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| Customer Reviews: | | Average Customer Review: ( 223 customer reviews )
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314 of 318 found the following review helpful:
 Big decision Jan 06, 2010
By Scott R. Weaver
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.
57 of 57 found the following review helpful:
POP! WOW! Feb 26, 2008
By Avidbaker
I love these containers. I filled one of the smaller ones with jelly beans and gave it for a house gift and the recipient was thrilled. I use the larger ones for flour and sugar and they are perfect - wide opening so it's easy to get a measuring cup in there, seals shut so everything stays fresh, easy to open with one hand like when you're talking on the phone while baking. I'll probably try some of the other sizes soon.
50 of 51 found the following review helpful:
Top Marks Jan 28, 2008
By Martin Fowler
"MJF"
These are excellent for keeping staple products. Bought to replace 5 quart mason jars for storing flour, etc. that my wife disliked becasue they were too heavy and difficult to use They are easy to clean, provide an tight seal and are light-weight. The full-size opening makes getting measuring cups in-out a breeze. Strongly recommended.
28 of 29 found the following review helpful:
Keeps my saltines perfectly Feb 16, 2008
By LWilford
I was looking for something to keep my saltines crisp. This size is great for the height of the saltines. The smaller one was too short. It's lid functions to keep the crackers crisp as it provides a great seal.
22 of 22 found the following review helpful:
 Easy to see contents, air-tight! But not good for the freezer Jul 26, 2008
By Mrs. Kilo Delta
**Update: April 2012** The original review below still applies, I just wanted to update to say I've had these containers for 5 years now and they're all working/looking like new. Very happy with them.
*Original review*
I bought these because we discovered mice in the crawlspace of our house and I didn't want to give them any reason to move into the kitchen. Not to mention the threat of other food-loving pests. These containers keep them out. I love these containers, in all sizes. The 5.5 qt size in my house is holding chocolate chips, as I buy 10 lb bags at a time.
The other sizes in my house hold instant yeast, vital wheat gluten, brown sugar, dry milk, cinnamon chips, flour, etc. (Yes, I have a lot of these containers!) I'm very pleased with them, much more secure storage than using ziploc bags, and they are very air-tight! When that lid button is pushed down, the lid can't be pried off by the strongest person (except when used in the freezer, which I don't recommend - see the 2nd to last paragraph).
I also use a smaller size (.9 qt) for storing homemade biscuit treats for my shelties - the distinctive sound of these containers opening is like Pavlov's Bell for my dogs. I keep one container in the kitchen and another on my office desk so I always have one nearby. If the dogs are going nuts barking because there's a squirrel in the backyard or the UPS guy is at the front door, all I have to do is pop one of these containers open and the shelties stop whatever they're doing and come running to me. They *know* the sound of their treat containers. =)
Another thing to add, these are nice for people with arthritis. Some food storage containers have very secure lids, but those lids are hard to pry off, and you *have* to pry them off to open the container. My mother-in-law has painful rheumatoid arthritis, so this is something I try to remain aware of. With the OXO POP containers, it's very secure storage, but the lid is easy to open and close... no prying is needed.
So here are the downsides: These aren't made for storing food in the freezer. The gasket material just doesn't work when it's super cold.... even without unsealing ("unpopping") the lid, I can pull the lid right off when I pull this container out of the freezer. We were trying to freeze whole bean coffee in one of these containers, and when we opened the freezer the smell of coffee hit us in the face. So, doesn't work in the freezer, keep that in mind.
Also, I don't use this for everyday storage, like for leftovers, because cleaning this lid is more troublesome than other food storage lids (water and food particles can get *into* the lid and I always wonder if I'm getting everything out and dried thoroughly). It's fine for storing brown sugar, but not leftovers.
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