If you are in search of a reliable, waste-free lunchbox that will live months (years??) beyond an ordinary lunch box, consider Lunchsense. My kids and I finished off our school year testing out their medium sized lunchbox… I liked it well enough that it will be joining us for zoo and pool trips during the summer months, too! Lunchsense is one of my favorite lunch box discoveries since I began my lunchbox obsession a few years ago, and I anticipate it will be used as one of our primary lunch boxes during the coming school year.
Lunchsense has several things going for it, but to start it meets my 2 basic requirements for a good lunchbox: it is waste-free and made of safe materials. Outside of these core benefits, my 
two favorite things about Lunchsense are: 1) the lunch box is fully washable, inside and out, and 2) all the inner food compartments are leak-proof Lock&Lock containers. These types of lidded, sealed containers are great for packing things like yogurt from larger tubs, therefore preventing the waste associated with single-use containers.
Cleanup is easy, with all the inner compartments dishwasher safe. The outer insulated lunch box can be folded flat and washed in a washing machine. Finally–a lunch box that allows you to fully remove the dreaded stinky lunchbox smell!
Lunchsense lunch boxes come in three sizes: Small ($35), Medium ($39), and Large ($44). The medium size that we tested would work well for most school-aged kids and grownups–I think the Large size would be overkill for most lunches. The Small would work well for a preschooler or some kids up to early elementary school age. If you are unsure of the size to order the Lunchsense site provides pictures and sample lunch menus for each lunchbox size that they offer. 
Each lunch box comes with an icepack, a choice of Nalgene-made Bottle (With screw-top lid or With straw and flip-up top) and Strap (Handle or Shoulder strap), and the colors they come in are bright and fun (see picture at left). The lunchboxes can be unsnapped and folded flat to act as an eating mat, although it seems to me that the unfolding and refolding would be too difficult or time consuming for most kids.
One potential drawback of the Lunchsense lunchbox is the lids–some seem to lose them all the time or are driven crazy trying to find the tops to their containers. I confess: I tend to be one of those people! However, since the Lock&Lock containers can be purchased separately (from their website or from several retail chains that carry Lock&Lock), one could easily have an extra set of containers and lids to keep morning lunch packing on-track and happy.
A summary of pros and cons:
PROS: waste-free; fully washable; insulated; made of safe materials; containers are water-tight; ice-pack and bottle included; many cool colors to choose from; replaceable inner containers; outer lunch box may be folded flat to provide clean eating surface; Lunchsense company is woman-owned and very green
CONS: each lunchbox has a few lids to keep track of; design would make it hard to accommodate some types of whole fruit (like bananas or oranges); process of unfolding/refolding lunchbox flat would be difficult for younger kids; price is in the upper range for lunchboxes (but, as with many products: you get what you pay for!)
All-in-all, Lunchsense would be a great choice for a many people–both kids and grownups! To learn more or to purchase please visit the Lunchsense website.
