Anker Solix EverFrost 2 review: Do you need a cooler that can charge your phone?

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Anker Solix makes some great portable power stationThe brand constantly combines top-notch functions with thoughtful design, and with each new model they become more compact and lighter, Anker also offers some of the best price-to-feature ratios in its lineup of portable power stations and small electronic charging equipmentThe brand also makes a range of electric coolers, the latest model of which is the Anker Solix EverFrost 2,

What’s to like about the Anker Solix EverFrost 2?

Opting for an electric cooler offers some great advantages over your standard model. For starters, you don’t even have to mess with snow. This means no more wet food or packaging or the general mess that comes with everything getting wet. An electric cooler also gives you precise temperature control, and on the Anker Solix EverFrost 2, you can select a specific temperature between -4 and 68 degrees Fahrenheit. Use it as a portable freezer for the drive to the campground and then switch it to refrigerator temperature for beverages after cooking frozen items.

An ice-free electric cooler with a prep station that can charge your phone? Campsite dreams come true.
Credit: Lauren Allen/Mashable

Anker says the EverFrost 2 has 2.4-inch walls designed for optimal cooling, and features the brand’s FrostFlow technology. It combines the walls of a coil-wrapped evaporator with a fan mounted on the lid to help circulate cool air, the goal of which is to eliminate temperature differences within the cooler.

It also has all-terrain wheels, a prep table that also serves as a roller handle, and measurements on the lid that will come in handy while fishing. Here are some important specifications for the Anker Solix EverFrost 2:

• Available sizes: 23, 40, and 58 liters

• Holding Temperature Range: -4 to 68 degrees Fahrenheit

• Ambient temperature range: 32 to 104 degrees Fahrenheit

• Battery Capacity: 288Wh each (option to use two)

• Battery Output: 60W USB-C and 12W USB-A

• Recharging options: Solar panel (max 100W), car socket, wall outlet, or USB-C

• Weight: 37 pounds (23 L), 50.7 pounds (40 L), 63.7 pounds (58 L)

a battery or two; Charge a cooler or charge your phone

Each of the three EverFrost 2 sizes comes with a 288Wh battery. You can double this by purchasing an additional 288Wh battery to fill the extra built-in battery slot on the electric cooler. This will double the run-time of the cooler, which will be great for long trips or if you’ll be in conditions that don’t work well for recharging. At the time of writing, the extra battery costs $249.

One of my favorite aspects of the EverFrost 2 is the ability to use the cooler’s battery to recharge electronics. Each battery has one USB-A and one USB-C port that can be used to recharge phones or small tech devices while camping. In a way, this means the EverFrost 2 is both an electric cooler and a small portable power station.

EverFrost 2 batteries include a USB-A and USB-C port for recharging devices on the go.
Credit: Lauren Allen/Mashable

one gets cold quickly

While testing the EverFrost 2, I was amazed by its ability to cool down quickly. Anker says that in max mode it can go from 77 degrees down to 32 in 15 minutes. At one point, I was transporting important frozen goods in an EverFrost cooler—six pints of Grater’s ice cream. I’ve never felt confident transporting ice cream on long car rides in a standard cooler, but given the promises of the EverFrost 2, I was willing to take a chance on this important ice cream cargo. I kept a close eye on the cooler’s internal temperature through the app and was surprised at how quickly it cooled down.

I put all my trust in EverFrost 2 to keep my important food items frozen (read: ice cream).
Credit: Lauren Allen/Mashable

I didn’t care about Max mode and kept it on Smart mode instead. Within 10 minutes, the cooler dropped its ambient garage temperature from 55 degrees to 23 degrees. After that initial cooldown, I kept the app open and watched it drop a degree almost every minute. This all checks out Anker’s initial claims of taking 26 minutes to drop from 77 to 32 degrees in Smart mode. But if you are in a hurry, you can increase its speed to just 15 minutes. I packed my ice cream and set out for a three-hour car ride, only to find the ice cream completely frozen after those three hours.

This is great news for forgetful people who will use EverFrost for frozen items and won’t remember to pre-chill the cooler. It will take less than half an hour to bring it to the optimum temperature. In addition to setting the temperature on the Anker app, you can also use controls on the cooler.

On-cooler controls mean you don’t need to use an app to control the cooler.
Credit: Lauren Allen/Mashable

Lots of recharging options

One of the best elements about the Anker Solix EverFrost 2 is its recharging versatility. You have standard AC wall recharging thanks to the included charger, but you can also recharge with a solar panel or USB-C. During testing, I accidentally removed an anchor cable from my camping backpack, assuming it was for a portable power station I wasn’t bringing. Of course, it was the AC recharging cable for the EverFrost 2, which made my heart sink when I realized my mistake. But once I remembered I had a USB-C cable and my beloved Anker GaN charger that I use to charge my phone and laptop, I set out to recharge the cooler. It also made me realize how wonderful it is to have a single cable and charger that works for my important tech devices And Electric cooler.

You can also recharge the Solix EverFrost 2 with solar. There’s something particularly satisfying about using something as hot as the sun to measure 10,000 degrees To keep food cold, at its coldest point. And it always feels like using a cheat code to get free electricity from the sun, minus the initial cost of the solar panel. But keep in mind that the EverFrost 2 only likes a little solar power, and it maxes out with a relatively small 100W solar panel.

Every EverFrost 2 comes with one battery but has room for a spare.
Credit: Lauren Allen/Mashable

Anker includes easy access to USB-C and USB-A ports on the battery.
Credit: Lauren Allen/Mashable

If you’re having an extra forgetful day and heading out for a camping trip with a faulty electric cooler, you can recharge it while driving thanks to the car socket. Anker please include that charging cable with the cooler.

However, recharging times for the EverFrost are noticeably slower, especially given Anker’s focus on the brand’s whizzing-quick recharging portable power stationThese are the listed recharging times of the Anker for all sizes of the EverFrost 2:

The shaping versatility is great

Anker Solix EverFrost 2 comes in three size options: 23-litre, 40-litre and 58-litre. Both the 23- and 40-litre options have a single cooling compartment, so you’ll need to decide whether you want it to function as a freezer or refrigerator and set the temperature accordingly. Comes with the major advantage of having 58-litre dual compartment. This means you can have one side serve as a refrigerator for fresh food and drinks, and the other as a freezer.

Anker’s app is a joy to use

Every portable power station I’ve tested syncs with an associated app. These can be amazing if you like looking at data and statistics. Anker’s app is one of my favorites because it allows you to skip all the account setup and just connect the app to nearby Anker portable power stations or coolers with Bluetooth.

The sliding temperature dial in the app is very easy to use.
Credits: Screenshot: Anchor

Full statistics in the app with the ability to check temperature, change modes and battery life.
Credits: Screenshot: Anchor

After finding an EverFrost 2 cooler, the app allows users to control the temperature and settings of the cooler. I found using the Anker app with an electric cooler especially useful during road trips, as the cooler is usually packed in the back of the car and out of reach. I can quickly check the temperature from the passenger seat to make sure my ice cream is safely cooled. It’s also convenient to take a look at the remaining battery life and adjust the temperature on the sliding dial.

A strange lift, but the wheels are quite capable

In a way, it’s unfair to say that picking up the Anker EverFrost 2 is a tough task because it’s awkward to carry around all the coolers of this size. The inherent size makes lifting and carrying a less-than-perfect experience. There is some additional inconvenience with the EverFrost 2 as it has extra weight compared to the standard cooler. Each EverFrost 2 battery weighs about 5.5 pounds, and they fit into the electric cooler on one side, which means the cooler is heavier on the other. It’s not an unbearable lift, but it’s not very fun either. I made sure to open the doors, open the trunk of the car, and clear the way before moving the cooler.

We’re going places with these durable wheels.
Credit: Lauren Allen/Mashable

Anker’s designs are thoughtful, so of course, they added some elements of relief to the awkward nature of carrying and lifting the cooler. The six-inch wheels are, in fact, all-terrain, and they work great on pavement, trails, and even deep gravel. In my testing, I always found the wheels to handle any terrain well.

Is Anker EverFrost 2 worth buying?

If you rely on a cooler to keep your food safely cold, the Anker EverFrost 2 is a wonderful electric model. It’s better suited for long trips or off-grid adventures than your standard cooler. It can also be used as an alternative to a full-on van refrigerator. Combine this with solar power, and you have a mini portable refrigerator and/or freezer.

I also think it’s great for campers who don’t like dealing with the mess of ice, and it can also be useful during power outages if you don’t mind using the juice from your portable power station to keep the refrigerator running.

Anker loves sales as much as we do, and if your schedule allows it, consider waiting to buy the Anker Solix EverFrost 2 until the sale starts. We’ve seen sale prices that knock several hundred dollars off the list price, so it may be worth waiting for a sale (like Black Friday or Prime Day).