy, I just use pyrex glass bowls with the plastic lids. They're great, they're big and can old all of my food, they clean up easily, they're reusable, AND I don't have to worry about any chemicals leaching into my food. Yes they are heavy and yes they can break, but if you're an adult, and you're careful, you should be fine. Especially if you're using an insulated lunch bag to carry them in.

Do you have a stainless steel alternative? We are trying to minimize plastic usage

I was just looking at Lunchbots and their website has a size that fits a sandwich. Check company websites for optional sizes and leak proof accessories. However the video has me interested in the MB square now just because of the drop test. I’ve had it happen before opening a stuffed fridge of lunchboxes at work and someone’s lunch box falls out.

I'm confused by some of these tests. I have never seen or a herd of anyone trying to put wet things like water or salad dressing into a bento box. The test is asking the box to do something that it is not designed to do.

Love these video's - but how are you keeping them cold? In the heat of the summer sun; how are you keeping your kid's ham and swiss properly cold for lunch? My kids live in hot temperatures, and require containers that are able to hold ice packs (that take up a-lot of room), as-well as food. Would love to see a Gear Head's video addressing this in a convenient not so heavy way!

Personally, I recognise that plastics are a very versatile light weight material for food storage/transport. But I always opt for stainless steel containers whenever possible as more durable. Though, SS nesting containers can become useless if some of the containers get dented or misshapen. While more expensive and possibly not widely available, I use a Korean made SS bento style box with a water proof gasketed snap lid.

Great video. How did they do in the dishwasher?

Monbento mb square for the win! My favorite! I have 2 of them. I will say spaghetti sauce stains

my bento is R2D2 the head is a bowl and the lid for the bowl makes a Death Star imprint on the sandwich bread

my one and only brand for bento box: zojiroshi. everything else i tried paled in comparison

Can you test thermo lunch jars? Like the Zojirushi Mr Bento Lunch Jars? Am very interested in their use, heat/cold retention, and durability.

What is the advantage of a bento box vs Tupperware ? Tupperware is now cheap, durable, seals well, easy to wash, and available in a wide range of sizes. This seems like evaluating horse and carriage options for my daily commute.

Have you guys ever tested ULU cutting knives.. which one is the very best

Who else saw the pink one being the winner at the beginning of the video but stayed and watched the whole clip anyways

Termerek queen 👑

I have many bentos, including Monbento and Lunchbots (which doesn’t claim to be watertight). I’m just addicted to cute lunch stuff. No kids, just for me.

I wish when you were done with the testing you would give a close up look at the winner. What configurations and etc?

Please do a comparison on steel boxes like PlanetBox.

I didn't see you use any food the was hot and is the winner of the test microwaveable?

Timely test! My son starts kindergarten in a month and I've been thinking about a Bento lunch box. The durability test is probably the most important one regarding his use of it. Now the question is: do I trust him to not lose any pieces? Thanks!

Video crew: Buy a gimbal for your hand helds. You can't just slap a warp stabilizer on any footage and call it a day. It doesn't work well for clips with a lot of multi axis rotation.

They're cute, but I can't think of any good reason to use one of these over what I use now.

Okay, but how easy are they to wrap in furoshiki?

Up date this test please!!

Zojirushi Lunch Jar is the absolute BEST made by Japanese.

Don't love the handheld camera for the wider shots. Are tripods and monopods really that hard to come by?

請問有沒有三層金屬午餐盒的連結？ 畢竟我們喜歡吃熱的食物，那個可以用蒸煮的方式加熱。

I hate it when my yogurt comes out of my yeti mug

What about the ones that also steam food?

Nice testing, you guys! Very informative!

Why not just buy two tuppers tho, perhaps stackable one, and maybe, only if you want, you just use cardboard and parchment paper or something to separate the things? You can also, if you want, make you own "elastic band".. Im pretty sure that would be waaay cheaper, more versatile and probably lighter too.

I wish you would’ve tested a little more fairly/covered what the box was designed to do. The Eco Lunchbox is advertised as not being leak proof and they offer a leak proof option, that being said they were designed to be an alternative to plastic lunch containers.

Bento Boxes are not generally made for liquids DUH

HI America's Test Kitchen, as a young group of designers and product developers , we admire your input and are real guidelines to add value to the UX feedback. We would like to find out how do we send you some of the products we will be developing and launching in the near future and we would be grateful to receive your input

SUCH IMPORTANT WORK YOU DO HERE. Jesus fucking Christ, atk.

I’m surprised YumBox didn’t make the cut to test.

I've been using that blue one with the fiddly utensils for years now. I just like...don't use their utensils? (Most of the food I pack in my bento is for eating with chopsticks anyway?) The winning box is like, enormous...if I was bringing a sandwich I'd just wrap that in foil and skip the box?

OK so the winner was 2 square boxes... yeah thanks I'll stick to my two glasslock containers.

Hmmmm...I guess you could have cut the sandwich?

I feel like these reviews are becoming less usefull and more like a hammed up infomercial.

The winner choice is too bulky for a backpack. Plus, bentos are not supposed to be used for soup.

I'd rather see a best meal prep containers video.

Turmeric (TUR• MUR• RICK)

I understand the leak test, but in what circumstance when you bring this to work that it will turn upside down?

Too Mehr Ick driving me crazy?

They complain about the one having 8 parts with the plastic cutlery. But they failed to mention that if you eat anything that requires those items, you have to carry them as well. And that would add to the "parts".

Sounds like a tiffin

Just shows watery stuff is not made for bento's! The bento's i have i plan on only dry goods! thanks for the video tho!

Best meal prep equipment?

This is very bad reviewing. Bento "Boxes" are not intended to be leak proof. Nor are they intended to contain a whole sandwich. You slice it. Like millions and millions of Japanese have done. Also...you dress your salad from small container of dressing...along with soy sauce and other seasonings. Why would you dress a salad and store it for hours for lunch because it's going to wilt in the heat. Bento's will also not contain soup. And you ignored zojiroshi and other 'thermos' style bento boxes that are leak proof and DO contain soup.

While I don’t dispute they test and are objective, they over exaggerate the loser’s capabilities all the time. Stirring to dramatically, or act like a drip is a pour.

For lunch, I use a Zojirushi insulated bento thermos. It’s more “manly” looking and doesn’t look like a kid’s school bento box. It can carry a good amount of food and variety (liquids, hot and cold food). The only thing it couldn’t carry was square sandwiches so I had to be more creative with my food so I ended up with more variety and not the same lunch day after day.

Did anyone dress their salad prior to lunch?

Lisa and Hannah did so much boxing that they changed their title to pugilist

maybe make an actual bento when testing a bento box?

Hello

Why can't the camera man use a frigging tripod??