The Steambox is an electric lunchbox looking for a problem to solve

I’m going to stage with you: I don’t actually get the Steambox. I imply, I perceive what it’s: it’s a self-heating lunchbox that makes use of steam to heat up your meals, one which’s powered by a chargeable battery so you possibly can theoretically take it on the go. And to its credit score, it does truly reside as much as the concept of being a lunchbox that heats up your meals. I simply don’t perceive why anybody would pay $279 for this specific one.

Earlier than we get too far into that, although, let me acquaint you with what this factor truly is. From the surface, it’s a shoebox-sized grey plastic field with a bamboo lid. (The scale are 11 inches lengthy, 6.5 inches broad, and three.5 inches tall.) Unclip the plastic lid, and also you’ll discover just a little steel pan with its personal rubber lid, the place you retailer the meals — as much as round 3 cups or 700ml price. Beneath that could be a heating aspect, which you pour water onto when it’s time to warmth the meals. (The water is saved in just a little measuring container that clips onto the bamboo lid).

To show it on, you flip a swap on the again, which is situated proper subsequent to the barrel plug you employ to recharge its battery. (Sure, you do have to make use of the bundled charger; at CES 2023, Steambox co-founder Kevin de Krieger informed TechCrunch that it couldn’t cost through USB-C “due to how USB-C works.” Okay.) Then, you dump your water onto the underside, put the steel container again in sans lid, and shut the field up.

To decide on how lengthy you wish to reheat your meals, you faucet on a capacitive button that cycles by 5-, 10-, 15-, 20-, and 25-minute timer settings, indicated by a row of 5 lights. There’s one other capacitive button that begins the heating course of. Sure, the truth that it doesn’t use bodily buttons could be a bit annoying — they don’t at all times register faucets, and it typically took me a second to register what cook dinner time the flashing lights have been indicating.

You do have an alternate, as a result of in fact the Steambox has an app (although you need to use the system fully offline if you would like). Sadly, the app requires an account to make use of, and it’s extraordinarily bare-bones. When you’ve signed in and linked to the Steambox through Bluetooth, you possibly can see how a lot battery it has left, set a timer with single-minute granularity, and begin or cease the heating course of. That’s just about it; there are buttons on the backside that promise suggestions, recipes, information, and an FAQ, however tapping on them provides you just a little “coming quickly” banner.

Okay, so why am I so down on it? Is it unhealthy at warming up meals, leaving it chilly and unappetizing? Not precisely. I discovered it to be enough at reheating many of the issues I threw at it, like salmon fillets, mac and cheese, chili, mashed potatoes, and extra. It’s necessary to notice that phrase, although — reheating.

Not like extra highly effective electrical lunchboxes or transportable hotpots that plug into the wall, the Steambox isn’t actually meant to really cook dinner your meals. The corporate’s web site warns you to “watch out when cooking uncooked meats, hen, or fish with Steambox” and says that doing so isn’t beneficial.

The FAQ web page does say that cooking veggies must be “no huge deal,” which I used to be very blissful to listen to. I used to be rather less blissful once I bit into the broccoli that had been steaming for all 25 minutes and felt the crunch of principally uncooked greenery. (Although, truthfully, it was alright as soon as I tossed on just a little Tony Chachere’s and a few candy chile sauce.)

In all probability my largest subject with the Steambox: it’s sluggish. I needed to reheat the mac and cheese I discussed for round 20 minutes, whereas a microwave takes round two or three minutes. It’s additionally price noting that the Steambox’s small measurement provides you a reasonably onerous restrict on what you possibly can reheat, and it matches method lower than even a dorm-size microwave. (I don’t assume you might match a median slice of pizza in it.)

Microwaves are one of many elephants within the room in the case of the Steambox. Or at the least they’d be if the corporate (additionally named Steambox) didn’t consistently convey them up in its advertising and marketing. “Bye microwave,” reads a quote on its web site. “The microwave principally kills your meals,” de Krieger informed TechCrunch. Maybe probably the most offensive little bit of copy is on its Kickstarter web page, which claims the microwave is “a good way to warmth up your meals, and a good way to destroy all the goodness and vitamins … earlier than radiating the sh!t out of it,” including {that a} microwave usually makes your meals look “revolting.”

What? To start with, I’m not letting that bit about destroying vitamins and radiating your meals go unchecked as a result of I haven’t seen any proof that’s true. (The US has many, many issues with its meals tradition; reliance on microwaves isn’t one among them.) However it additionally appears like unearned confidence. Maybe I’m only a microwave wizard, however the meals I acquired from the Steambox was on par with, not higher than, meals that I reheated within the microwave. It was pleasant sufficient to eat, however I’d name bullshit should you informed me the meals that got here out of it was straight from the oven or range. That’s definitely a little bit of a letdown for one thing that prices greater than the worth of three low-end microwaves (greater than sufficient to inventory an workplace, even when your boss wouldn’t spring for one themselves) and takes for much longer to reheat meals.

The Steambox does have some advantages in comparison with a microwave; in my assessments, it didn’t fumigate my home with a fishy odor once I was reheating a fillet, whereas my microwave did. Additionally, I can stand subsequent to it whereas reheating lunch with out my AirPods slicing out.

There are many individuals who don’t have the choice of plugging a tool into an outlet and who might respect a conveyable, freshly heated lunch. And others who would like, for no matter purpose, to not nuke their meals. Maybe you’re employed exterior or are at job websites the place retailers aren’t obtainable or are taken up by extra necessary tools.

On the subject of portability, the Steambox does have a leg up versus principally each equipment that must be plugged into the wall. Its battery is nice for round 40 minutes of cooking, which might reheat round two or three meals.

Nevertheless, I usually spend my weekends in the course of conservation areas to construct and preserve climbing trails and by no means even thought-about taking the Steambox on a type of journeys. Even toting it to a close-by park for lunch wasn’t the idyllic expertise I imagined. The issue is that it’s a giant and comparatively heavy system; in response to my scale, the entire package weighs round 4lbs, 11oz, or simply over 2.1kg, earlier than you add any meals. (For reference, my backpacking range, a titanium cookpot, and a fuel canister meant for backpacking weighs lower than a pound: it’s 12.8oz, or 360g.)

That heft, and the truth that it’s a very rigid rectangle, makes it fairly uncomfortable to hold in a backpack. Once I talked in regards to the Steambox with one among my acquaintances who works exterior nearly on daily basis, she was much less involved with the load but in addition didn’t assume it’d work for her 30-minute lunch breaks until she wished to scarf down meals after 15–20 minutes of watching everybody else eat. She additionally questioned if it’d maintain sufficient meals for somebody who’s lively all day lengthy.

She did provide you with some use circumstances I hadn’t thought-about, although, suggesting that snowmobilers would possibly discover it helpful or folks on a automotive tenting journey, assuming they’d a simple technique to clear it and wouldn’t be exterior for too many days. For her private use, although, it didn’t look like she’d be speeding out to purchase one. “I believe I’d solely strive one out if I discovered one in a thrift retailer for below $10… extra probably below $5,” she informed me. (That most likely sounds just a little harsher than it truly is — she’s a legendary thrifter.)

There are cheaper and extra packable methods to get heat meals whereas exterior should you’re prepared to make use of insulation moderately than reheating. A basic Thermos can maintain soups scorching for hours, and people normally value lower than $50. The identical’s true of this Zojirushi lunch jar, which even consists of small bowls that allow you to convey alongside a number of several types of meals. Even a normal insulated lunchbox might do the trick, relying in your wants.

There are a number of extra nits to select with the Steambox, whereas I’m at this:

• I just like the stainless-steel container, however the lid is troublesome to get on correctly.
• It will get costly once you wish to meal prep — one further container and lid goes for $23, whereas a three-pack prices $56. (The containers I exploit for microwave meal prep are $30 for 5.)
• Except you fully dry the cooking space out after you’re achieved, there’s going to be a good quantity of moisture left in it. There was water visibly dripping from it once I took it out of my backpack, although I’d dumped out as a lot of the surplus as I might.
• You possibly can’t use the Steambox whereas it’s charging; if it has a useless battery, you’ll have to attend an hour or two to eat. Co-founder Amit Jaura says that’s as a result of “working batteries, DC and water / steam on the identical time must be dealt with rigorously.”
• I do have delicate considerations about high quality management — my colleague Sean Hollister was additionally despatched a Steambox, nevertheless it arrived solely nonfunctional. There was additionally at the least one Kickstarter commenter who says their unit had some scratches after they acquired it.

(I’ve, nevertheless, seen a lot worse in Kickstarter feedback; those for the Steambox appear to be comparatively constructive, although there are at the least a number of individuals who say they’re nonetheless ready for theirs.)

The factor I’m most torn about with the Steambox is that it truly appears to be comparatively competent at heating up meals. Certain, it’s not excellent, nevertheless it’s additionally not a catastrophe. Regardless of that, I battle to suggest it to just about anybody. Maybe its price ticket can be swallowable for prosperous fish aficionados whose co-workers hate the odor or somebody who actually needs to eat heat meals away from an outlet, however I believe just about everybody else can be higher served by different cheaper options like a microwave, insulated containers, a toaster oven, or wired electrical lunchbox. It’s simply too sad of a medium; it’s probably not handy to take outside, and there are a lot better choices indoors.

Maybe the easiest way I can sum it up is with this anecdote: I’ve had the Steambox for a number of months now, and have repeatedly tried to persuade my spouse — who takes a daily lunchbox to work on daily basis — to try it out. Actually the whole purpose I wished this evaluation was to see if my spouse might cook dinner fish at work with out getting bullied.

Apparently, she didn’t assume that juice was well worth the squeeze as a result of her response was at all times the identical: “Why would I try this? I’ve a microwave at work.”