The Coolest Pieces of Gear We Tested This Week

Stuffing sandwiches and snacks into single-use plastic zip-top bags can’t feel good—not with the giant synthetic trash waste island floating around out there. Eager to find an alternative, we’ve been loving the Stasher bags (they’ve cultivated quite a following online). Made from thick silicone—what the brand calls platinum-grade—these reusable bags are free from BPA, BPS, lead, latex, or phthalates, and feel far sturdier than your standard-issue supermarket baggies. Once you’re done storing snacks in them, cooking them in the microwave or a sous vide bath, or chilling them in the freezer, just toss them into the dishwasher.

 

The key, we’ve found, is having a handful of these around. If you’d normally use one bag daily for an office or school lunch, having two or three means there is always a fresh one waiting. Unfortunately, silicone is still a bit of a pain to air dry and while we’ve let Stashers sit out, more often than not, we’ve just gone in with a dish towel to soak up any residual water. The Stasher’s seal pinches closed and while it didn’t open in routine use—going to work or school while bouncing around a backpack—we haven’t tried them while sous vide cooking yet. But beyond lunches, these are a no-brainer to use when we start traveling again as they’re TSA-compliant.

 

Pricey, it’s good to know the use of the bags extends beyond food and you can store everything from toys to phones to computer accessories. Currently, Stasher has seven sizes available, from the smallest Pocket (holds 4 ounces) to the largest Stand-Up Mega Bag (104 ounces), which is shaped like a triangle and supports its own weight. There are tons of colors and patterns in the line too. — Sal Vaglica, Men’s Journal Contributor

 

[Single bags: from $8; bundles: from $14; stasherbag.com] 

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