My two children each have an older, plain lunchbox from LL Bean. They have both been used for THREE years, year-round, by my 6 and 4 year olds. No major complaints!
I agree, these lunchboxes do get yucky, especially when kids are messy with leftovers; I just throw them in the washing machine. Here's how:
turn inside out; rub a LITTLE dish detergent on seams; add a LITTLE bleach to the water in half-full washing machine; use heavy soil & gentle cycle [so they soak] -- hang outside in FULL SUN to dry -- they come out like new :)
The interior vinyl is cracking just slightly on one and my children are getting tired of the same old... so we have finally replaced them with new Raccoon and Butterfly lunchboxes.
My husband and I plan to keep using the older ones for taking our lunches to work!
These lunch bags have held up very well. My son has used his now for 5 years and plans on using it for his last year of elementary school. The seam has started to rip out, but it has been machine washed many times, so I expected it too eventually. My daughter has been using her lunch bag for 3 years and it is as good as new. She will be using it this year as well. The bag can be washed out in the sink and let air dry overnight. It is usually dry by the next morning.
We bought one of these for my oldest son when he started kindergarten...it has survived three school years now, plus 3 full summers at camp. It has held up great. I echo the other reviewers who mention the difficulty of cleaning the seams, but I have no other complaints. The zipper still works, no seams have pulled apart, and the liner hasn't cracked at all. Because of the way he has ground clay/mud into the outside at camp, we have actually machine washed it a few times, and it comes out looking new. Frankly, given the beating he gives it, I am amazed. Son #2 has been using his for one school year and one summer at camp, and it's doing great, too.
I stuffed this little lunchbox to capacity and the cobalt gecko design was a pleasure to look at every day. To clean, put the lunchbox in cold sudsy water, air dry, and it will be sparkling clean again. The zipper finally gave out after two years of hard wear, although the rest of it still looks brand new. I loved it so much, I bought another one.
