The rubber on the handle ought not be there, and the handle ought to be more "sturdy" as my son pulled the handle out over the course of this school year. As per L.L.Bean's guarantee, we got a replacement (EXCELLENT customer service!) We plan to buy another for our other son who is starting Kindergarten in August.
I bought this lunch box for the start of the school year for my son (2nd grade) and daughter (3rd grade). It has withstood leaky juice boxes and an entire school year of packed lunches. The inside wipes clean (no grape juice stains!). On a typical lunch day, I pack for my kids a thermos of water, plastic juice box, half a sandwich, a yogurt, fruit cup, granola bar, a snack in a small plastic container, and an ice pack. There is still room left over even after all that! The only time that space starts to be an issue is if I pack a hot lunch in a soup thermos, but I don't know where you'd find a bigger lunch box for a little kid.
I ordered this lunch box on Sunday and it came on Tuesday, fast and with free shipping!
I love this lunch box, it is the perfect size. It’s large enough to fit a container of soup and a sandwich plus a snack. I like that it can fold flat so after I finish lunch I can collapse it and put it in my bag. The shoulder strap makes it easy to carry out to the car when my hands are full. It is easy to clean. There are no little crevices or folds in the liner that create impossible to reach spaces. It is well made. The lining is made of strong material which I don’t think will rip easily like my last lunch box (not LLBean). The lunch box looks nice as well, not childish looking, suitable for an adult.
I ordered this for my 4 yr old son. He is special needs and never directly handles the lunchbox...so it's always carefully handled by an adult. We loved the lunchbox until just after 6 short months of use the handle strap pulled apart from the box. The stitching just came out. I think if the handle was a little bigger and thicker- stitched it would've held. I attempted to sew it back but it's just not working...the material on the top of box is too thick. Two of the containers we used in the box are glass so I'm sure this weighed it down a bit. But I still hoped it would hold up better than it did. I would've given all 5 stars if the handle hadn't pulled apart from the box. The lunchbox is spacious for a child's meal and fairly easy to clean. We are able to fit several containers inside. Again, I'm just sad that the handle didn't hold.
