PlanetBox released a slew of new products over the last year and we have spent the last few months testing them out. Rather than write several individual reviews, I’ve decided to round them all up into one big post. It’s a PlanetBox-a-palooza over here folks! Let’s dig right in!
(This post contains affiliate links.)
PlanetBox Bottle Rocket
First up is my family’s new favorite water bottle: the PlanetBox Bottle Rocket! Why is it our favorite? Because it keeps things cold. Coldy, cold, COLD! I like to fill it with water and ice cubes before we head out for a day’s adventure and I have come home many hours later with ice still knocking around inside the bottle. PlanetBox says it keeps things cold for up to 12 hours and it’s absolutely true.
Other things I like:
- the bottle is stainless steel inside and out
- it doesn’t sweat
- all its parts can go in the dishwasher
- the clasp is very well thought out — it has a push-button opening so it’s easy to pop open, but it also has a flip-up clasp that keeps it from opening in your bag if the button accidentally gets bumped
- It has a wide spout so it’s easy to drink from.
Priced at $28.00, it is one of the more expensive water bottles I’ve seen, but it is honestly the best one I’ve ever used so it’s worth considering. (If you buy the Bottle Rocket as an add-on to a PlanetBox lunch kit they knock $10 off the price.)
PlanetBox Pods
The PlanetBox Pods are a brand-new addition to the PlanetBox line-up and we just got ours last week so I haven’t had a ton of time to play with them, but so far I like what I see.
As with all PlanetBox products the details have been thoughtfully considered. The pods are made of high quality food-grade silicone and come in two sizes which fit perfectly into the different compartments of either the Rover or Shuttle lunch box. (I have the Rover Pods.)
They are exactly the right height so that the tops of the cups touch the top of the lunch box when it is closed. This helps to minimize spills and leaks. A small detail that I like is that each cup has two little divots on the bottom that fit over the little bumps in the upper left compartment of the Rover. This helps them stay put and decreases the chances that they’ll slide around while the box is in transit. The walls of the cups are also thicker than most of the silicone cups I’ve seen which also helps them keep from getting squished and spilling their contents. They are dishwasher safe and priced at $6.95 for a set of four.
I tried packing one of the cups with hummus and sent it to camp with one of my boys as part of this goofy Star Wars lunch and it did a bang up job of keeping the hummus where it belonged.
Do you need the PlanetBox Pods? No — you don’t. You can easily pack your lunches in these boxes without them and you can also use silicone baking cups from other manufacturers and they’ll work fine. But these are nice, sturdy cups and they’ll work a little bit better in the PlanetBox lunch boxes than other cups will so they’re definitely worth considering.
PlanetBox Shuttle
I’ve been wanting a PlanetBox Shuttle for ages now and I finally treated myself to this cute space-themed kit last month. I got the whole kit — lunch box, magnets and the carry sleeve which is priced at $39.95.
The Shuttle is smaller than the Rover — it holds about 3 cups of food compared the the 4 1/2 cups you can pack in the Rover — but it’s of a similar size as some of our more traditionally sized bento boxes. It works great to pack lunches for smaller appetites and it’s good for snacks for anyone. Like all PlanetBox lunch boxes it’s extremely rugged and I know it will hold up for many years.
So far I’ve used it to pack a few snacks for day camp and it’s been fun to work with. I like that it has a bigger section where I can get a little creative. This little bear
PlanetBox JetPack
Finally, we have the PlanetBox JetPack! This is PlanetBox’s new backpack and again, the attention to detail is top notch. It comes in three cute prints and two solids and starts at a whopping $57.95 (the prints are $2 more). It’s made from a rugged polyester fabric which is made out of recycled plastic bottles. (Cool!)
The coolest feature of the JetPack is the large pocket on the bottom that is perfectly sized to hold any of PlanetBox’s lunch boxes flat in their insulated bags. It’s a nice feature that helps keep lunches from getting jumbled and it also eliminates the need for kids to dig through their packs to retrieve their lunches.
The JetPack also has a ton of pockets for organization in the front compartment. Five? Six? I lost count. It also has a secret pocket at the top for a phone or wallet and two pouches on the side for water bottles. I love bags with lots of pockets so this is a dream come true for me.
So what’s the downside? It’s really big. Huge! Enormous! The large pocket for the lunch box on the bottom kind of necessitates this. The web site says it’s recommended for kids aged 6 and up, but I’m not so sure it will work for many kids at the younger end of that spectrum. My nearly seven-year-old is actually pretty tall for his age — 75th percentile — and he is dwarfed by the JetPack. We adjusted the straps to be as short as possible and they slip off his shoulders which makes it tough to wear for very long. A chest clip would help solve this problem and balance out the weight so it would be nice to see that as a future addition. For older kids who are taller, stronger and have more stuff to carry to school it would probably be great, but my rising sixth grader has no interest in it. Sigh. It’s frustrating because this is a really great back pack otherwise.
Have you tried any of these PlanetBox products? I’d love to hear your thoughts on them!
Disclosure: I received samples of the BottleRocket, Pods and JetPack for review. I purchased the Shuttle Kit because I am a crazy lunch box lady and I wanted one. I have not been compensated for this review and everything I’ve said here is my sincere opinion. This post contains affiliate links.
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