Stainless steel lunch boxes are the best — plastic cracks

Stainless steel lunch boxes are the most durable choice if you need something that survives a year of backpack abuse.

Plastic boxes crack at the hinges and latches within a few months. Metal ones take the beating and keep going. Look for a Planetbox or Lunchbots — they’re unibody steel with no fragile parts to snap off. The lids can dent, but they don’t shatter, and you can bend them back into shape.

What actually fails on lunch boxes is the latch, the hinge, or the zipper. Steel boxes skip all three. If you need insulation, put the steel box inside a separate insulated bag — but the box itself should be metal.

Your lunch should survive the backpack even if you don’t.