Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)I'm only giving these 2 stars (I thought about 3 stars) but the reason is because of how Rubbermaid completely RUINED the awesome (5 star) Stain Shield line they had before this travesty came along. I hate to say it, but if you're looking for good plastic containers, these are probably the best ones out there at the moment (because of the Stain Shield technology), but only if you can get over the absolutely horrendous lid design. In my opinion, the Stain Shield containers that these replaced were superior in so many ways. Redesigning the lid to be fancy just ruined the line, so if you're Rubbermaid, how about bring back the old Coke formula?
Problem #1
Sure, the lids flex more than the old ones, but it comes at BIG price of being very, very difficult to clean when the old model was SO EASY! That gray part really is rubber and scouring pads don't do well in cleaning rubber; it just sticks. Go throw some soap suds on your car tires and see how easy it is to clean with a kitchen scrubber, now clean your car windows with the same scrubber. That's the difference between the old line and this one. It's like trying to scrub off the residue that an adhesive label leaves behind. Don't get me started on the deep grooves in the lid that you're never going to get into to clean either. It boggles my mind how they thought this improvement was sanitary.
Problem #2
The lids are recessed and go BELOW the surface of the lip when fully seated - at least a quarter inch if not more! So no longer can you fill up the bowl to it's capacity like before. Also, there's no line that tells you were that limit is so it's sort of a guessing game. Did you put too much soup in the container? Well, the only way to know for sure is to set the lid on and see if you get soup being pushed out the sides when you press the lid on. So yeah, before you didn't get anything on the lid and it was easy to clean; now you get a ton of stuff on the lid and it's really hard to clean. What were you thinking Rubbermaid? Terrible design, just terrible. The old model didn't do this and sat flush, if not just a little above the top of the container.
Problem #3
If you stack 2 containers on top of each other with their lids on, you have to lift the container up out of a depression from the lid it's sitting on top of, you can't slide it out. That's hard to explain, but if you look at the picture you can probably get the idea. Again, the previous model had a completely flat top, which meant that when they were in the fridge, you could slide them out easily. That may not seem like a big deal when it's in the cupboard, but when it's in a packed fridge with other containers, it just gets annoying. Another terrible design "improvement". Although I will say that some folks will probably like this feature since it keeps the containers stacked more neatly and are less prone to sliding off of each other. This is not a problem in my house.
Problem #4
There's more rubber on the lid which means you can't see inside the container as well as before because the viewing area is cut down. Additionally, if you look closely at the picture, you'll see that the center of the lid is a smokey shade and not 100% transparent, making it even more difficult to see what's inside since less light is getting in (blocked by more rubber and the lid tint). When you put on the lid you have to make some small adjustments when lining it up and then once it's lined up, you can push the lid down and "burp" it.
Problem #5
The previous model let you microwave something with the lid cracked on the container, flip the lid over when it was done microwaving, and set the hot container on it and walk away. Voila! An easy-to-walk-away-with a hot container! It was like having a built-in pot holder. Those days are over with this lid.
The Good #1
The bottom part of the containers didn't change much, just a little curvier but still 100% functional; no complaints there at all. The stain-shield technology is just amazing and in the 5+ years I've been using them, not one stain! That part is huge for me since I store and microwave a lot of tomato-based items. Also, they do not retain odors, so that's another HUGE plus for this garlic lover.
The Good #2
You can microwave and freeze these containers a thousand times and not have any worries. They can take pretty much anything you can throw at them.
If you don't know if you should get the round or square sizes, I have both the round and square containers and find the square to be much easier when it comes to storage. It's a much more efficient use of space in the refrigerator.
The ones that have the red rubber instead of the gray/black are BPA-free.
All-in-all, the lid "improvements" they made to this line have completely ruined it in my opinion. If you haven't used their old line before, you'll probably love these and won't have all the issues I have with them. I'm always on the lookout for remnants of their old line, but to no avail; I can't find them anywhere. I need to buy more containers, but in the meantime, I'm hoping for a better design to come out, either Rubbermaid or someone else.
**If you know of a better product than this one, please leave a comment and let us all know!!!
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