Steambox Review

If you don’t work in a traditional office—or are always on the go—meal times can be a tricky business. Chances are you don’t have access to a microwave, which means you’re stuck eating cold foods like sandwiches day after day—or getting takeout, which can add up quickly.

Sound familiar? If so, we’re betting you’ll be interested to hear about Steambox (available at Amazon) . This heated lunch box promises to be a game-changer for anyone who works on remote job sites or out of their car, as the battery-powered design delivers a hot meal anywhere. With this leakproof lunchbox in tow, you’ll be able to bring leftovers, soup, and more on the go, no matter where work takes you.

To see if Steambox truly delivers on its promises, we tested out the electric lunch box for ourselves, so keep reading to find out what we thought.

What is Steambox?

• Dimensions: 10.5 x 6.5 x 3.5 inches
• Capacity: 25 ounces
• Weight: 4.4 pounds (when empty)
• Power: 120V
• Battery life: 45 minutes
• Charge time: 3 hours

Steambox is a sleek self-heating lunch box that uses steam to reheat food. It runs on a rechargeable battery, which means you can use it anywhere, even if there’s no outlet nearby.

The box itself is fairly substantial in size, weighing more than four pounds (so it may not be ideal for, say, hiking). It’s made from thick plastic with a bamboo lid. And it comes with a metal food container that has a silicone cover, as well as a small plastic container for water that can be stored in the lid.

To use the lunch box, pour a small amount of water into the bottom, where a metal heating plate is housed. Place the uncovered food container inside, replace the lid of the lunch box, and turn it on.

You’re able to select how long you want it to steam in five-minute increments for up to 25 minutes—the brand claims that most meals will be ready in around 20.

The Steambox can also be paired with the brand’s smartphone app, if desired. It’s available through the Apple App Store or Google Play, and it allows you to start the steaming cycle, receive notifications when your food is ready, and check the battery level of the box from your phone.

What we like

It does a good job heating up food

The biggest question I had about the Steambox was obvious: Does it do a good job heating up food? To test it out, I used it a few times at home, and I also sent it to work with my partner.

Overall, the lunch box does a great job heating up food—our meals were hot to the touch and warmed all the way through. Plus, thanks to the steam, the food came out moist and tender. After using it several times, we found that 20 minutes is the sweet spot to ensure everything is evenly heated.

We did notice that the box works most efficiently if food is in uniformly sized pieces. For instance, my partner likes to take chicken and rice to work as his dinner, and the box heats this meal up most evenly if the chicken is cut up into cubes, not left as a whole breast.

The food container is leakproof

If soup is your go-to lunch, you’ll be happy to hear that the Steambox food container is leakproof. The silicone lid takes a little bit of effort to put on, as you have to ensure it wraps around the lip of the metal container, but if you do it properly, it creates an impressively tight seal.

I put water inside the container and shook it around, even flipping it upside down, and not a single drop leaked out! So long as you put the lid on tightly, you can rest assured you won’t be greeted with a soupy mess at mealtime.

You can use it multiple times per charge

Unlike many electric lunch boxes, Steambox is battery-powered, allowing you to use it virtually anywhere. When you plug it in, it takes about three hours to get the battery up to 100%, and each charge provides around 45 minutes of operation time.

Given that it generally takes 15 to 20 minutes to heat up food inside the lunch box, this means that you can use Steambox two or three times on a single charge. I can see this being useful when you’re on the road—or if, like me, you often forget to plug things in to charge.

I do think it would have been nice if the brand included a car charger — these types of lunch boxes seem to be popular for truck drivers or people who work out of their cars, so it would be handy to have another charging method when you don’t have access to a standard outlet.

What we don’t like

It’s pricey

I think the biggest downside of the Steambox is its price. At $275, it’s certainly not a budget-friendly lunch box, and if you want extra food containers to go with it, they’re $29 a piece.

There are also a lot of similar products available for a fraction of the price. Hot Bento makes a similar battery-powered lunch box for $100, and if you have access to either a standard or car outlet, a product like the Forabest Electric Lunch Box is just $40.

The Steambox does uniquely use steam to heat foods—where competitors don't—and it boasts a sleeker design. But you'll have to decide if those features are worth an extra $200.

The controls are finicky

The controls on the Steambox are simple: There’s a toggle on the back of the box to turn it on or off, as well as a button on the front panel to start the steaming. Under the start button, there are five flashing lights that indicate the steaming time (each light represents five minutes).

However, the first time I used the box, it took me several minutes to figure out how to adjust the steam time. Even with the help of the manual, it wasn’t clear that the lights themselves are buttons. You have to tap on them to increase the time, but it’s easier said than done, as they don’t always register your touch.

Even on subsequent uses, I found myself frustrated as I tapped on the lights, trying to get the timer up to the level I wanted. Overall, I think it’s a less-than-intuitive design choice, and there are a lot of easier ways this system could have been designed.

Should you buy the Steambox?

Yes, if budget isn't a concern

The performance of this heated lunch box is quite impressive. With just a little bit of water, it’s able to heat up food with steam technology anywhere—whether you’re in your car, on the go, or out on a picnic.

Most foods will be hot and nicely tender in around 20 minutes, and the metal food container is leakproof, allowing you to travel with things like soup without worrying about spillage.

However, I think its high price tag could be a sticking point for most people. While the lunch box is well-designed and effective, this price just seems too high—especially when you consider that similar products can cost as low as $40.

But if you're serious about heating foods effectively—and don't mind splurging—the Steambox could be a welcomed part of your daily meal routine.