The Food Jar is slick and fits into a Daytrip 5L Lunch box half way so there is room for other things like a drink or sides.
Parts are easy to take apart and clean. However if hot and oily are being stored in here over time, expect the food jar body and inner lid with the seal to get smelly and retain some food smell even with hot water and soap cleaning. However, I have found that a hit of Clorox Tilex spray and some waiting gets rid of all the remaining smell and stain residue.
The Slickness of the food jar is also what will contribute to a knock down of 1 star from 5. Tightening the food jar normally doesn't pose a problem. Its when you have to open the food jar is when there will be problems. The surface is just too smooth, when attempting to take off the food jar when needing to eat, even with clean hands there just isn't enough grip to take off the lid. The lid should be tight to get that leakproof guarantee and retain the temperature of the food inside, but it can be incredibly frustrating to get the lid off when you need it the most.
A workout I have for this problem is to pack Chalkless Grip Enhancer in either my backpack or inside the lunchbox. Grip enhancer does solve the issue of insufficient grip to take off the lid. Just be careful not to get any of that stuff on the food when the lid does come off, aka wash or wipe down your hands before digging in.
Adding grip areas and/or protrusions would help solve this issue so that hands don't just slip right off when trying to move hands in a counter clockwise motion.
As far as the main selling point of this jar, keeping food hot or cold, I can only attest to holding hot in this product. The performance also contributes to the rating only being 4 out of 5 stars. The performance is okay.
I follow the advice to preheat the jar with boiling water from a kettle, and I heated up my food as much as I reasonably could then put it in the food jar, then store it upright in the lunchbox. It is usually 6 hours between when I pack my food in the morning and when I have to eat it at lunch time. After 6 hours, the food is just about lukewarm, definitely not as hot as when I nuked it in the morning to pipping hot, but not room temp. I stored Chili, Ramen, Rice, & Stews in the food jar, all with similar outcomes after 6 hours. And this is also also inside of a Yeti Daytrip 5L, an already insulated lunchbox. But having a warm lunch stew is a whole lot better than having a cold lunch stew and wanting to warm it up again.
It is unfortunate though that there is significant thermal spillage somewhere in the product where heat is getting out over time. I believe that it comes when food contacts with the lid. When taking a this product out of the lunch box, the main body of the product is relatively neutral or cool to the touch, the main metal body of the jar is not letting heat out. But the lid, the lid may be warm, the lid is probably the main culprit of heat leakage over time. When using this product, I find out that the best way to keep food warm, not hot, just warm, for as long as possible, is to store the food jar upright for as long as possible, and minimize food touching the lid, aka not overflowing with food, when closing. If there is an air gap between the food and the lid when tightening down, that should mitigate the food cooling down from the lid over time.
Long Essay after using this product for Months in school when I want to completely bypass the vending machine and microwave line and just want to have my food on demand ready to down without wait. I think this product does do that is good strides which is why I give it a 4 out of 5 stars, but it is not without the flaws I have identified above. Still, I think this product is worth the investment if one wants to have food consumable on demand from a lunch box with little or no down time.
Yes, I recommend this product.
Originally posted on YETI.com