To keep food from spoiling and drinks refreshingly cold, be sure that your lunch box boasts insulating capabilities. Many lunch box manufacturers proudly tout this feature: Insulation helps keep items at the temperature you want them, and some insulating lunch boxes can keep food cold for hours.

The tray had plenty of room for a satisfying meal and, because of the sleek bamboo and white design, the whole thing looks sleek enough to leave out on a countertop or desk—something we recommend, given how heavy the unit is (4.3 pounds in all). You can always take the tray home to wash it and leave the actual heating element at work. Ever hear your stomach yearning for lunch around noon? If you have a good lunch box, then you know your next meal is just a few steps away. A lunch box is a hand-held container where students or workers keep their midday meal. It can be made out of plastic, fabric or metal, and has a convenient handle for carrying. Inside, there are compartments for food or space to put smaller containers. Some lunch boxes are insulated to keep food hot or cold until it’s time to eat. Some also have leak-proof qualities so you can avoid making a mess in your bag while transporting your lunch to its destination.Catherine Russell, who updated this roundup, is a writer and editor specializing in food, culture, and home and garden. Grandma’s kitchen was a favorite place for Catherine growing up, and that’s where she first learned to bake, roast, broil, and cook most anything from scratch. Her work has appeared in national publications, such as Bon Appetit, and in film and video. In case your water bottle or food container springs a leak, you’ll be thankful for a lunch box that features water-resistant or leakproof fabric. This way, the mess will be contained inside and won’t spill over to the interior of your car or inside your office desk drawer. Most of these fabrics can also be wiped clean, so your lunch box will be as good as new to carry your lunch the following day.

This lunch box earned our best overall spot because it's a nice, medium size, could work for kids or adults, and comes from a brand trusted and known for its durability and insulation. If you already trust Hydroflask's reusable water bottles to keep your drinks cold (we do), you'll be glad to learn that the brand's lunch boxes boast that same powerful insulation. In fact, Hydroflask’s Large Insulated Lunch Box features two layers of insulation to keep your food perfectly chilled for hours. Plus, this durable design holds up to countless outings like the brand's trademark bottle.

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Brigitt Earleyis a writer and editor with more than 10 years of experience testing products for editorial inclusion. She tested electric lunch boxes, as well as sending the Bentgo to school with her kids, to find some of the best lunch boxes.

When you’re on the hunt for a perfect lunch box, keep size top of mind. You want the lunch box to be big enough to take all of the food you need, but you also don’t want it to be too big so that it takes up extra room in your bag. You’ll also want to make sure that the lunch containers you use to keep your food in can fit inside the lunch box easily and right side up. If they have to be tiled, for example, you may end up with leaks. When you don’t have access to a microwave to warm food, an electric lunch box is a unique alternative—and we love this one for its combination of aesthetic and functionality. The Steambox is a thoughtfully-designed electric lunch box that uses a combination of heat and water to gently reheat food so it tastes almost as good as it did when you first cooked it. Even dishwasher-safe items can warp under heat, and if something warps, its lid won’t fit properly. Worse, the insulating fluids in some containers can leak out if the seals expand, and then you’ll have a real mess on your hands. If the lunchbox has a fabric exterior or thin lining over its inside insulation, all of that should just be wiped and spot-cleaned as necessary unless the manufacturer suggests machine washing. Even with insulated containers, though, there’s more you can do to boost their efficiency. Fill them with hot (or icy) water first, and then let them sit for a bit before emptying the water and filling them with food. That simple step means that the stored food itself doesn’t have to do the heavy lifting of first heating and cooling its own container. (This works for everyday coffee mugs and insulated beverage containers, too.) Finally—and perhaps most important to your child—it comes in several prints and colors. You can also mix and match the removable inner trays if you decide to buy a couple. The inner trays are also microwave and freezer safe.The Spruce Eats / Brigitt Earley What to Look for in a Lunch Box Water-Resistant and Leakproof Fabrics Clean a lunchbox and its gear after every use, and store open to the air until absolutely dry inside. A shut-up food container or lunchbox with moisture inside will certainly lead to the growth of mold. Food-safe linings help ensure your food stays fresh without being contaminated by lunch box materials. Look for the term “BPA-free" in the product’s description, which means that the lining doesn’t contain the chemical bisphenol-A that’s used to craft many common materials and could possibly seep into food and beverages. FAQs How can you keep food hot or cold in a lunch box?

Leakproof and spill-proof are key elements of a good lunch box. Make sure that the outer box will not leak through if something inside spills. This way, you can protect your clothes, bag, car and other things from your food.

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How best to keep a lunchbox and its gear clean will depend entirely on the kind you have. First, read and follow the manufacturer's instructions. Also, it's best to err on the side of caution and hand wash lunch boxes and gear whenever possible. Unless you’re investing in a high-tech lunchbox that has built-in chilling or heating features, the first thing to do to help keep food hot or cold is purely logical: Separate hot from cold. Even if that means keeping two separate lunchboxes, it will make it much easier to maintain the desired temperatures. You can also invest in individually insulated containers. Strictly, “bento” describes a type of Japanese lacquered box, but in the world of lunchboxes, “bento” generally means that the lunchbox will have sections, and often a self-contained carrier with onboard utensils and a lid designed to be carried.