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

I’m going to level with you: I don’t really understand Steambox. It’s a lunchbox that’s powered by a rechargeable battery that you can theoretically take with you on the go. I don’t understand why you pay $279 for this particular one.

But before we get into that, let me introduce you to what this really is. From the outside, it’s a shoebox-sized gray plastic box with a bamboo lid. (It measures 11 inches long, 6.5 inches wide, and 3.5 inches high.) Remove the plastic lid to reveal a small metal pan with a rubber lid. Equivalent to 700ml. Underneath is a heating element, into which water is poured as the food is heated. (Water is stored in a small weighing container that clips onto the bamboo lid).

To turn it on, flip the switch on the back, right next to the barrel plug used to charge the battery. (Yes, you must use the bundled charger. At CES 2023, Steambox co-founder Kevin de Krieger said: TechCrunch Couldn’t charge via USB-C “due to how USB-C works”. ) Then dump the water to the bottom, replace the metal container without a lid, and close the box.

To choose how long to reheat food, tap the capacity button to cycle through timer settings of 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25 minutes. This is indicated by a column of five lights. There is another capacitive button that starts the heating process. Yes, the fact that it doesn’t use physical buttons is a bit of a hassle.

you have an alternative. of course Steambox has an app (but you can use your device completely offline if you want). very Requisite minimum. Once signed in and connected to your Steambox via Bluetooth, you can check the battery level, set a timer in 1 minute increments, start or stop the heating process. That’s all. At the bottom are buttons that promise tips, recipes, news, and FAQs, but tapping them reveals a small “coming soon” banner.

Well, why am I so down on it? You don’t like to heat your food and it’s cold and appetizing? Not exactly. I’ve found it to be sufficient to reheat most anything I throw at it, including salmon fillets, mac and cheese, chili, and mashed potatoes. reheat.

Unlike more powerful electric bento boxes or portable pots that plug into the wall, the Steambox isn’t really for cooking food. The company’s website warns, “Be careful when cooking raw meat, poultry, or fish on your Steambox,” and it’s not recommended to do so.

The FAQ page states that cooking vegetables should be “no big deal” and I was very happy to hear that. (Honestly, I was fine with Tony Chacher and a bit of sweet chili sauce.)

Probably my biggest problem with Steambox is its slowness. The mac and cheese I mentioned had to be reheated for about 20 minutes, but the microwave takes about 2-3 minutes. , also note that it’s much smaller than a dorm-sized microwave. (I don’t think you can put an average pizza slice in it.)

The microwave is one of the elephants in the room when it comes to steamboxes. Or at least it would be, if the company (also known as Steambox) didn’t feature them in their marketing all the time. “Bye bye microwave,” reads the website quote. ‘Microwaves basically kill your food,’ said de Krieger TechCrunchPerhaps the most aggressive copy is on the Kickstarter page. The page states that the microwave oven is “a great way to heat food, and an excellent way to destroy all the good and the nutrients… before you radiate it. Microwaves make food ‘unpleasant’.” I add that it often looks like

what? First of all, I haven’t left a little bit about destroying nutrients and radiating your food. many problem of food culture. My reliance on microwaves isn’t one of them. Perhaps I’m just a microwave wizard, but the food I got from the steambox was on par with reheated food in the microwave. But if you were told that the food that came out came straight out of the oven or stove, I’d call it bullshit. The price is more than enough to stock an office, even if you didn’t want a microwave at ), which is a bit disappointing for something that takes much longer to reheat food.

in the steam box Several Advantages compared to the microwave; in my test it didn’t fumigate the house with a fishy smell while reheating the filet, but the microwave did. You can even stand and reheat your lunch.

Many people appreciate a hot, fresh lunch they can take with them without the option of plugging in their devices. And some people prefer not to nuke food for some reason. Perhaps you work outdoors, or are in a worksite where outlets are unavailable or occupied by more critical equipment.

When it comes to portability, the Steambox beats basically any appliance that has to be plugged into the wall. Its battery is good for about 40 minutes of cooking and can reheat about 2-3 meals.

But I often spend my weekends in the middle of nature reserves building and maintaining hiking trails. consideration Take Steambox on one of those trips. Even taking it to a nearby park for lunch wasn’t the idyllic experience I imagined.The problem is that the device is large and relatively heavy. According to my scale, the entire kit weighs about 4 pounds, 11 ounces, or just over 2.1 kg before adding food. (For reference, my backpacking stove, titanium cooking pot, and backpacking gas canister weigh less than a pound. 12.8 ounces or 360 g.)

Its weight and the fact that it’s a completely inflexible rectangle makes it rather uncomfortable to carry in a backpack. I didn’t really care about the food, but I didn’t think it would work for a 30-minute lunch break unless you wanted to eat less later. Watch others eat for 15-20 minutes. She also wondered if it would be possible to hold enough food for someone who was active all day.

But she came up with a few use cases I hadn’t thought of: people on camping trips on snowmobiles or cars that have an easy way to clean and don’t go out for days. Assuming it would, suggesting it might help…but for her personal use, it didn’t seem like she was in a hurry to buy it. I would only try it if I could find it for less than $10, maybe less than $5,” she told me. (That probably sounds a little harsher than it really is—she’s a legendary thrifty.)

If you use insulation rather than reheating, there are cheaper and better ways to pack a hot meal outdoors. A classic thermos can keep soup hot for hours, and he usually costs less than $50. This Zojirushi Bento is the same, and even comes with a small bowl that allows you to carry several kinds of ingredients. A standard insulated lunch box will also work if you prefer.

While I’m working on this, here are some nits to choose from on Steambox:

• I like stainless steel containers, but the lids don’t fit well.
• If you need food prep, it’s more expensive: one extra container and lid is $23, but a pack of three is $56. $30.)
• After you’re done cooking, a fair amount of moisture will remain if you don’t dry the cooking area completely. When I took it out of my backpack, it was visibly dripping with water, even though I threw away as much excess as possible.
• Steambox cannot be used while charging. If the battery is dead, you have to wait 1-2 hours to eat. Co-founder Amit Jaura says it’s because “working with batteries, DC and water/steam at the same time requires careful handling.”
• I have some concerns about quality control. A steambox was also sent to my colleague Sean Hollister, but it didn’t work at all. Also, one of his Kickstarter commenters said the unit had scratches when he got it.

(However, Kickstarter comments are even worse. Steambox comments seem relatively positive, but there are at least a few people who say they’re still waiting for their own.)

My biggest gripe about the Steambox is that it actually seems to have a relatively high ability to heat food. It’s not perfect, of course, but it’s not a disaster either. Nevertheless, I have a hard time recommending it to most people. TRUE Other than wanting to eat hot food away from outlets, most people prefer other cheap solutions such as microwaves, insulated containers, toaster ovens, or wired electric lunch boxes. I think it’s good. It’s too unfortunate for the media. It’s not very convenient to take it outdoors, and there are far better options for indoors.

Perhaps the best way I can summarize is the following anecdote. I have been using Steambox for several months and have repeatedly tried to convince my wife, who uses a regular lunchbox to work every day, to test it. The reason was to see if my wife could cook fish without being bullied at work.

Apparently, she didn’t think it was worth squeezing the juice because her reaction was always the same. I have a microwave at work. ”