Recommendations for food flasks pls

[MushMashMunch]

Any recommendations for decent flasks to keep lunches warm for 8, 10 and 14 year olds? Lots of food flasks brands when I google like polar gear, thermos, etc but as I need 3 I’d like some recommendations before buying as they aren’t cheap. Need soemthing easy for 8yr old to open/close up properly as be in schooL bag and something the teen will use (boy!)

Any kunch suggestions other than pastas? Think soup would be messy.

We have aa Sho one and a Polar Gear one and both are good - slightly different zies. i bought the Polar one for my teen boy to avoid anything "girly" <sigh>

Mostly we just use them for pasta. I've ocassionally shoved a left over dinner if it's something like mashed potatoes with chicken/meat and gravy in there too. DS doesn't use his much but if he did, I'd have a few more options as he's a bit more flexible - eg leftover rice and casserole/stew/curry or leftover stir fry would work well.

https://thermos.co.uk/products/stainless-king-food-flask?variant=50482628198681

DD has this for soup, works well even when outside for 5 hours. Preheat with boiling water. If very cold we put it in a child's insulated lunch bag too.

I have two one is a small Stanley, the other is bigger atm I can not remember the make.
Both are good, the larger one has two cup/ bowls , the Stanley doesn't have them but has a spork.
My biggest issue with the Stanley is the lid is very smooth metal and can be hard to grip to undo when the vacuum is holding onto it. And the spork is nowhere near long enough to get to the bottom so I need to carry a bowl / plate too.
However it is much better at keeping things hot.
I tend to have left over curry / stew / sweet and sour / spaghetti bol .
Remember to heat the flask with boiling water for at least 5 mins before adding your food.
In the hot weather I have taken salad in them too. ( don't preheat the flask !😄)

I have a Black+Blum thermopot Which is really good. I have had it for years and the model has probably changed slightly but it looks very similar.

oh, and yes to preheating. i think that is absolutely th ekey to them working well. I tend to pour hot water in them whiel I'm prepping the food but I'v ebeen known to just pour a kettle of boiling water over and then empty it immediately. You can feel the diifference instantly if you put your finger in and it stops hot food cooling down before you've even closed the lid.

With the kids, they never use the separate bowl/cup so assume they'll use the flask as the bowl. I always just give them a regular fork. I do disposable ones if I have them too sometimes but m ine are pretty good about bringing the forks back so I don't mind regular (albeit cheapo) forks. But it is why I don't use the thermos ones - I find the opening too narrow to actually eat from.

We have the thermos good king ones linked above. Have always kept food hot enough till lunch time. We usually eat straight from the flask, unless its a burrito filling.

DS used to take
Veggie chilli with torttilla chips and grated cheese in a seperate pot
Tacco beans, either tinned or a homemade version with black beans, peppers and tomato. Again cheese and a wrap in seperate box.