Hydro Flask Small 3.5 L Insulated Lunch Box, Chili

Hey, it’s by Hydroflask, so it’s gotta be great, right? To find out, I put this to some tests. The typical lunch sits around for 4-6 hours, depending on schedules. That falls right into Hydroflask’s marketing claims - “stay cold for hours.” The term “cold” is rather subjective, so further guidance was needed. Per the USDA, “Perishable foods, such as cold cut sandwiches and yogurt, can be left out at room temperature for no more than 2 hours before they become unsafe to eat.” Now, “room temperature” is the difficult one. That can vary from anything over 41F, to 68-77, depending. For my experiments, either works well enough to prove my point.To test, I snagged a decent food substitute, a couple gel cold packs. Though their purpose is to be frozen and keep your food cold, here they’ve been sitting in the frig and verified to be at 37F from the start of the experiments. A thermocouple was sandwiched between the two packs, and the other end connected to a calibrated meter. The packs and thermocouple were placed into the lunchbox being experimented on, the lunchbox closed up, and the temp of the gel pack sandwich monitored for 6 hours. Note, both lunchboxes were kept in the same place, out of the sun, and away from any heat sources, for the duration of the tests. Ambient temp 70-74F.Yes, I did mention “lunchboxes” up there. For comparison, I am using another insulated lunchbox, some off brand thing I picked up a few months ago for ~$20 here on Amazon. That seems to be average price for lunchboxes, so I figured it would be good to see where the value is in a lunchbox that costs 2x that of average. Yes, I really am this geeky.Drumroll please…At the end of 24 hours (6 hours per lunchbox, each tested twice), there was a definite trend. The gel packs in the Hydroflask lunchbox rose in temperature at a rate of 4 degrees every hour. Ditto for the no-name lunch box. This means that the Hydroflask lunchbox is in no way superior when it comes to keeping things cool. If it were superior at all, then the temperature rise for the gel packs would have been less. But no. In 6 hours, the “food” inside both lunchboxes went from 37F to 61F, regardless of how much was spent on said lunchbox.All said and done, the Hydroflask lunchbox is nothing more than a premium priced product without any premium value to it. As such, 3 stars.5 stars - Excellent/Perfect - This is the stuff right here, folks! Rare gem.4 stars - Good/Great - Has a lot going for it, even if not perfect3 stars - Ok - Not bad, but doesn’t have anything particularly special about it2 stars - Not so good - More cons than pros on this little number1 star - Don’t walk, run away - No redeeming qualities

This thing is HUGE! The large was the size of a Briefcase!

Pretty sure its over-priced, but such are all name-brands I guess! It is nice and strong, the lunch-box is hard-shell and will hold up to being squeezed. The inside is roomy, no compartments, easy to clean and the outside easily wipeable and true black. Nice detail to the handle and two-way zipper makes for an easy lunch and a happy kid :-)

It’s a very nice lunch box that’s superior to just about anything out there when it comes to keeping food cold or hot. I have two gripes, however.One, the size. Small feels like a medium and Large is just huge.Two, the price. These are very expensive, even considering their quality. Still, I am very pleased with the purchase. If you can afford to spend the cash, you’ll love the lunch box.

I was really hoping that this would be as amazing as hydroflask bottles but it isn't. I use ice packs and I would say within 3 hours they are melted and my food is starting to warm up. I bough this briefcase sized lunch bag so I c I ukd carry 2 to 3 meals in it. I work long hours and don't like to buy every meal. Anyway...it doesn't do a very good job of keeping cold.It is heavy and I store my food in glass bento containers so imagine how heavy this gets.Anyway...don't waste your money. Go elsewhere for the same quality.