The best for middle school

The OmieBox Bento Box can hold hot food in the included leak-proof insulated container, and there is still plenty of room left in the other compartments for cold or room-temperature food.

The OmieBox Bento Box has a cute design that middle-schoolers will love. Middle school can be a time of great indecision, and we took that into consideration when we chose this for our top middle school pick. This box includes an insulated leak-proof container to keep food hot, but it's also designed to have separate temperature zones. You can pack cold food right next to the hot food, and they'll both stay the correct temperature (as long as you add an ice pack for the cold food).

No matter what lunch curveball your middle-schooler throws at you, this lunch box will be able to accommodate it. There are five different color options for your middle-schooler to choose from. The box has an attached carrying handle, so you can forgo a lunch bag if you want.

Don't let the compact design fool you; there are actually a few ways you can play around with the configuration of this box to perfectly fit whatever meal you want to pack. There are three main compartments, one of which fits the insulated container. You could remove the insulated container if you don't need to pack anything hot, and the box also comes with a divider so you can create a customized fourth compartment.

A review from Martha Stewart named the OmieBox of the top 10 lunch boxes and praised the design of the insulated container: "The insulated jar is wide and shallow, which makes it easy to eat the food inside, and its lid features a chunky handle so even small kids can open it." Wirecutter also named the Omie Box one of the best kids' lunch boxes; one of their favorite aspects is that it holds the most food of all the bento boxes they tested.

Pros: Holds hot and cold foods, versatile design, simple yet attractive design with color options

Cons: The insulated container is on the smaller side (it holds about a cup of food)