Review · Storage & home · 1 model
Joseph Joseph Nest Lock 5-piece review: nesting boxes, snap-together lids, and who should skip them
Nest Lock solves the two things people actually hate about food containers — the shelf they take up and the lids that go missing — and does it with a five-piece set that packs into a 24.5 × 16.3 × 20 cm block. What it does not solve is the microwave, the oven or a plastic type you can look up. Here is who that trade suits.
Verdict
What it is
the set reviewed
Joseph Joseph Nest Lock 5-piece
- Containers
- 5 pieces
- Largest
- 3 L
- Weight
- 1.05 kg
- Guarantee
- 1 years
Check price on Amazon.co.uk
Five rectangular containers — 230 ml, 540 ml, 1.1 L, 1.85 L and 3 L — that stack inside one another, with snap-on lids that also clip to each other. Joseph Joseph gives the nested block as 24.5 cm high, 16.3 cm wide and 20 cm deep, and the whole set as 1.05 kg. The bases are colour-coded and the lids match: you can see across the kitchen which lid belongs to the box in your hand.
That is the whole idea, and it is worth being precise about the problem it solves. Most container sets fail not at sealing but at storage — a cupboard of upside-down boxes and a separate drawer of lids of unknown allegiance. Nest Lock puts the boxes in one block and the lids in one stack, and the block is smaller than a standard shoebox.
Strengths
- Nests into 24.5 × 16.3 × 20 cm — one shelf, no lid drawer
- Colour-coded bases and snap-together lids you find in seconds
- Leak-proof, airtight lids
Limitations
- One-year guarantee through retailers
- Plastic type not stated
- Lid off and laid loosely for the microwave
Good for
- a small kitchen with one storage shelf
- people who lose lids
- lunches and leftovers
Look elsewhere if
- the oven
- anyone who wants glass or a stated polymer
The lids
The lids are the engineering. Each snaps down onto its base with a seal that Joseph Joseph describes as airtight and leak-proof, and the underside of each lid clips onto the top of the next size down, so the five lids leave the cupboard as one piece. Compared with a Sistema clip-lid, which has hinged clips on all four sides, the Nest Lock lid is a press-fit — quicker to close, less obviously locked, and dependent on pressing down all round. In use that means checking the corners before a lunchbox goes into a bag.
Microwave, dishwasher, freezer, oven
Joseph Joseph’s care instructions are specific, and worth reading before buying rather than after: the containers are for reheating in the microwave with the lid removed and laid loosely on top, not clipped; lids and containers go in the dishwasher on the top rack only; the freezer is fine; the oven is not. None of that is unusual for a plastic container, but the “lid off, laid loosely” rule matters if you were hoping for a splatter-free microwave lid — you get a loose cover, not a vented one.
The plastic itself is not named. Joseph Joseph’s FAQ says its products use a variety of plastics, all compliant with EU food-contact rules, and the listing adds “BPA free”. If you want a stated polymer — polypropylene, say — Sistema states it and Joseph Joseph does not. We record that as a fact needing a check rather than a fault, but it is a reason some buyers will look elsewhere.
Living with the sizes
The 230 ml is a dip or a dressing pot; the 540 ml a snack or a child’s lunch; the 1.1 L an adult lunch or a portion of leftovers; the 1.85 L dinner for two, or a salad; the 3 L a whole batch, a cake or a joint. For one or two people that is one of everything, which is the right shape for a household that stores different things rather than six of the same thing. If you batch-cook — five identical portions of the same chilli — a set of five different sizes is exactly wrong, and a Sistema multipack of one size is exactly right.
Guarantee
One year when bought through a retailer, two years direct from josephjoseph.com. That is shorter than Sistema’s or Pyrex’s promises on their ranges and short for a product whose selling point is a seal that must keep working. The seal is a replaceable-looking silicone ring, but Joseph Joseph does not sell it separately on its UK site as far as we could find.
Strengths
- Nests into 24.5 × 16.3 × 20 cm — one shelf, no lid drawer
- Colour-coded bases and snap-together lids you find in seconds
- Leak-proof, airtight lids
Limitations
- One-year guarantee through retailers
- Plastic type not stated
- Lid off and laid loosely for the microwave
Good for
- a small kitchen with one storage shelf
- people who lose lids
- lunches and leftovers
Look elsewhere if
- the oven
- anyone who wants glass or a stated polymer
Who should buy it
- A small kitchen with one storage shelf. The nested block is the reason the set exists.
- Anyone who loses lids. Colour-coded, snap-together, one stack.
- Lunches and leftovers for one or two. One of each size is the right mix.
Who should not
- Batch cooks. Six identical boxes from Sistema beat five different ones.
- Cooks who want to bake, roast or reheat with the lid on. Glass with a vented lid — Pyrex Cook & Go — or a stated-plastic Sistema with a lid-off rule you already accept.
- Anyone who wants a named plastic or a long guarantee.
Sources
Facts checked 24 September 2026
- Joseph Joseph — Nest Lock 5-piece leakproof container set (81081) product page and FAQ — Manufacturer documentation, checked 24 September 2026
- Amazon.co.uk listing (Joseph Joseph) — Retailer listing, checked 24 September 2026
Are Nest Lock containers leakproof?
Joseph Joseph describes the lids as airtight and leak-proof, which matches the snap-on design with a silicone seal. As with any container, that applies to a lid that is fully clipped down on all sides; a lid that is nested loosely on top for the microwave is not sealed.
Can they go in the microwave and dishwasher?
Microwave: for reheating only, with the lid removed and laid loosely on top — Joseph Joseph's instruction, not ours. Dishwasher: top rack only, for lids and containers. Freezer: yes. Oven: no — this is plastic.
Nest Lock or Sistema?
Nest Lock wins on the shelf: five sizes nest into a block the size of the biggest container, and the lids snap into one stack. Sistema wins on price per box, on multipacks of one size for batch cooking, and on being stated as made in New Zealand from a named plastic. If you buy containers to be identical and interchangeable, Sistema; if you buy them to disappear into one cupboard, Nest Lock.
Four, five or ten pieces?
Joseph Joseph sells Nest Lock in 4-, 5- and 10-piece sets. The 5-piece goes from 230 ml to 3 L, so it covers dips, a lunch, leftovers for two and a whole batch. Ten pieces gives you the same range twice; for one or two people that is more than a shelf needs.
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