Back-to-school lunchbox must-haves

Packing light The insulated Tiffin Lunch Set by Aladdin, $25 at the The Container Store (908 W North Ave, 312-654-8450) keeps food hot or cold for four-plus hours.

Stack 'em up The OOTS! Lunchbox, $40 at landofnod.com, has a top designed to cradle a water bottle and five BPA-free plastic containers inside.   

Some like it hot The Fuel Duo Container by Trudeau, $17 for a 10 oz. size and $20 for a 17 oz. size at Freehling Pot & Pan Co. (1365 E 53 St, 773-643-8080), is a double-walled vacuum container that keeps foods hot for five hours. 

Now you see it ...Aladdin's set of two mini Collapsible Bowls, $11 at The Container Store, are the perfect size for snacks. Twist-off lids pop up to make the leak-proof bowls full size. 

Dynamic Duo The Black + Blum Lunch Pot, $26 at the Chicago Architecture Foundation (224 S Michigan Ave, 312-922-3432) consists of two containers that stack on top of each other to form a post-modern lunch pail, complete with "spork" (a clever spoon-fork hybrid utensil).   

Box lunch The Slimline Quaddie by Sistema, $10 at The Container Store, is a BPA-free plastic container with two levels with compartments to keep food separate. 

Can do One Less Soda Cans by Storebound, $13 each at amazon.com, are made from a corn-based compost material. The double-walled, spill-proof can holds 10 ounces of hot or cold beverages. 

The old switcheroo The Klipo Cutlery Set to Go by Sistema, $5 at The Container Store, let you snap a spoon, fork, knife or chopstick head onto one of two handles and say sayonara to disposable utensils.  

Lifts and separates The BrightBin lunchbox, $13 at Toys Et Cetera, is a bi-level container created by Evanston mom Stephanie Stiller to hold mac and cheese or a sandwich on top, and three sides on the bottom. 

It's a snap The Snap Cutlery set by Trudeau, $5 at Ace Hardware Stores, includes a fork and spoon that snap together to keep them from going their separate ways.  

The envelope, please SnackTAXI reusable sandwich sacks, $9, and snack sacks, $7 at Green Genes (5111 N Clark St, 773-944-9250), are made or organic cotton, backed with nylon, and come in scads of great patterns.