In our mission to beat the #waronwaste and create nude lunches, being able to purchase a lunch box once and use it for a few years is high on the list for many people. Doing this with a stainless steel lunch box is easy. When you're buying a plastic bento box for the kids, they will get knocked around after a couple of years and will need replacing. One other option is to choose a glass lunch box, but are they right for everyone?

Are they leakproof?

The only glass lunch boxes we have in store are our food containers range from Glasslock, and these are all leakproof. Most stainless steel lunch boxes aren't, however, early in 2018, Cheeki are introducing a full stainless steel lunch box with a silicone seal to make them leakproof. It's a first for the Aussie market without the lid being plastic as well.  Each one has a silicone seal and when the lid is clamped down, they are leakproof.

Oven safe where others aren't

If you're taking lunch to reheat at work, they can easily go in the microwave (without the lid) or an oven (again, without the lid). Any Glasslock in our store with an orange seal in the lid is oven safe. It is not safe to put stainless steel lunch boxes in the oven or the microwave. Some plastic lunch boxes can go in the microwave, but they can leach flavour in the plastic or stain them depending on what type of food is inside.

Weight and fragility

This is one area where you have to decide if a glass lunch box is right for you. They will be heavier than both their bento box and stainless steel counterparts, and they are breakable, so we don't advise their use with children. Where we think the glass lunch box shines is for an adult to pop in to their insulated lunch bag and take it to work, especially if you're just travelling by car or your walk from the train or bus station isn't too far.

What is our top pick?

We are recommending the 3 piece rectangular set for lunches as it contains a snack container, a small lunch box and a large lunch box, all in a set. They are nestable for storage when not in use.

If you want to buy them singly, they are the 485ml, 970ml and 1730ml in the rectangular shape. Of course, you can use any shape or size you like. The three mentioned are what's in the photograph above.

What insulated lunch bags do they fit inside?

As a part of our 2018 Back To School guide, we have fitted every lunch box and lunch bag in the store together to see what fits.

Glasslock 970ml fits inside - EVERY insulated lunch bag in our store
Glasslock 1730ml fits inside - Built NY To-Go, Built NY Bistro, 4myearth, Keep Leaf Rectangle, Keep Leaf Oval (laying on their side) and the Project Ten.