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Kitchen and Housewares Reviews of OXO International 1071399 Pop Food Storage ContainerCustomer Review: Big decision Summary: 5 Stars
Overview:
I have purchased many of these storage containers, in various sizes. As with most OXO products, I have been extremely satisfied with them, and I would buy them again. More importantly, my wife appears to be equally impressed with her gift.
That being said, I don't think they would work as well for everyone, as they do for us. They are expensive, and they are not necessarily the best choice for a home with small children. As such, I will provide you with my observations, and leave it up to you to decide how they would fit into your personal lifestyle.
The pros:
They seal flawlessly, and with great ease. I believe they are the best product available for keeping the freshness in, and the bugs out. They stack nicely, and their clear siding permits easy identification of the contents within. Their rounded corners make pouring a breeze.
These containers come in a variety of sizes, and meet all of our kitchen dry-storage needs. They work for everything from baking goods, to cereals and crackers, to bread. Yes, the two largest container sizes can hold a normal-sized loaf of bread, and keep it fresh for much longer.
They have really helped organize the pantry, which looks great, and makes it much easier to evaluate how much of a product requires replentishment, prior to shopping.
The cons:
First, many of them (especially the larger sizes) are not packaged well for shipping, and they have arrived in broken condition. Fortunately, Amazon Customer Service has promptly replaced them, without delay. To me, the long-term convenience far outweighs the short-term frustration.
Second, we have not broken any of them after delivery, but we are also quite careful in their handling. I'm not sure how well they would do with small children, so be advised before you invest. I suspect a single drop on the hard kitchen floor would result in a damaged container, but I am not willing to test my hypothesis at this price.
Third, they are not dishwasher safe, except for the silicon sealing ring. For us, this has not been a major issue, but it may be a problem for others. Personally, we have found their non-pourous construction to be easy to clean, so we don't mind hand washing them.
Pre-purchase planning:
Be aware that for stacking purposes, the containers come in three shapes (from the top view): small-square shape, large-square shape, and rectangular shape. While you can sometimes mix them for stacking, in general, I find that it is best to stick to one shape (for a particular stack).
Also, be aware that you get more bang-for-the-buck with the larger sizes. The relationship between the price of the container and the volume of storage is indirect. In short, less storage costs you more money.
In general, I find the large-square shape and the rectangular shape to be the most beneficial. They permit easy access, and they allow the buyer more options regarding what to put in them. That being said, understand that the prepackaged sets tend to come with a lot of the small-square shaped containers.
The smallest sizes have limited functionality, but can be useful for storing raisons, small candies, etc. As for the spices mentioned by the manufacturer, spices usually come in a bottle. For those that don't, I believe there are better (and cheaper) products available.
Summary:
For those willing to deal with the shipping issues, the risk of future breakage, and the hand-washing, I think this is by far the best product on the market. With care, they will save you money in the long-run because: they keep things fresh, they keep the bugs out, and they make it easy to avoid the over-buying or the under-buying of groceries. They are a quality product, and they make the kitchen look great.
Whether you want to buy many of them or just a few, I generally recommend the larger sizes. They provide the best bang-for-the-buck, and permit greater flexibility. Specifically, I would start with a few of the large-square types to see if you like them as much as I do.
Thank you for those who posted before me. Much of what I have said consolidates what you mentioned before, and really helped with my purchasing decisions. For those of you still stuck in the decision-making process; good luck! I hope this helps out a little.
Customer Review: Hands Down the Best Storage Containers on the Market!! Summary: 5 Stars
I am a big believer in using storage containers and have tried almost every brand in existence but to be honest, when I first saw these in Kohls I thought they were just another average storage container and I didn't pay them much attention at all. Then on a 2nd visit I decided to give them a closer look and boy am I glad I decided to do just that. The lids are FANTASTIC. Yes they sink into the actual container around 3/4 of an inch thus taking away a bit of your storage space but I for one really don't care. Ill just use a bigger container if it wont fit in a smaller once. The ease and quality of the seal is worth every bit of that 3/4 of an inch loss. These are easily the best lids ever designed.
I have now been using these containers for a little over 6 months and I just appreciate them more and more as time goes on. I have now purchased a lot of these containers, at least 2-3 in each size, and not only do they work amazingly well, they also look fantastic. We now have a whole cupboard filled with just these containers and you simply have to see it to understand just how nice it really looks. Its just such a clean and organized look and its extremely easy to find what your looking for even when your staring at a cupboard filled with them. Obviously the look of the containers isn't really that important but when something works as good as these containers do and just happen to look really good too, well its just an added bonus and these containers definitely look good.
Overall I have noticed a considerable difference in the freshness of the food we store in these containers. We are throwing away a lot less food these days and some things are literally lasting 2-3 times as long without spoiling. For example we are big cereal junkies. We usually have at least 6-8 different brands of cereal at any given time and because we like such a large selection, we don't finish boxes off nearly as fast as most people do. Because of this there are times when we definitely noticed a decrease in freshness especially with cereals like Raisin Bran, Corn Flakes, and granola based cereals. Now that we use these containers, we no longer have this issue. Its really amazing just how big of a difference these containers have really made.
The 3 .4 quart size is definitely our favorite size due to our cereal eating habits but they are all nice and I definitely recommend getting all the sizes even the smaller ones. Some people have complained that the smaller containers are useless but I disagree. There are really a ton of things that you can put in every single one of these containers. I guess it just depends on just what you eat. We have at least 2 of each size and we use them all, in fact we even had to buy more as it was getting difficult finding any empty containers.
As for the future of these containers, I would like to see different colors released. In particular I would absolutely LOVE to see a higher quality set with actual stainless steel lids. That will probably never happen but that would be my ultimate food storage container and I would gladly pay a lot more for them. I would also like to see them come out with a set of round containers.
The bottom line - These are hands down the best storage containers on the market and while they are a bit expensive, they are absolutely worth every penny. In time, the money you will save from throwing out less food will more than cover the cost of these containers. OXO has really hit a home run with these containers and the other storage companies out there really should be worried as I am betting these containers will become HUGELY popular in the months and years to come. I know I wont be buying anything but Pop containers from here on out. I simply cant possibly give POP containers a higher recommendation.
5 Stars!!
Customer Review: GREAT design, easy-to-use lid! Summary: 5 Stars
The square designs make it easy for stacking and storing. I store flour in my 2.4L container, home baked cookies in the 1.4L (rectangular shape makes it easy to grab!) and assorted bags of rice and pasta in the larger ones. I LOVE the easy touch pop open lid, it's a great handle, and you don't have to fuss with pressing all four corners to make sure it's airtight. The container itself is very sturdy, too...A WONDERFUL PRODUCT!!!
Customer Review: Organized people love OXO products. Summary: 5 Stars
I love these things! My kitchen is full of these and other OXO products.
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