I am somewhat of a lunchbox connoisseur. I have gone through many. Lunch is my most important meal of the day, literally making or breaking my mood.
First, I used paper bags. Mom knows best. But these are disposable, and get thrown away, and are bad for the environment. They also offer little protection or insulation for my lunch, and no spillage or ziploc bag crush/pop countremeasures.
Then came the soft coolers. These are nice, but hard to wash, and do not protect my PB&J and bananas from being smushed. Upside: you can fit "just a little more" in them and still zip it closed.
Then I got a hard cooler: but it was either too big, or the inside was too small. I either looked like I was going to a BBQ or carried around a cooler so I could have small juice and a sandwich only.
Then I got this thing that was invented in India supposedly. It has three containers in a thermos. This was great, but I couldn't use it for sandwiches, and it couldn't hold drinks (except in a bowl) and did nothing to protect my bannanas and sandwiches which still had to go in the soft box. Awesome for leftover day though.
Then I found this, one morning in Hawaii at my friends house. I promptly found the model number and wrote it down. Insulated. Hard. Durable, and protective of my food. No silly sliding top like an igloo to get stuck on anything too tall. Big enough to hold a six pack of soda, snacks for the beach, or lunch if I packed carefully...most importantly..thin walls. I don't know who at rubbermaid came up with this, but he or she should be promoted. Unlike other coolers with half inch thick walls, these walls are thin and not overly bulky. I can still carry enough food without looking like I am going camping everyday. I have no need for another lunch box. Ever! The search is over! Granted, the insulation wont last as long, but thats ok, I mean, its only there for 8 hours tops. Its also easy to wash.
Capacity: 1 can/small bottle, 1 small/medium sandwich, 2x fruit (bannana, apple, pear, kiwi, peach), 1 yogurt, 1 ziploc bag of snacks. Rubbermaid 5-Quart Personal Ice Chest Cooler, Blue
I got this cooler because my work lunch bags got smelly and gross and weren't easy to clean no matter how well I tried to keep them nice because they held moisture. This is near perfect by comparison. It holds a small lunch and with the addition of ice packs, keeps it cold all day in my office. I'm not sure it would be as effective outdoors or in a hot place, but it keeps my lunch and snacks cool all day if I put in a few ice packs.
If it latched closed more securely, I'd give it five stars- as it is, it can open up if tossed around the car or upended.
Mostly though, it is great because you can really clean it out to keep it odor free. Take the dishes out of it as soon as you get home and leave it open overnight and it stays free of old lunch stench quite well.
What more can I say than it is a personal sized cooler... I am sure it will serve well for anything I need to use it for. Bought it mainly to be able to keep water samples cool for my water system... will either be sent by ups or self delivered and this cooler will get the job done just like the other ones have done for years... wish there was an option for a maxcold cooler just like this one, but none the less this one will work just fine.
My only complaints are that the cover opens really hard and wakes up the 4 year old in the morning, and the insulation isn't that great. I would also like to see it a couple of inches wider, so that I could put my coffee thermos inside.
The price is right. - Camping - Wheeled Cooler - Coleman - Stanley Thermos'
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