ZojirushiSL-XE20AD Classic Stainless Insulated Lunch Jar, 50 oz., Navy

Do you work out of your vehicle all day, but want to eat a hot lunch from home? Then read on:The first thing you need to know is that if you are always in your vehicle and have a predictable schedule that you can control, then what you really want is a RoadPro. See my review here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R1EEQ9YJ290397.The RoadPro requires some planning however, and a reliable battery if your engine is not always running. What if your time for lunch can be unpredictable? The RoadPro needs around one hour advance notice, so an unplanned decision to eat now won’t work. And an unexpected delay can lead to an over-cooked, even burned, lunch.Often, I can plan ahead and I use RoadPro. But there are other times where I do not control when we eat, the vehicle is usually not running, and the battery is suspect.Enter the Zojirushi Classic Bento Lunch Jar. It will keep your lunch warm for you, ready to eat whenever you are. But there are some problems, both for American-style eaters, and for people eating out of their vehicles. The two problems sort of inter-twine. The Bento style of eating has a couple of different food courses, with nice little individual containers to hold them. Four separate items seems to be the norm. All well and good if you can eat at a table or desk. But in your vehicle you have to eat in your lap, more or less, and juggling 4 individual food containers plus a beverage is simply not going to happen. Ideally, the entire meal would be in one container that is easily balanced (or held) in the lap.I looked at a million insulated lunch containers. Reading all the reviews, it seemed a lot of the units wouldn’t keep food warm much beyond three hours, which would be no good. And all the others that kept things warm from 4 to 6+ hours had a bunch of tiny containers, or they were the American style (Thermos/Stanley) which, while too small, where also too vertical. When we eat, we want horizontal. Vertical would be okay I suppose for soups and stuff if you go off camping once a year. But eating like that every day for lunch? –No.The round insulated Lunchbot container is very popular, but at 16oz far too small for a workingman. Another negative is that reviews indicate inadequate insulation to make it until lunch time. Still, they’ve got the right idea with wider rather than taller.The ideal would be a vacuum insulated unit with just one container of about 4 cups (32 oz, 1ltr) that is wider, rather than taller. Rectangular would be my preference. To my surprise however, there is no such thing. Well, maybe there is: [deleted by Amazon]. But it ships from China and there’s not a single review. Perhaps a brave soul will order one and report back. At 1.3L overall capacity the main (lower) food storage area should be adequate. The question would be the insulation.So it appears we are left with the Zojirushi. As I understand it this is their largest overall thermos and rather than the standard four containers it comes with only three and one of those is the largest container they make (unique to this model), which comes in at just under 3-1/2 cups (26 oz, 0.8ltr). A little small, but survivable, except for it’s shape, which is deeper than it is wide. This makes putting food items side by side and eating them as on a plate impractical (but still preferable to Thermos/Stanley concept because here you have a removable container with a much larger mouth). The answer to our dilemma would appear to be true one-dish meals with everything (protein, starch, veggies) all mixed together, no need for any separation. Doable for me for the few months, but could get a bit monotonous as a routine. There is another much, much smaller container that is spill proof and meant to be held warm. Then there is a medium sized container that is held at ambient temperature. Don’t misunderstand: With all three containers together there is enough food storage to feed a very hungry man. But a man in a vehicle cannot easily eat out of 2 or 3 separate containers.The other draw back is mornings. Each morning you must pour heated water into your thermos to pre-warm it, fill the Zojirushi food container(s) with your meal(s), heat them, and then assemble all in the thermos. If you’re like me, mornings are already busy enough. Compare this with RoadPro where you can make your meals up ahead of time, place them in suitable containers in the fridge, and come morning you simply grab one and you’re out the door. The cooking/warming takes place while you’re already at work.I’ll report back after a month or so of using the SL-XD20, and we’ll see where we stand.Geez...rough crowd. All this work and somebody elected to tell me my review was unhelpful. I can't write about what I don't know. Well, I've used it now for two days and I can tell you three things:1. It has stayed perfectly hot for 5 hours2. The one large container holds more food than I thought, and both times I did not finish every last bit, so perfectly adequate3. The shape of the container makes it very easy to hold in your lap with one hand while eating.More to come, but for now I'm trying to keep the hounds at bay...11/21/15 Update: Completely happy. Never had a cold lunch, and I think I even went 7 hours once, 6 hours frequently with no problem. I stopped pre-heating the unit with boiling water and did not notice a difference. This might be necessary when temps become frigid. In this event, one could even pour boiling water into the little soup container at the bottom, if required, to keep everything warm.Never went hungry either, and I'm a big eater. The one large container is big enough (I've yet to use the other two containers). The only drawback (as I said earlier) in having to eat out of a relatively deep and narrow bowl. This limits the meal selection somewhat, but it is what it is. The price has come down $2 to $56, which is good. It's worth about $45, but when you've got a monopoly...A request: One should be able to buy replacement inserts. I am sure after a million cycles in the microwave the inserts will wear out. But also it would be nice to have a bunch of them so meals could be prepared ahead of time and stored in the fridge, ready to go.Anyone from Zojirushi listening?Bon Appétit!4/13/16: Update: Used all winter, and a bunch of my colleges bought one as well. Just as happy as on day one. These things are good.5/27/16: Update: The part number for a main bowl (26oz) replacement is 7-SLX-P021. You can also get the same bowl in two smaller sizes: 20oz is 7-SLG-P030, and 15oz is 7-SLJ-P030. Go to Zojirushi's website and you can order them. The link is in the comments below, but Amazon seems to delete it a lot.These three replacement main bowls have an identical diameter and lid and any combination of two of the three sizes will fit inside the unit if you remove the two other small containers that come with it. I have really never found a use for these other two. I don't eat soup and they are too small for me.I eat a lot of white rice and find that by lunch time it gets pretty soaked by the main course (if stored together in the main bowl) and I find this unappealing, so I now use the 20oz 7-SLG-P030 to put the rice in. True, now I have to juggle two bowls, but I find that setting the large bowl in my lap and holding the rice bowl in my hand is not too difficult. And it also helps solve the problem of trying to eat out of one very deep and narrow container. Anyway, the bowls are priced reasonably, so if you buy a bunch and plan ahead you can fill them and put them in the fridge. Still quite happy after about a zillion lunches.

This is Zojirushi's latest model in their "Classic" line, and was recently released in Japan.This 3-container model (SL-XD20-BA) is the biggest one in the line, and holds even more food than their 4-container Tiffin model (SL-XCE20). For a Japanese lunch jar, this holds much more food than I anticipated! It's about the diameter of a CD. The jar's exterior is a glossy piano black color, but it doesn't seem to show fingerprints all that much. The inside has a gray vacuum-insulated layer (the stainless steel is a layer between the outside/inside). The jar has a two-tone black/gray color theme that will be all right with both males and females.The order you place the containers from bottom to top is: Soup (Bottom) -> Rice/Main (Middle) -> Side Dish (Top). You can rearrange the order of the soup and rice containers, but the side container's lid is too wide so it has to stay on top. The containers are dark gray plastic, as well as the chopsticks and case. I'm a wooden chopsticks type of person, but these plastic chopsticks are a decent alternative -- the tips have a dark rubberized/glaze coating. There is a shoulder strap built into the two locking tabs on the lid of the jar, but the strap is removable (convenient when washing the jar so you don't get it wet).I sometimes put my rice in the smaller "side" container and my main dish (stir fry) in the bigger "rice" container, as I don't usually eat that much rice and it works out fine. The soup container has a rubber gasket/seal and would do well sealing any liquid, perfect for say Japanese miso soup. I don't usually eat soup unless it's winter season, so it usually remains empty, or for storing something else (like a hot dessert).Food stays very hot in the rice/soup containers even 5-6 hours later and the side container will stay at least room temperature. So, hours later, Japanese short-grain rice is still as fluffy and sticky as ever. And stir-fried vegetables are still as hot and tasty as they were when they were cooked earlier that morning. (OK, maybe a few degrees less!)This is Made in Thailand, but that's to be expected these days sadly! Tiger still makes a very select few Made in Japan, but their capacity is limited and they only come in a few colors (champagne and pink).One word on a possible minus point: smell/odor. Sometimes, I do notice the jar has the smell problem. What I find is working for me right now is to regularly hand wash the gray interior of the jar with soap/water. You kind of have to treat this jar like a refrigerator; any spills/stains are going to cause odor issues. I've found applying something like a Clorox "Disinfecting Wipes" or even a "Wet Ones" towelette once a week or so on the jar's interior and the outside of the plastic containers to work pretty well to dispatch of any lingering smell.Checking the reviews on the Amazon Japan site, the Japanese seem to really like this jar because it's getting consistent 5 star reviews! Overall, I'd say this is probably the best Japanese lunch jar you can get right now. You won't be disappointed with the amount of food you can carry!

The three containers are perfect sized for a meal of rice, soup and salad. The plastic chopsticks are a bonus, though currently we do not have a use for them. The main jar is just the right size to carry around comfortably. Today is the first day we have used it to pack lunch for my son for school, so it remains to be seen how warm/ hot it kept the food over next 4 hours or so. I rinsed the main jar from the inside with hot tap water before placing the containers to keep the food hot. Overall, I loved the product for its make and appearance.Update: After a week of use, I am satisfied with this product. My son notes that after 4 hours (since I pack his lunch in the morning) his food is nice and warm during lunch time. In order to get the most out of the insulated lunch jar, I always heat up the food before packing it in individual containers. I fill up the main insulated jar with hot, boiling water all the way to the top. Then, drain the water and place the containers in. It is a little extra work but it is worth it in order to enjoy warm food :)