LocknLock Six Piece Container Set review: a five-star food storage solution

Price on writing: £22 for six (currently on offer) | Buy now from Amazon

If you’re taking food outside the home, whether it's packed lunches for school, homemade soups and salads for the office, or even eating alfresco when the temperatures rise, you’re going to need the best Tupperware container. When out and about, you'll want a leakproof food storage solution that you can confidently throw into the bottom of your bag without the contents seeping its way out by the time you get to work.

LocknLock multipurpose containers come highly rated by Mumsnet users and online reviewers alike. With an ultra-secure silicone seal and a four-sided locking mechanism that claims to keep food 100% airtight while preventing spills, they certainly sound impressive. However, as the old saying goes, do you really get what you pay for? Mumsnet writer Lucy put them through their paces to find out. 

After more quality kitchen buys recommended by Mumsnetters? Don’t miss our guides to the best dishwasher and fridge freezer for families.

Our verdict

• Design: 5/5

• Quality of seal: 5/5 

• Versatility: 5/5 

• Ease of cleaning: 4.5/5

• Ease of storing: 4.5/5

• Value for money: 4.5/5

While they don’t come cheap at their full RRP, this LocknLock Six Piece Container Set is a worthwhile investment. Featuring five durable containers that are freezer, microwave and dishwasher safe, these food storage boxes are built to stand the test of time.

With a range of sizes in the set, these versatile and multipurpose containers were ideal for my family, and we used them store everything from packed lunches to leftovers, both inside the home and when out and about. 

I loved the quality of the four-sided lockable lids which made the container completely airtight and leakproof. However, while the nesting design allowed for easy organisation and simple storage, the largest container is pretty substantial in size and was used less as a result.

LocknLock Six Piece Container Set: design and style

The LocknLock Six Piece Container Set includes one large 2.3-litre container, three 800ml containers and two 350ml containers in the set. The five smaller containers all have a relatively shallow design that allows them to nest neatly back inside the larger box when not in use. The set also includes a freshness tray for the largest container, so condensation or moisture is drawn away from food during storage. 

High quality to the touch, the LocknLock set is made from thick and durable plastic, with a slightly clouded but almost transparent design, so you can clearly see the contents when the containers are inside your fridge or freezer.

I found the smallest containers were perfect for storing portions of cherry tomatoes and leftover crudities to keep them fresh in my fridge. The medium-sized containers were ideal for packed lunches, with plenty of space for sandwiches, salads and pasta. Substantially bigger than the rest, the largest container was slightly too big for my needs and I am unlikely to get as much future use out of it as a result.

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Leak test: how well does the LocknLock container's seal perform? 

The LocknLock containers definitely lived up to the brand's 100% airtight and leakproof claim. With a thick, robust lid featuring clips on all four sides, combined with a strong internal seal, these containers are genuinely leakproof and are even capable of storing soups and sauces when travelling outside the home.  

Due to the sturdy nature of the clips, the LocknLock containers do require a bit more effort to seal the lids than the two-clip Sistema Brilliance range, but Amazon reviewers found they became easier to latch after continued use. They also made me confident enough to put them straight in my bag, transporting sauce-based packed lunches without worrying about leakage during my journey to the office. 

I also performed a ‘water test’ on one of the LocknLock containers, holding it upside down to see if any liquid was expelled. I was pleased to see that the seal held impressively well and didn't spill a single drop. 

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What was the LocknLock Six Piece Container Set like to store?

The set has a nesting design, which made it really easy to store the smaller containers when not in use. As mentioned above, the largest box was used less regularly, meaning in most cases I had somewhere compact and neat to store the entire set inside my kitchen cupboards. 

The containers also stack neatly inside the fridge or freezer, with an ever-so-slightly raised edge to stop them from slipping off easily when stacked in a tower. 

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How easy was the LocknLock Six Piece Container Set to clean?

The LocknLock containers were really easy to clean, either by hand or on the top shelf of my dishwasher. 

When washing by hand, I did need to use a little more effort when cleaning the lids, especially after storing sauces, pasta or small items like rice or cous cous. I was also able to leave them to soak for short periods in hot water without affecting the container's quality. 

Even after heating up tomato-based sauces in the microwave, I wasn’t left with any obvious discolouration or stains, and the thick plastic didn’t warp or change shape after a cycle in my slimline dishwasher. 

Price: is the LocknLock Six Piece Container Set worth it?

At the time of testing, the LocknLock set was priced at £32, making it one of the more expensive sets I tried out, with a significant cost of over £5 per container. That being said, it is currently on offer at Amazon with an impressive 46% knocked off the RRP, bringing the set down to just £22.

Despite the premium price tag, however, the phrase ‘you get what you pay for’ is certainly justified here - even at full price. Made with high quality, durable BPA-free plastic, these versatile containers lived up to their 100% airtight and leakproof claim.

They may be an initial investment, but I can see these containers being used for many years to come. 

How we tested

I tested the LocknLock Six Piece Container Set over two weeks both inside and outside my home. With a range of sizes in the set, they were used for storing small portions of fruit and vegetables in the fridge, as a lunch box for my children, and for reheating leftovers for my twice weekly trips to the office. 

During testing, I was able to assess the containers' overall quality and durability, as well as the brand's claim of of the seal being 100% airtight and leakproof. 

• Tested over a fortnight

• Used to store a variety of food

• Performed a leak test to assess the quality of the seal

• Washed both by hand and in the top shelf of my dishwasher, plus checked for any signs of stains or warpage after cleaning

• Cross-compared with all the Tupperware products I've tested, including other items from the LocknLock range 

About the author

Lucy Cotterill is a mum of two and a Content Writer at Mumsnet, specialising in baby/child and lifestyle product reviews and round-ups. Having written product reviews on her own blog Real Mum Reviews since 2012, Lucy loves to research and explore the pros and cons of products, scrutinising expert guidance and consumer feedback to help people make confident purchases.  

This spring, Lucy’s been working hard to reduce her food shopping bills, taking packed lunches to work and using leftovers where possible to prevent shopping unnecessarily during her lunch break. To help with her quest, she was commissioned to test out 10 of the best food storage containers both inside and outside the home.

Alongside her work reviewing products for Mumsnet, she’s also written numerous buyer’s guides, including the best budget dishwasher, the top kettles for hard water and the most effective dishwasher cleaners, to name just a few articles in her extensive portfolio. 

About Mumsnet Reviews

All Mumsnet product reviews are written by real people after extensive research and testing. We work hard to provide honest and independent advice you can trust. Sometimes, we earn revenue through affiliate (click-to-buy) links in our articles. However, we never allow this to influence our coverage.

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