This is a Vaya Tyffyn review, with both PROs and CONs. The boys have been using this lunchbox system, nearly every school day, for the past month. – jaden
Andrew with his 2-tier Vaya Tyffyn lunchbox.
Vaya Tyffyn Review
The boys like to bring lunch to school, as their cafeteria serves soggy pizza, sad vegetables and styrofoam counts as a food item.
We alternate between sandwiches and leftovers. For hot lunches, we’ve been using the Zojirushi Ms. Bento system for the past two years. It’s been working well, but my gripes about the Zojirushi: 1. The soup container lid is very difficult to open, and when it’s full of soup, the boys end up spilling the contents just trying to unscrew the lid. 2. The soup container leaks 3. The lunchbox doesn’t hold enough food for hungry, growing boys.
We’ve been trying out the Vaya Tyffyn lunch boxes for the past 6 weeks. It’s a vacuum insulated system that keeps food hot or cold for 5 hours. The containers are copper-finished stainless steel, with plastic, leak-resistant lids. The containers (either double stacked, or triple-stacked are housed in a sturdy base, insulated cover and latched with a solid locking mechanism.
The Vaya Tyffyns are gorgeous – the designs are very modern and fun.
Prior to loading up the trays with hot food, I like to heat up the containers with hot water. We have an instant-hot installed at our kitchen sink (one of the best $200 investments we ever made in our kitchen!)
Normally, I have no problem filling 2 of the containers with food…usually one container has protein, and another with vegetables.
The third container is a little tougher. Because the Tyffyn requires ALL containers to be either hot or cold…you can’t mix hot and cold food items, I have to figure out what goes in the last container, that doesn’t mind being hot or warm.
Sometimes, I’ll put in a piece of flatbread. Other times, I get desperate:
The lids just sit on the containers (no screwing required), which makes it very easy to open. Surprisingly, the lids stay put, and while Vaya claims they are “leak-resistant” I hesitate putting soup in the containers. The instructions say that the Tyffyn should always be held upright…but I just don’t trust the boys to be decent and not swing the container or tip it in their lockers.
The food does stay hot, though! Not piping-hot, but good enough for a hot lunch.
Here are the PROs and CONs:
PROs
- I love the design that modernizes Indian tiffin boxes. Very sleek!
- Food stays nice and hot
- Quality product. This product will last you many, many years
- Lids fit perfectly, easy to open
- Containers and lids dishwasher safe
- Containers hold a lot of food
- Included partitions make it easy to pack a variety of foods in a single container
- Included bag turns into a mat
CONs
- It’s a little heavy for kids. Empty, the 3-tier system weighs 2 pounds.
- The oval shape makes it hard to pack square things like sandwiches. Instead, you’re better off packing roll-ups or sushi for cold foods.
Overall, we love the Vaya Tyffyn. The boys won’t go back to the Zojirushi lunch containers. I love knowing that the kids are eating nutritious lunches, and whatever I pack them will stay hot or cold.
The Vaya Tyffyn sells for $59 on their website.
Vaya Tyffyn Giveaway
We’re giving away one Vaya Tyffyn! Choose your style and design.
