Zojirushi SL-JBE14XA Mr. Bento Stainless Lunch Jar 41 Oz

I bought this for my daughter towards the end of her kindergarten days (2013) and it's still going strong. I have repeatedly recommended this lunch box to family, friends, colleagues, and strangers on the internet. My daughter likes some of the school lunches but not all of them, so sometimes I would make her lunch to take to school. At first this was disappointing; there are only so many brown bag sandwiches that she'll happily eat during the week and I didn't like her having cold lunches at school. She doesn't have access to a refrigerator or microwave oven at school so that limited our options. For awhile I improvised using small Thermos-type containers to give her hot foods but this limited the types of hot foods I was able to give her since all those Thermos-type containers are vertical cylinders, not exactly conducive to things like spaghetti or hot sandwiches. Plus, her lunch bag got bulky with a collection of different sized containers, and everything had to be hand-washed because things like GladWare containers shouldn't be put in the dishwasher. So I went looking for something better and I found this, and I can only say that I wish I found it earlier. The product description here on Amazon tells all of the gritty details so I won't waste time with that. Here's what you really want to know: YES, IT DEFINITELY KEEPS HOT FOODS HOT FOR HOURS AT A TIME! I make my daughter's lunch at 8am and she eats it at around 12:30pm and she has never once complained that her lunch wasn't hot enough. I learned that if I fill the main body (the "jar") with hot water while I prepare her lunch, it keeps her food hotter for a longer period of time. When all the food prep is complete and packaged I just empty the jar, dry it out, and load it up. Other things about this box that I adore... • Yes, the lid is INTENDED to be a serving bowl! If you don't like eating from the containers or if you have to mix something before eating it then by all means flip the lid over and use it as a bowl. • The carrying bag is sturdy and well constructed, and large enough to carry not only the lunch jar but a juice pack, juice box, or milk box fits nicely on top (along with a napkin or two). Slide the lariat closed and it stays nicely in place, safe and easily transportable with the rest of your lunch. • It comes with a stainless steel spork, which was really nice. Unfortunately my daughter accidentally threw hers away when she was younger, but I found a nice titanium spork to take its place and she loves using that. The spork fits in a little "pouch" that's sewn inside of the carrying bag. • It's pretty durable. My daughter's lunch box has a bunch of dents and such where she's tossed it around in her back pack, but the vacuum seal is still intact and it holds its temperature as good as it ever did. • The lid and latching mechanism is especially durable. Because it's plastic I expected the latches to be the first things to fail, but after five years they still latch as tightly and positively as ever. Never once has the latch accidentally released, even after being dropped. • It's dishwasher safe. Simply remove the soft seal and ventilation plug from the bottom-most container, and all of the pieces (containers, lids, jar lid, and spork) can go in the dishwasher. The container itself shouldn't be dishwashed lest the high temperature of the dishwasher disrupt the vacuum seal, but it's also easy enough to hand wash so it's not a big deal at all. The soft seals can be easily washed with a sponge and left to air dry, and they pop back into the lid with no effort. (And replacement seals are available, should yours get lost or damaged.) Even the carrying bag can go in the laundry! • The carrying bag can be slung over a shoulder, carried upright by a handle, or packed in a school backpack. • With four containers I can provide a nice assortment of the hot and cool foods my daughter loves. She often tells me that her friends are always offering to trade lunches with her because her lunches are so much nicer than the school lunches. :-) We've established a system where the top container always has a dessert (cookies, brownie bites, etc), one down has a fruit (apples, peaches, grapes, strawberries, etc) and a vegetable (string beans, peas, cucumbers, pickles, etc), and the remaining two have the main entree (protein) and starch (rice, pasta, potatoes). Her favorite lunch is broiled salmon (lower-most container) with rice pilaf (one up), snap peas and strawberries (one up), and chocolate cupcake (top-most container), with a Capri Sun to drink. Willing trade-offs and caveats... • It's heavier than a "traditional" lunch box owing to its stainless steel construction. My daughter willingly accepts the trade-off, however; she's more than happy to deal with the bit of extra weight in exchange for having a tasty hot lunch at school. • The containers can't be rearranged; they must go in a specific order. This creates certain logistical issues. If you wanted to (for example) use only the large container for something hot and have cool things everywhere else, you can't. Whatever is under the large container will also be hot (or warm) and you can't put the large container on the bottom of the jar because the lid won't fit. (Unless you also remove one of the other containers; that would work.) I would totally buy this again and again without hesitation. I love it, my daughter loves it, her teachers have bought them for themselves, and some of her friends and schoolmates have gotten them as well. This may be the perfect student lunch box.

I ordered the Mr. Bento lunch jar because I was tired of eating out for lunch at work, or worse yet, hitting up the vending machines. My Bento jar arrived quickly, and in perfect condition. Unlike some previous purchasers, I did get an English translation of the instructions with my Bento jar, although it's a pretty foolproof product as long as you know not to microwave the lids or treat it too harshly. When I use my Mr. Bento jar, I pack and stack it the night before and then set it in my refrigerator for the whole thing to chill. It won't fit into the refrigerator at work (too tall) so it sits on my desk at the office until I am ready to eat. Because I have access to a microwave, I don't need to keep my food hot. However, I have found that my Mr. Bento does do an excellent job of keeping my food nice and cool, although not ice cold. Others have done an excellent job of reviewing how Mr. Bento keeps the food cold (i.e. while not being a full-on thermos, it's got plenty of insulation between the bowls, their lids, and the metal outer shell). The carrying bag is fashioned out of a nice stiff canvas with a zipper and a pull enclosure. I love the spork and spork cover that comes with the jar as well. As I eat my food during the workday, I wash out each bowl at the sink in our office kitchen and take it back to my desk. At the end of the day I go home, put it on the counter, and pack it and chill it before going to bed. My goal with this product was to eat healthier and more regularly during the day. My typical Bento jar has the following: - Top (smallest uninsulated) bowl: a handful of pretzels and a few lowfat animal crackers - Second (larger uninsulated) bowl: carrot sticks and hummus (hummus in a silicon cupcake cup) - Third (main, insulated) bowl: 1/2C of cooked rice with chicken or black beans or some other veggies/meat. - Fourth (bottom, insulated) soup bowl: A homemade soup, this week it's been corn chowder My intention was to eat regularly throughout the day, every couple of hours, to keep my blood sugar levels steady and hopefully lose weight, control cravings etc. That was my intention. The only problem? There's just too much food! I have to really work to eat my way through all of the food that fits into my Mr. Bento, and I rarely can. Usually either the soup or the main bowl ends up in the refrigerator at the office, while I take home the other 3 bowls and refill them for the next day. I'm a 5'6" woman, medium build, with a pretty good appetite, but it's just too much food for me. On the plus side, my husband loves my Mr. Bento. In fact, he's eyeing it jealously. So I have splurged yet again and bought the Ms. Bento (3 bowls) for myself. As soon as it arrives, my husband will inherit my Mr. Bento for his lunches. The beauty of the Bento jars, and "bento" in general, is that it's great for people like me who want more creative lunches, and who are sick of sandwiches and potato chips and what have you. The product is great, and while it's a little expensive, the money I save from not raiding the snack machine ($5 a week, at least) alone will pay for the Bento jar in just a couple of months. Highly recommended, but if you don't have a big appetite, you might want to consider a Ms. Bento instead of this jar.

Before buying Mr. Bento, I've searched all the other lunch boxes offered by Amazon and analyzed how I would use it (being an engineer, these things interest me). I chose Mr. Bento over the Thermos model since I really liked the idea of having hot and room temperature food all in the same container (from reviews of the Thermos brand, it keeps all the containers warmer than Mr. Bento). I liked it so much after a week of use that I bought a second one so that I can pre-pack dry food for multiple days. Thermal capacity is really good, when I pre-heat the sleeve and bottom two containers with boiling water. With bottom container full of near-boiling liquid/soup, it is still very hot five hours later and keeps the main container warm enough. Without hot soup there, bottom two containers are warm, but not as hot as I would like it to be. When I'm not packing soup, I would fill the soup bowl with boiling water, which keeps the main container nice and hot. The top two smaller pop-top containers are meant for room-temperature food, though the bottom of the two gets a bit warm. I found that using a micro-fiber towel cut to fit to separate between the hot and cool containers, help the upper containers stay closer to room temperature. Without the towel separation, my tomatoes and cherries packed in the bottom of the two pop-top containers out of the refrigerator gets a bit warm. I have not yet used it to pack cold food in all the containers, but would expect to be perform better than hot food application due to lesser temperature difference. I did find that soup bowl gets a bit hard to turn when tightened hard and when the container is wet, but found that pulling on the top as opening helps. Upper two pop-top type containers are better sealing than the reviews indicate. Carry bag is definitely very cool and functional, though it makes me swing it around as I'm carrying it (containers don't leak if used per Manufacturer's directions). It allows me to pack some health bars and napkins, as well as put a fruit packet or one additional pop-top containers on top and close it up (making it almost five container Mr. Bento for long days in the office). It can be used to carry real spoon, if you are not happy with the spork IMHO not as nice as using a real spoon. Spork is very nice stainless steel, made in Japan, and great back-up when I forget to pack utensils. After using for over a month, would agree with other reviewers that this is really a great item and would last quite a long time. With Mr. Bento, Nissan Thermos full of home-roasted Americano style coffee, I'm ready to hit the work hard at the office and don't have to worry about keeping my stomach happy. To those home packing to lose weight, trying to eat healthier meals, or just sick of cafeteria food or fast food......Mr. Bento will be a great investment.

This Zojirushi Bento Lunch Jar has to be the coolest and most elegant way to pack and carry your lunch. The quality of the materials used in its construction is high. This is definitely a high end product. This Zojirushi product fulfills the need of a particular style of preparing and packing lunch. I would venture to say that this system is not ideal for the typical American lunch of sandwich, chips, and dessert. This lunch carrier is designed for a particular user. It is not for the person who simply opens the refrigerator in the morning, gathers what are left over from the last night's dinner, and stuffs them in containers for the work day's lunch. No, this lunch container was designed for those who spend a lot of time and effort into carefully preparing their lunch. The container is insulated, constructed of steel and plastic. Inside, you will find four containers of varying sizes, all cylindrical in shape. These containers are packed inside the insulated carrier in a particular order. The second-to-largest container sits at the bottom. This container has a special lid that allows excess internal pressure to vent. Typically, you would use this for foods like soups and chili. Unfortunately, if you are a hearty eater, you may find that the amount it will hold is quite small. Not nearly enough to hold one can of Campbell's classic soup, for example. The largest container goes in next. This one would be ideal for a small serving of salad or pasta without the sauce. It is big enough to hold a meal's worth of pasta, in my opinion. But pack the marinara in the first container, since this one is not leak-proof. The remaining containers are basically to be used for small items, like salad croutons, grated cheese, and trail mix. Who is this product for? Obviously, for the person who likes to eat the type of lunches that will fit into the four containers mentioned above. It is not for the peanut butter and jelly, potato chips, and soft drink crowd. It is a niche product. For those days when you want to pack something like pasta, marinara, and parmesan cheese for lunch, this would be ideal. Maybe you can pack fruit cocktail in one of the small containers, for your dessert. For more bento lunch ideas, perhaps you should consult the internet for more recipes. A Japanese style bento lunch would be the perfect contents for this container. In my opinion, this system would have been better with three larger containers, rather the four smaller ones. The bottom container, the one meant for hot foods, is way too small to hold enough of the "main course" to satisfy a hungry man. Not all of us have small appetites. We like hearty portions. This would be fine for a careful and thoughtful child, however. One who will carefully stack the interior food containers in the proper order, for example. The cool factor is high, and for adult women, this product rates high on the cute meter. As one reviewer already mentioned, you have to understand what you are purchasing. Please understand, this is a niche product and it may not be useful for everyone. For a man who likes to have his lunch in hearty portions, a traditional insulated lunch box or a small personal cooler might be a better choice. As I said, three leak-proof containers of equal sizes would have made for more flexibility than the four of varying sizes that are included. As it is, the system is not all that flexible. The type of lunch you can use it for are somewhat limited. However, if you are on a diet and using portion control to reduce food intake, then perhaps this is a good choice. You can pack low calorie snacks like vegetables and dips in the smaller containers, and a small amount of soup in the bottom, for example. This is a specialty product, designed for a particular style of lunch. This is not a good choice for you if you are not planning to go bento.

This Mr. Bento Stainless Lunch Jar is PHE-NOM-INAL. Seriously. I researched lunchbox options for a long time, and finally settled on this one. I have listed the needs I wanted met in a lunch jar/box and why this item is wonderful! 1. SIZE MATTERS...and SHAPE ;) : I needed something that would hold enough food for my husband, who eats like a horse. He is an active 25 yr old, and we own a business that involves manual labor. So he is always moving, ALWAYS hungry. I was a bit skeptical that this item would hold enough food, but I have never once had him tell me his meal wasn't enough (and I ask every day). The containers don't necessarily look impressively large, but I am always amazed at how much they hold, when I start putting stuff in them. The containers are round, so yes, certain things won't fit. Don't bother trying to fit bone-in chicken. And hot sandwiches take some imagination (I cut them into triangles, they fit best that way... but my hubs doesn't care if his sandwich is precut, just if its hot and delicious). But really most things fit well, and the few that don't just take a little imagination. (enchiladas go in great, cut in half & stacked. I can fit 2, full size, hearty enchiladas in the tall bowl). 2. SOME LIKE IT HOT: WE like it hot. We hate cold sandwiches and the snacky chips that go along with bag lunches. I was desperate for something that would keep food HOT all day, not luke warm. And would allow me to send off left overs (meats, fish, pasta, soups, stews, salads...those aren't hot, curries, rice, NORMAL meal stuff). The Zojirushi is perfect for that. the bottom bowels will hold runnier or more liquid items. Though I usually find a small amount (teaspoon) has leaked, the exterior canister contains it well, so no-harm done. The bottom two containers usually stay super hot. The lunch jar gets left in the car all day, so our excessive winter has proven to lower the food temps a bit, but they remain more than warm, as long as I put them in SUPER HOT. Outside of deep winter, the bowels usually keep the food so hot you have to open them and let it cool for a minute or two. The two upper bowels are less insulated, so they are perfect for salads, edamame, cooler sides, or treats. If you want to pack chocolate or cookies, only put those in the top container. The bottom two are sometimes so warm, they transfer heat to the container directly above. 3. MONEY TALKS: I know, your wondering if this is worth the price. Simple answer, YES. Well worth the cost. You won't have to buy lunch out just to get a hot meal. And all those yummy left overs can easily go with you to work now. 4. WHAT DO I PUT IN IT? : Even though we cook full and elaborate meals most evenings, I was still a bit intimidated by the idea of sending off hot lunches. I used a great cook book designed for bento boxes, that helped me get creative and figure out how to turn left overs into interesting and hearty lunches (see my review on it). Not everything from the night before can just be reheated. Sometimes you have to fix it up a bit. Or what about taking that smaller-than-portion-size amount left and doing something useful with it. A great way to start is pastas, soups or salads. You really can put anything in this, it just takes some getting used to if you've never done hot lunches before. 5. Dishwasher safe? I honestly don't know if this thing is labeled as dishwasher safe, but we use it every day, and every night it goes in the dishwasher (only exterior jar is washed by hand). No problems. Stains from pastas and curries come out easily. The plastic is sturdy and stain resistant. What more could you want? This item comes with a carry case, which is super helpful. And it has a spoon in a case - this is a little extra genius. The spoon doesn't get anything else dirty since it has its own case. If you aren't convince by now, you never will be. This is one of the best purchases I have made in a long time.

I had wanted a new lunch box for ages but couldn't fine the right one, I have a thing for Tupperware so would buy loads but I saw a friend post an image of their zojirushi lunch jar on Facebook and it looked so cool, I did some research to check it out and watched a few YouTube videos, checked for review sites to see how it worked and if it was worth investing as its not just a low cost lunch box A majority of people were more than happy with a handful not so impressed but it seemed that they weren't using the lunch jar correctly. Satisfied with my research I placed my order with amazon, it came much quicker than I expected even though it was being shipped from the US, once I got it I put it to use straight away, I can whole heartily say I LOVE IT!!! I use it everyday and its gotten me into the great habit of making lunch for work but not only that I have a good meal everyday! It does one of two things very well at a time, either keeping items cold or warm (notice I don't say hot) I put hot food in and when I had lunch which was about 4 hours later it was still warm enough that I didn't have to really heat it up in the microwave (I could have but didn't really want or need to) I would say however its great at keeping things cold as I cook lunch the night before so it's all ready to go If you put the lunch jar in the fridge over nights too before you pack it it'll keep your items nice and cold till lunch time (good for food hygiene) I always have a soup for lunch then a main which is rice/pasta/noodles with some form of meat, I use one side dish for a portion of veg and the smaller dish I put dessert, mixed nut, dried fruit or a simple cake bar I have to say that as silly as it may sound this lunch jar has changed my life and helped me to form a good habit of prepping food for work but also how to save money too One great thing I like is when I had my other Tupperware I would fill the, with whatever no matter the size so different days I would have different portions and usually only one thing now I get a 3 course lunch which is much healthier for me but portion co trolled too so I never really get that overfilled/bloated feeling after lunch now I would really recommend getting one of these but be realistic in your expectations, it'll keep something either warm or cold not both at the same time! A couple of cons which arnt the end of the world are the dishes are not safe for the dishwasher, I don't understand why? For me that works fine cuz it means I have to wash it every time I use it whereas with a dishwasher I'd wait for it to be full before putting on a Cycle and might not use the lunch jar everyday Also all the containers (not just the soup blow) should have been made leak proof in my opinion but its not the end of the world Go buy one today they're great and so cool, everyone will wanna get one when they see yours!

We had purchased the Ms. Bento for our toddler's day care lunch--which is a perfect size for a tot, not a "Ms", unless you're on a diet. So we thought of getting this one for my husband to take food to work. People complain it is bulky, and it is--but what can you expect if you want to bring rice, soup, an "entree" and some dessert? The top-to-bottom hot-to-cold design notion is very good if you want a varied lunch, rather than just a sandwich or salad. However, it is so cheaply made, that on week one the "thermal" lid that covers the "rice" container (where we usually put the actual entree) popped. By "popped" I do not mean it came off the container. The lid itself is a brittle plastic shell holding a disk of plain styrofoam (this is your insulation), and the top of the plastic cylinder came right off during washing (it didn't even take a hit), letting the styrofoam out. We have been unable to fit it back with glue or any other means. So now, the biggest container in this set is absolutely useless. Furthermore, as some other reviewers said, the plastic it's made of is very hard to clean and retains odor. While this is true of many plastic containers, whatever plastic they are using here seems to hold on to oil even more than usual. It takes so many rounds of soap and hot water to clean the containers well that it makes me feel guilty to use them. At this point, this whole bulky set is gathering dust in a corner of our pantry. We have substituted the nissan stainless steel 10 oz containers for our warm stuff (they cannot go in the microwave, but you if you preheat with hot water for five-six minutes before putting your food in, the food will be hot until lunch) and fit+ fresh plastic containers of different sizes (which include icepacks fitting the lids) for our yogurt/desser/other cold stuff that might need refrigeration. This makes a flexible set, and combined with an insulated lunch bag, it has proven easier to fit in our bag (the zojirushi is great in volume, but I think the cylindrical shape is what makes it truly impossible to fit in your bag) and we have more options to pack our lunch. By the way, the fit and fresh stuff cleans more easily... if that is a plus for you. I am still happy with the Ms Bento for my toddler, although we are trying to move away from it because it is also hard to clean.

I won't say I'm truly disappointed, but I'm disappointed. I did ALOT of research on this lunch box and I'm what....DISAPPOINTED. I bought 3 yes you see THREE of them (at $40 a pop) with hoping to keep food for my daughters school lunch. I went all out on their lunch the first time we used it (yesterday) and it was a disaster. More so on what I had in their lunch than the lunchbox. So I thought I'd step my game up and made sure they had a lunch that was cooked from the stove and transferred to the containers. There are 4 containers in each Mr Bento and different sizes. The first 2 containers I put in granola and the second apples. Apples cold from the fridge, not so much during lunch. I understand room temp, but these were a bit warm because of the soup container (the larger one) that it sits on top. The food in the soup container was room temp, but the container was somewhat hot. It being a soup container (as mentioned on the box), the lid wasn't on tight and spilled all over the inside of the lunch jar. The bottom container which is a bit smaller didn't hold any heat at all. I really love this idea. I bought a stainless steel water bottle and love it. I thought the lunch jar was going to be just as awesome. I gave it 3 stars because of the concept. It's a great idea. I wish the outside of the lunch jar had a handle. The carrying case is great, but sometimes it can get to be more of a hassle than a convenience. It is a bit heavy (to be a lunchbox). I hate that I threw away the boxes as I cannot return them. This great for an adult with an accessible microwave around. But for older kids using for their lunch where a microwave isn't accessible, this wouldn't work.

Have been using this at work. Good sized containers for a 5'4" female, size of containers would not suffice for a male. Soup bowl is leak proof. Good sturdy material, have accidentally dropped the lid on tiles and it did not crack. All in all, happy with the purchase. Keeps the food warm as per described.

I already purchased one of these awhile ago (in bright red) for my boyfriend to take nice lunches to work. I will be going back to university this fall and decided to purchase one for myself as well. These are seriously the Rolls Royce of lunchboxes. I've already reviewed this lunchbox in the cherry red, but I really can't say enough good things about this. (Hence why I splurged and purchased one for myself too). With a little planning and effort, these make wonderful packed lunches, with enough space for lots of variety and snacks. Everything I have purchased from Zojirushi has been excellent quality so far - all the components of these lunchboxes are good quality and are holding up well to daily commutes, temperature changes, and washes with no current wear in the materials. These really are expensive for lunch boxes, but in this case you really get what you pay for (not like my bulky, leaky, staining Tupperware with ill-fitting lids that cost a fortune but never delivered on the quality) If you get into a habit of using these every day they more than pay for themselves in a short time, both from a monetary value (not eating lunch out) and from a health standpoint (multiple stacking containers make it easy to create balanced and nutritious meals) Would I go back to a regular Western-style lunchbox? Nope! With a little creativity and finesse, I've gotten used to preparing and packing foods into these containers, and the design allows for excellent portion controls for your proteins, carbs, and veg. The vertical stacking design makes it easy to organize food and to access individual parts (say a snack of a slice of cheese and some grapes) without having to expose any other food to air or a dirty environment (like a high traffic university commons or the communal lunch room in the office) I have recommended these to everyone I know. These containers, the Zojirushi *excellent* coffee thermoses that stay hot and don't leak, and my versatile sous-chef equivalent induction rice cooker are all great quality products from this company. I hope Zojirushi continues to design, manufacture, and quality test all of their products like they do now. Their stuff does have a higher price tag, but the functionality and quality of their goods seems well worth it in the long run.

Excellent product.

Definitely I recommended I’ve been using the thermos so long maybe more than 6 years thats why I chose this brand so I know this brand is the top of all .. and seller is so kind to answer any question their priority to make the customer happy. i showed the product size on the video I hope helps to buyer Definitely I recommend it !!!

Comida na temperatura certa! Sabor preservado! Tudo de melhor na qualidade do produto e entrega EXATAMENTE o que promete!