Here’s the blueprint: perfectly formed crisps, made from dehydrated potatoes, fried in corn and/or cottonseed oil, then salted and flavored.

Total calories: 160 per serving (about 13 crisps). Fat grams: 10. Dietary fiber: 1 gram. Manufacturer’s suggested retail price: $1.59 (may vary — slightly less in supermarkets, a ton more in convenience stores).

Be careful not to call these potato “chips.” Chips are sliced from whole potatoes, then fried (or baked if you’re a fan of living a long, healthy — but deprived — life). Stax are labeled “crisps” because they’re made from dehydrated potato flakes that are rehydrated, pressed into potato dough and extruded into precise, every-one-exactly-the-same, stackable Stepford pieces.

Stackable crisps have one big edge over chips. Every canister of Stax weighs the same and has an identical number of crisps. With potato chips, every bag is ever-so-triflingly different. By the time I’m done grabbing and turning each bag upside down, it’s almost closing time at the supermarket and the guy with the floor waxer is telling me to move.

At first glance, taste and grip, Lay’s Stax naturally beg comparison with Pringles. So let’s see how Stax stacks up. Stax crisps are a little thicker and are shaped like a scoop — all the better for dipping. One dip per crisp, please. “Double dipping,” or sticking the same crisp into the dip after you’ve taken a bite, is unsanitary, disgusting and could get you tossed from the party. Pringles, which were introduced in 1968 (has it been that longfi), are thinner, more delicate and wavy-shaped. They don’t hold as much dip, and could crack under the weight of a heavy avocado or salsa concoction. Stax pack a more powerful taste punch than Pringles.

A big, big difference is the packaging. Stax crisps come in an ergonomically grippable, airtight, waterproof plastic canister.

Not only does the canister keep Stax fresh, but if you’re ever stranded on a desert island, you can send a message in the bottle. Put it this way — if Tom Hanks had had a can of Stax in “Cast Away,” he would have been rescued before his wife married that other guy. Pringles come in a flimsier cardboard can.

If Hanks had to depend on Pringles to get his message overseas, he would have wound up taking Wilson the Volleyball to the prom.

Stax plastic canisters make excellent bongos, too. You can even reuse them to shake up chocolate milk and homemade smoothies.

Stax crisps are available in four flavors: original, Cheddar, sour cream and onion, and barbecue.

The best thing Lay’s Stax crisps have going for them is their pedigree.

Lay’s makes the No. 1 potato chip in the world. Their parent company, Frito-Lay, makes Ruffles, Doritos, Tostitos, Cheetos, Rold Gold pretzels and Cracker Jack. There’s nothing on that list I wouldn’t mind grabbing a fistful of during a football game.

Pringles are made by Procter & Gamble, whose only other snack food is Torengos, a Pringles-like tortilla chip. Procter & Gamble is more into household cleaners and personal-care products.

The edge, based on flavor and family tree, goes to Lay’s Stax.

This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page B1.