PlanetBox has ice packs now!

PlanetBox now has ice blankets shaped right for the box and a sleeve to put them in. I just ordered a couple sets along with extra ice packs. While the ice packs we had worked great, they didn't have an extra sleeve and I didn't like how the plastic edges of the ice pack would catch on the mesh black stuff. I was scared of it ripping a big hole.

http://www.planetbox.com/coolTools.html

Planetbox users...

They now have a custom ice pack available! It's on their website under "products".


ETA: Looks like they have some new magnets too.

Re: Planetbox users...

We don't have a Planetbox...but the reusable ice pack I have from Target can be customized for size and looks very similar to that one. (And less expensive!)

I bought the one in the 2nd link, then cut them down to fit both the lunch and the snack sections of ds's lunch box. I keep two in the freezer and the rest are stored in a cabinet in case one gets ruined or lost.

http://www.target.com/p/Igloo-Natural-2pk-Ice/-/A-13273935

http://www.target.com/p/Igloo-Natural-Ice-1-lb/-/A-13273936

Re: Planetbox users...

http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=194197

Re: Planetbox users...

TechnoGranola said:

http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=194197

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Oops, sorry! Missed that.

twinsmom said:

Oops, sorry! Missed that.

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So did everyone else. :ROTFLMAO:

Sent from my iPhone using Car-Seat.Org

Techno - did you get the new icepacks yet? I'm curious about how well they keep the cold. I'm using Medela packs now and they work very well. The leftover lunch is still cold when they get home from school at 3pm (lunch is packed at 7am). The planetbox packs look like they might be lighter than what I'm using, but I've tried other blanket type ice packs and they don't stay cold for very long.

No, I don't have them yet. They could take a couple weeks to get to me using First Class International. I did order the day they put them on their web site though (whatever day I created the thread).

My current packs have the non-toxic gel stuff in them and they work really well. But they do "sweat" and the corners are sharp. The PlanetBox ones say they have just water in them so I'm wondering if they won't last as long. For my big kid, lasting until lunch time is pefect. For the little one, it would be nice if they kept things cold until afternoon snack around 2ish I think.

I'll be happy to report back when they arrive and we try them. Hopefully USPS and Canada Post are quick this time.

TechnoGranola said:

No, I don't have them yet. They could take a couple weeks to get to me using First Class International. I did order the day they put them on their web site though (whatever day I created the thread).

My current packs have the non-toxic gel stuff in them and they work really well. But they do "sweat" and the corners are sharp. The PlanetBox ones say they have just water in them so I'm wondering if they won't last as long. For my big kid, lasting until lunch time is pefect. For the little one, it would be nice if they kept things cold until afternoon snack around 2ish I think.

I'll be happy to report back when they arrive and we try them. Hopefully USPS and Canada Post are quick this time.

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Thanks, I'd love to hear your review!

I emailed Planetbox about the coldpacks and how long they stay cold. I got this response from the founder, Caroline Miros:

"We have tested the ColdPack in combination with the PlanetBox lunchbox and Carry Bag on a typical school day. By pre-cooling the PlanetBox in the refrigerator overnight and then placing it inside the Carry Bag with the ColdPack in the mesh pocket of the Carry Bag in the morning, a substantial lowering of temperature can be maintained. The exact temperature maintained throughout the day will depend on the ambient temperature the PlanetBox is stored in for the morning, exposure to direct sunlight and opposed to shade, and the number of times the lunchbox is opened throughout the morning. In our tests, a consistent 40° F temperature was maintained inside the lunchbox while the exterior temperature was 75° F through the morning hours. 40° F is a safe temperature to store perishable foods, according to the USDA. If a significantly higher exterior (ambient) temperature is anticipated then we would suggest using two cold packs – one placed below the lunchbox and one placed above – to sandwich the PlanetBox in a blanket of cold throughout the morning. As reminder, the ColdPack can only maintain the cool for as long as it remains frozen. To truly keep perishable foods from spoiling for long periods a refrigerator should be used for storage."

So it sounds like it won't keep it cold as long as what I'm using. Our boxes get washed overnight and lunch gets made in the morning, so no pre-cooling for us. Now, there is never meat in their lunch does their food have a longer life than something with meat? They do get cheese or yogurt on occasion so I'd like those to be cold. And if they have something like a cucumber/tzatsiki sandwich, it's nice for it to stay cold else the filling makes the bread soggy.

I wonder why they didn't go with a non-toxic gel filled pack? Even if it broke, the cold pack is within the sleeve so it's not like there would be gel all over their lunch.

To truly keep perishable foods from spoiling for long periods a refrigerator should be used for storage.

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Weird comment IMO. What does she think people do when they go camping? Back before we had a trailer with a electric/propane fridge, we'd go for 2 weeks at a time and used coolers with ice. Never had a problem keeping anything cold. There are alternatives to refrigerators!

I got my ice packs the end of last week and used them Tuesday so have some feedback. My teenager packed her own lunch and popped in one of the packs. I asked her at the end of the day if her lunch was cold at lunch time. She said it was and said she didn't notice any difference in the temp between the new ice packs and what we previously used. :thumbsup: Her lunch is packed by 8am and she's eating at 12:10pm so around 4 hours.

DD2 is in kindy and she opens hers at 10:15ish, 12:15ish and 2:15ish for 2 snacks and lunch. At snack time her lunch bag would be left open for about 15 minutes each time and at lunch for 20-30 mins. I picked her up after school yesterday and opened her box at 4pm to see if anything was in there. She still had leftover cut up apple and cucumbers. Everything was cool and the ice pack was still cool. Definitely not cold or room temp, but not warm and nothing was mushy.

So, these seem to work absolutely fine for keeping things cold until lunch time. For my kids, things are still cool enough to eat at the end of the day but we don't pack meat and I have no idea on meat coolness guidelines so you'd want to test that out yourselves if your kids need to eat out of the box after school and if you've packed meat.

Oh, I didn't get to see cheese or yogurt at the end of the day so not sure if it would be cold enough, but not sure if it would have been cold enough with our prior packs either. We don't pack those items often and most times food doesn't come home at the end of the day, so not sure if I'll have feedback on that anytime soon. Definitely would be fine at lunch time though.

The ice blanket style is nice. My prior packs would sometimes freeze with a large lump on one side because something shifted while closing the freezer drawer or my kids weren't careful to lay them flat. The ice blanket pockets freeze evenly but then have the flexibility on the seams. The pouches are nice for protecting the packs in case a clumsy kid should drop one while packing their lunch or set it on something sharp on the counter while packing their lunch or something.

The shape doesn't fit the bags lunch pocket like I expected. The ice packs don't go the full height of the lunch bag. I see they have modified a couple colours of their lunch bags with a pocket to better fit the ice pack. LOL Seems backwards, but meh. The width is fine and that's what I most wanted was something wider. And if they were full pocket size, they'd be heavier which is something the PlanetBox doesn't need.

I've got pics of the ice packs in my packages thread http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=192063 (first post has link to pics)

One more update. My teen came home today and had eaten lunch out with her friends instead of eating her lunch. So she opened it to eat as her after school snack. It had not been open since 8am this morning and it was cold. She had bagel with cream cheese inside and the cream cheese was still cold and fresh to eat. Definitely way colder than my kindy kid's yesterday that had been opened several times throughout the day. The cubes in her ice pack don't appear to be frozen anymore but the pack is still very chilly and the metal on the outside of her box was cold.