Get a thermos, not a glass lunch box

A wide-mouth vacuum-insulated food jar is the only lunch container I trust with soup in a backpack.

Glass and plastic lunch boxes with clip-on lids look leak-proof, but they aren’t. The gaskets are fine until a little sloshing pressure pushes soup past the seal — and then you’ve got chili all over your laptop. Even brands that print “leak-proof” on the box usually mean “leak-resistant,” and thin liquid finds every gap.

The actual answer is an old-fashioned food thermos with a wide screw-on lid. My picks: Zojirushi food jars are the best, with a lid that seals truly and cleans easily. The classic Thermos King is nearly as good and cheaper. Stanley if you drop things. All three keep soup hot for hours and won’t leak when sealed right.

Two honest tips: don’t fill past the inner fill line — vapor pressure will push liquid out — and seat the lid fully before you screw it. Snug, not gorilla-tight.

A soaked backpack is not where you save $15.