Stanley Outdoor 20oz. Food Jar :: Gear Review :: February, 2007

The drab-green torpedo that is the classic Stanley thermal bottle has been keeping coffee hot in the outdoors since 1913. Now, the company has decided to dabble in soup.

Just in time for ice-fishing season—or any winter-weather outdoors activity—the company has a new product made to keep semisolids like soup, chili, pasta and stew warm and palatable for hours on end in the great outdoors.

The Stanley Outdoor 20oz. Food Jar is a wide-mouthed bottle of sorts with a leak-proof lid. It costs $30 and is made of stainless steel. A double-wall vacuum design is the same type of insulating shell used on the company’s thermoses for decades.

On top of the Food Jar, a plastic lid unsnaps to reveal an included steel spork utensil. Extra space inside this part of the lid offers storage for matches, salt-and-pepper packets, and other tiny odds and ends.

The main compartment of the Food Jar seals closed with beefy threads just like on the company’s (www.stanley-pmi) mainstay liquid-carrying containers. Its smooth silver interior is easy to clean.

Standing about 7 inches tall, and with 20 ounces of liquid capacity, the jar is large enough to hold a meal for two.

On the trail, backpackers can pour a dehydrated food packet in the jar while at basecamp, adding hot water and then letting the contents stew while walking along. Food keeps hot for several hours depending on the temperature outside.

The Food Jar’s exterior veneer is smooth, and its shape is streamlined, allowing you to squeeze the vessel in a pack full of gear.

In a pinch, the Food Jar will accept and carry hot coffee, too.