Get a rotomolded cooler instead of a lunch box

If you work construction, your best bet is a rotomolded cooler—something like a Yeti Roadie or a Pelican—not a fabric lunch box.

Soft lunch boxes with zippers die fast on a jobsite. Mud, rebar, dropped tools, getting thrown in a truck bed—they last a few months, then the zipper blows out or the fabric tears. A rotomolded cooler is one solid piece of thick plastic. It takes the same beating your tools take and keeps going.

It also actually keeps food cold. The insulation is built into the walls, not just a thin foil liner. Throw an ice pack in there and your sandwich is still good at 2pm, even in July. Many of them have replaceable latches and freezer-grade gaskets, so repairs are doable.

The price stings compared to a $15 lunchbox. But a rotomolded cooler lasts ten years. The cheap one lasts until the first time it falls off the tailgate. If you’re on a budget, the RTIC or Ozark Trail versions are almost as tough for half the price.

Your lunch is going to take more hits than your power tools. Pack it accordingly.