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This kids' lunch cooler is as durable as it is cute. It'll stand up to years of use, easily holds bento lunch boxes, and has a water bottle pocket. Read More
This freezable lunch box ensures food stays cold without adding extra ice packs, and it comes in colors for kids and adults. Read More
The right combination of functional and stylish— this lunch cooler is easy to use and carry for daily lunches. Read More
This freezable lunch bag has a larger capacity that's perfect for a day at the beach, a family picnic, or getting cold groceries home safely. Read More
The Yeti Daytrip is an attractive lunch bag with a variety of options for securing it shut. Adding an icepack helps keep its contents cold for longer. Read More
Whether you’re packing school lunches for kids or taking your own lunch to work, disposable brown bags have been replaced by reusable insulated lunch bags. From sleek models made for adults to patterned options that let kids’ personalities shine, there are a variety of lunch bags to keep food cool and organized on the go.
We investigated the temperature control, usability, durability, and versatility of popular lunch cooler bags, from small coolers to insulated lunch bags, to find the best lunch bag for you or the lucky people whose lunch you pack. We also tried them with our favorite kids' lunch boxes to test fit and ease of transport. After years of testing, we found the Pottery Barn Kids Mackenzie Cold Pack Lunch Box (available at Pottery Barn Kids) to be the best general-purpose lunch cooler for kids. The PackIt Freezable Lunch Box(available at Amazon) is the best at keeping lunch cold, but its extra weight makes it better for bigger kids.
For grownups on the go, we found the CleverMade Pacifica Pro(available at Amazon) to be the best all-around lunch cooler for daily use, but there are lots of options depending on your specific needs.
The Pottery Barn Kids Mackenzie Cold Pack Lunch Box is the most versatile kids' lunchbox we tested.
We love it when the universe aligns and the thing that kids want is also a good choice. In this case, the Pottery Barn Mackenzie Cold Pack Lunch Box is an excellent choice for a durable and easy-to-carry lunch box for kids.
After years of use with a preschooler, this kids' lunch box still stands up to repeated cleanings and is easy to open by the littlest eaters. It has a handy mesh water bottle pouch on one side and multiple zipper pockets for stowing snacks, napkins, or cutlery.
The adjustable and removable divider is also a freezable ice pack, so you can add cooling without a separate ice pack. With plenty of patterns and designs to choose from (some even glow in the dark), plus personalization available, kids can choose the lunch box that best suits their style—and there’s a handy name label on the inside so they don’t accidentally end up with the wrong lunch.
Water bottle pocket on side
None that we could find
The PackIt Freezable Classic Lunch Box is superior at keeping food cold for hours.
Even when using ice packs, we found that a lot of lunch boxes couldn’t keep contents cold for up to six hours. PackIt has solved this problem by turning the interior of the lunch box into an ice pack, and it works!
Just store this roomy lunch box in the freezer overnight—it collapses down for easy storage—and then it keeps food cold for far longer than it takes to get from bus line to lunch line. These lunch bags are often still cold when kids get home from school in the afternoon.
The PackIt brand products were the only lunch coolers in our testing to actually decrease the temperature of the contents inside, so you can be sure that everything is safe to eat, even on warm days. The interior material is durable and easy to clean, and the freezable lunch box comes in a wide array of colors and patterns, from plain to vibrant, so there’s something for everyone.
Keeps cold food at safe temperatures
Collapses for easy storage in freezer
Durable and easy to clean
Doesn't work for hot foods
The CleverMade Pacifica Pro lunch bag is a top performer in our lunch cooler testing.
In our testing, the CleverMade Pacifica Pro lunch bag hit the sweet spot between roomy enough to store a grownup’s lunch and sleek enough to want to carry to work. It also hit all the marks for temperature retention and easy cleaning.
There are zipper pouches on the interior and exterior of the lid so you can tuck away utensils or small snacks so they don’t float to the bottom of the cooler. Several loops along the front make it easy to attach keys, hand sanitizer, or other items you can hang from a carabiner.
The strap extends long enough to carry cross-body, although it doesn’t have a shoulder pad for added comfort. The only downside we found to this lunch cooler is its lack of designated pocket for a water bottle.
The PackIt Freezable Zuma lunch cooler is perfect for a day at the beach, a picnic lunch in the heat, or keeping groceries cold in transport.
A cooler full of melting ice is the quickest way to get a soggy sandwich for lunch. The PackIt Freezable Zuma Can Cooler features the same interior ice pack design as the PackIt Freezable Lunch Box, but in a larger size that’s perfect for grownup lunches or a day at the beach.
The cooler’s collapsible design makes it easy to store in the freezer overnight, and the interior is durable and easy to clean. The top-loading zipper closure ensures cold air stays inside, but opens wide enough to see what you’re grabbing.
The cooling-gel walls do add a bit of weight to this lunch bag, but it’s about the same as (or maybe even a little less than) you’d experience by adding ice packs to a cooler bag. We love that you don’t need ice packs so there’s extra space to pack more snacks and drinks.
This bag is also a great grocery store or farmers’ market companion if you’re transporting meat or dairy on a warm day, and it’s perfect for keeping multiple meals and drinks cold on a long road trip.
Freezable to keep contents cold
Gel lining makes it heavier than other lunch coolers
Yeti Daytrip is an ideal size for everyday lunch
Fans of Yeti coolers with love the Daytrip, which is a durable, cleverly-designed lunch bag.
After folding it flat and freezing it overnight (and supplementing it with two additional ice packs), the Daytrip lunch bag maintained temperatures lower than 40°F for just under five hours. This Yeti has a magnetic closure mechanism at the top of the lunch bag, which helps it to seal in hot and cold temperatures.
To completely close the lunch bag, you can fold the top of the Daytrip over and latch it securely in one of a number of possible loops that make it easy to seal the Daytrip whether it's completely full or not. Both the handle and the material of the lunch bag itself are durable, and will do fine in a rough-and-tumble outdoor environment.
Additionally, the adjustable storage configuration is a really neat idea, but because the top of the bag folds over, the amount of space available may be less than you expect.
While the Daytrip lunch bag doesn't provide all-day cooling, its folding design is perfect for keeping snacks cool during beach trips and day hikes.
Durable with good closing options
Short on straps and storage
May require additional ice packs
The L.L. Bean Expandable Lunch Box is durable and versatile enough to last for years.
The L.L. Bean Expandable Lunch Box is a good investment. Its expandability means it can grow with the user, and its durability means it can be used and passed down for years.
While this lunch box is insulated, it does require an ice pack to keep contents cold. There’s a convenient mesh pouch on the inside of the lid where you can slide a slim ice pack.
We consistently paired this with one of our favorite kids lunch boxes, the Bentgo Chill—it fits perfectly and keeps lunch cold without excess ice packs.
This lunch bag has a slimmer profile than many other brands, which makes it particularly backpack-friendly. When it’s time to add extra snacks or drinks, we just unfurl the expandable zipper and gain two extra inches of height in the lunch box.
Requires ice pack to stay cold
Yeti's heavy-duty Hopper Flip 8 lunch cooler should make any person braving the elements with food and beverages (and with some disposable income) a happy camper.
In our experience, the Hopper Flip is able to keep the contents of the cooler cold for hours. More specifically, it kept our contents below 40°F for just over six and a half hours. To prolong the cooler’s cold conditions, Yeti also recommends block ice, rock salt, and/or Yeti ice.
Between the Hopper’s stiff insulation and tough fabric, it’s rigid enough that it can survive being bounced around on the back of a four-wheeler, and will provide a decent amount of crush protection if it happens to get lost at the bottom of a luggage pile.
With a carrying strap, water-resistant zipper, handle, and tie-down options, it's clear that Yeti wants you to be able to take this cooler with you wherever you go. The strap is long enough that it can be thrown across your back and has a thick, non-slip shoulder pad.
As for the zipper, its strength can be problematic at times. While Yeti provides zipper lubricant to make the zipper easier to operate, it’s really tough to pull.
Most die-hard Yeti fans who try out the Hopper Flip maintain their status as loyal Yeti customers. However, with a cost of about $200, it’s on the high end of lunch cooler prices and needs to be a multipurpose investment. The thick insulation does reduce the available storage space.
Can stay below 40°F for six and a half hours
The L.L. Bean Lunch Box is well-constructed and has very few moving parts to help minimize ripping or breaking. The lunch box typically lies flat, and can comfortably fit two water bottles and an ice pack or a large, square plastic container.
With the help of an additional ice pack, the L.L. Bean Lunch Box maintains temperatures lower than 40°F for about two and a half hours. To keep food cool until lunchtime, we recommend using at least two ice packs.
This lunch box has a carrying handle, as well as two additional storage options: a zippered pocket on the outside that is best for flat objects and a mesh pocket on the inside of the top of the lunch box.
The water-resistant material inside this lunch box makes it easy to clean. With a few extra ice packs, this L.L. Bean Lunch Box can be your kid’s lunch co-pilot for years to come.
Many color and customization options
Can double as a packing cube
Require ice packs to stay cold
The Coleman 9-can Soft Cooler is a small, soft-sided lunch container that really earns the “cooler” title. Its carrying strap, removable hard liner, and extra storage options make it a great lunch bag for adults.
After being packed full of ice packs (and using the hard liner), this cooler maintained temperatures below 40°F for about six and a half hours, which is nothing to sneeze at; it will be enough to preserve the integrity of your turkey sub until you can dig into it at lunchtime.
This cooler, both with and without the hard lining, is big enough to store an adult-sized lunch. It fits at least two or more plastic containers, and more than two sandwich bags. The dome-shaped nature of the top of the cooler means that you can sit a plastic water bottle upright without squishing it.
Additionally, if you need slightly more room, you can remove the hard liner, and the soft-sided cooler will have enough give to squeeze in a few more items. If you don't need all of the space, though, the hard liner acts as a form of crush protection.
This cooler is probably too big to be packed inside a backpack; it’s meant to be carried by its padded carrying strap. While the carrying strap is very convenient, it is not actually long enough for the cooler to be carried on your back. The strap is so short that it can really only be carried by hand or thrown over one shoulder.
Another feature we appreciate in this Coleman cooler is the multiple storage options: The elastic side-pockets and bungee cord on top that are perfect for cutlery or napkins, and the front zippered pocket and elastic pocket on the inside of the top of the cooler are ideal for an additional ice pack or two.
If using the Coleman with ice, be sure to keep it upright because it’s not leakproof.
Can stay below 40°F for six and a half hours
Crumbs collect in the creases of the lining
This insulated Hydro Flask Lunch Bag is one of the smallest we tested, and it requires an ice pack to retain cold temperatures.
It’s stylish and performed well in our usability tests, but it won’t fit a traditional bento lunch container, so it’s most useful if you pack lunch in sandwich baggies or small individual containers.
We like the height and upright orientation of this lunch bag for transporting things like a thermos or water bottle. It’s best paired with the Hydro Flask food container.
Small enough to fit in a backpack or shoulder bag
Too narrow to fit a bento box
Requires ice packs to stay cold
The ballast and the freezable lunch bags were frozen overnight.
From testing refrigerators, we know that products meant to preserve cool temperatures can cool more efficiently when they are packed with frozen material. Basically, if there’s lots of empty air, it’s harder for a lunch bag to keep food cold because it has to fight against the ambient air trapped inside the bag, which is typically much warmer (i.e. room temperature) than the food that just came out of the fridge/freezer.
We use temperature data loggers situated in methylcellulose goo to get accurate temperature readings in each lunch cooler.
With that knowledge, and after freezing the two freezable lunch bags overnight, we packed each lunch cooler with ice packs and a temperature data collector, which resides in methylcellulose goo. This goo is a proxy for refrigerated food; by placing a temperature data logger in the methylcellulose, we can get a good read on how food temperatures would change over time.
Then, we left the bags to sit for anywhere from six hours to overnight. During the course of testing, we opened and closed each cooler twice. Afterward, we collected the temperature data, and looked to see how long it took for the temperature inside each lunch cooler to surpass 40°F.
This temperature is the beginning of the "danger zone" for bacteria growth. Leaving food at 40°F or more for a prolonged time creates a risk for bacteria growth that could make you sick.
Apart from the raw temperature data, we also opened, closed, lifted, and carried these coolers around and used them in everyday life for extended times to see how they performed. We paired them with our favorite kids lunch boxes and bento boxes to see which fit best and made the entire lunch experience seamless.
Prices were accurate at the time this article was published but may change over time. The product experts at Reviewed have all your shopping needs covered. Follow Reviewed on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, or Flipboard for the latest deals, product reviews, and more.
Prices were accurate at the time this article was published but may change over time.
The product experts at Reviewed have all your shopping needs covered. Follow Reviewed on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, or Flipboard for the latest deals, product reviews, and more.
Julia is the Senior Scientist at Reviewed, which means that she oversees (and continually updates) the testing of products in Reviewed's core categories such as televisions, washing machines, refrigerators, and more. She also determines the testing methods and standards for Reviewed's "The Best Right Now" articles.
Managing Editor, Kitchen & Appliances
Managing Editor, Kitchen & Appliances. Danielle has a B.S. from Syracuse University and a AAS in Culinary Arts from Newbury College. Previously, Danielle was a Test Cook and Associate Editor at America's Test Kitchen, as well as a freelance recipe developer and food writer. She’s the mom of two boys and loves making pizza on Friday nights.
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