While known foremost for their charging options, Anker has continued their expansion into the outdoor sector with theAnker EverFrost Dual-Zone Cooler 50. The dual-zone cooler allows for the management of customizable cooling patterns across its dual chambers while offering added utility across its body and removable battery.
For those looking to extend their time outdoors or solve long-distance preservation woes, the EverFrost 50 offers a quick cooling solution. However, the non-sale price of $949 needs to be calculated against lifestyle, shopping habits, and the need for back-up in the advent of power loss or refrigeration problems.
Anker EverFrost Dual-Zone Powered Cooler 50
For those looking to ditch the hassle of ice, the Anker EverFrost Dual-Zone Powered Cooler 50 offers the most storage capacity with extended cooling duration. Various charging options include a 95W adapter, a solar panel, USB-C, or a car adapter to help extend its removable battery life further, along with a smart app allowing real-time battery updates. The dual-zone nature also allows you to account for both chilled and frozen items to account for exploration, emergencies, or shopping trips.
What’s Different From a Normal Cooler?
Massive coolers aren’t foreign to many, and the 37.9 × 16.9 × 19.1 inch dimensions here shouldn’t surprise. When lifting the cooler individually, the sturdy plastic handles offer a decent, non-padded grip for managing the 55.8 (without battery) or 60.3 (with battery) pound weight. But if you’re going further or with a full cooler, it’s advised to either share the load with another or take advantage of the suitcase tow design with its wheels.
The initially installed 299Wh battery can be removed after detaching the fitted plastic battery cover and pulling it by its handles.
As a powered cooler, the ice-free design allows for a cooling range of -4℉ - 68℉ (-20°C - 20°C). These temperatures can be adjusted between the dual-chambers to allow for a mix or match of cooled or frozen chambers.
At start-up, the cooler can drop from a base hotness of 77°F (25°C) to a cool 32°F (0°C) in thirty minutes. As such, you can typically start the cooler early and let its temperature drop before packing it. While cooling, you’ll notice an audible hum in a quiet setting such as indoors; it’ll cut off as soon as the desired temperature parameters are hit.
As a note, the dual-zone cooling feature is only currently offered in the EverFrost 50 with its 53L capacity. Additionally, when powered on, LED lights will power on in both compartments once their lid is lifted, so you can easily find what you’re after even in low lighting.
Choosing Your Best Charging Option
To help with a variety of use cases, the powered cooler can be run via different methods.
For most, the detachable 299Wh battery will offer the greatest utility with a full-charge lasting up to 27 hours of use. Anker notes in its testing that at a set temperature of 39°F (4°C), the cooler will last for up to 27 hours at an ambient temperature of 77°F.
When testing indoors at a starting temperature of 55°F with both chambers set to 36°F and cooled to that temperature before removing the battery from a charging source, the battery surpassed that duration benchmark with the lids kept mostly shut with minimal item removal with it hitting in the 30-hour range. But over extended use and temperature fluctuations, you’ll see a decline in the overall operation time the more the cooler has to activate to maintain its target temperature range.
With or without the battery, the cooler can be powered by AC power or via your car’s output port with the car charging cable. When running from the installed battery, live recharging can be done via the AC power cable via the XT-60 adapter, an XT-60 to XT-60 cable via a 100W solar panel, or by using a USB-C cable. For outdoor use, the 100W solar input complementsAnker’s foldable 100W solar panelsand allows for a quick charge in max sun and a steady trickle charge in much shadier conditions that can all be monitored via the Anker app.
If you are charging the battery from a purely dead state, it’ll take around four hours via the included 95W car charger or wall outlet, whereas a 60W USB-C charger will trend closer to six. With a 100W solar panel placed in ideal sunny conditions and no extensive battery output, you can charge in around three and a half hours.
Manual and App Control
When modifying settings, essential functions can be controlled via the cooler’s top buttons. Before using the cooler and its battery actively, it’s advised to download the Anker App foriPhoneorAndroidto both establish your smart controls and fix some bugs. From there, you’re free to manage every setting to your liking in either way.
When making adjustments, you’ll need to press the settings button until the appropriate icon starts flashing. Then you’ll need to use the up and down arrows to make your adjustments. To enable Bluetooth connectivity for the app, you’ll have to hold down the settings button for two seconds.
While the manual controls allow for app-free adjustments, direct sunlight greatly limits the visibility of the screen at even the highest brightness. So you’ll want to consider keeping Bluetooth enabled to circumvent this when necessary.
After you’ve connected your cooler to the app, battery output and input can be monitored via a graph along with the current status of your cooler’s dual-zone temperatures. Early on, the app’s graphical depiction helps with learning which chamber corresponds to each zone. Additionally, the app also allows for quick temperature preset changes and the option to turn off either compartment.
Meanwhile, the settings menu does allow for some other adjustments, such as the option to tweak your screen brightness or set the screen to remain always on. For those unfamiliar with the differences in voltage levels, the app also provides a quick summary of what protection level to adjust to based on the power source.
Long Distance Trips and Cooling
For testing, one of the main metrics that I wanted to look at was how the cooler does during active travel. If you’ve ever done multi-state trips or had to travel over an hour with frozen items from a store, you can understand how refrigerator bags don’t hold up and how ice can limit your overall storage capacity.
To help get even more use out of the 53L, the storage baskets are both removable along with a separation piece on the Zone 2 basket. If you’re looking to maximize space, removing the Zone 2 basket can also offer a tiny bit more space as you work with the odder shape of the 3/4th compartment.
If you are looking to stow the cooler in your trunk, you’ll need to account for some shifting due to the lack of any lock on the wheels. On mostly flatter travel, the degree of shifting won’t matter too much; you’ll want to pad the cooler if you’re traveling long-distance, especially on off-road or hillier travel paths. As the cooler almost fits the trunk walls of a Honda CR-V, the amount of padding isn’t much at the sides; you’ll still want to provide some depending on your trunk space.
Similarly, if you’re packing the cooler, you’ll want to pay mind to the wide 90-degree opening of the lids. In tighter spaces, this can be more limiting, but it’s very helpful for the outdoors or tailgating. And if you’re packing down groceries, the embedded handles and interior lip offer good feedback of how far you can go and if everything is sealed appropriately.
For those looking to extend their battery life during grocery trips, you can safely start the cooler right before entry. But to achieve lower temperatures in a much hotter setting, you’ll want to account for the difference in the ambient temperature and your target one to assure everything can get to the desired range in time. But in 80°F or higher weather, you’ll notice the cooler may have to reactivate more frequently or may take longer to cool when attempting to maintain larger temperature disparities, such as 33°F in one chamber and -4°F in another.
Outdoor Cooling Experience
For those interested in outdoor applications, the EverFrost 50 offers a durable plastic body for picnicking or camping.
As a more premium-aimed product, the cooler attempts to make the most of its body area to offer added utility. The embedded bottle opener along with the tray table with kickstand offer a quick meal prep area on demand. These are placed on the opposite side of the detachable battery, so if you’re charging-up devices via the USB-A ports, USB-C port, or the cooler itself, these won’t get in the way of anyone prepping food or removing items from either compartment.
If you’re looking for an extended outdoor session, pre-planning helps for those attempting to maximize the capacity of both chambers and to account for the typical thirty-minute cooldown to hit your desired temperature range. As most trips involve a mix of food and drinks, there’s a small learning curve depending on the starting ambient temperature; it’s easiest enough to add a small bit of allowance, especially when dealing with frozen items.
So if you’re after a frozen refreshment, and you want to pack some sandwich materials then you’re completely able to via the dual-temperature zone settings. You won’t have to contend with any partial thawing of the likes of ice cream, and you don’t have to worry about freezing of the other chamber. If you do want to make changes to the temperature range, or you end up swapping out your cooler’s contents, it’s advisable to do so in a slightly shaded area or make those changes via the app, so you can see everything with adequate brightness.
When moving the cooler to different locations or returning it to your trunk, the 6-inch wheels and tray table handle allow for much faster movement across simple terrain such as grass, wood, or concrete. But when transporting it over very uneven or rocky terrain, you’ll want another party to help haul it to avoid any unnecessary damage to the wheels or body. When cleaning inside or removing condensation, should any liquids happen to leak, there’s a removable plug in each chamber to allow for drainage.
Should You Buy the Anker EverFrost Dual-Zone Powered Cooler 50?
For those looking to buy theAnker EverFrost Dual-Zone Powered Cooler 50, you’ll need to consider your exact needs. While the detachable 299Wh battery offers its own benefits with its two USB-A ports and USB-C ports, the cooler itself comes at a considerable cost for its convenience. If you’re able to grab it on sale, it does offer a rounded benefit for outdoor enthusiasts, frequent travelers, or those doing long-distance grocery hauls.
Additionally, the cooler occupies a similar safety benefit as portable power stations. You may never want to have to rely on one; it can pay for itself versus suffering considerable loss from a power outage or the failure of a full fridge, especially if it’s not caught on time. The dual-zone nature of the EverFrost 50 also makes it much easier to separate essentials versus trying to make a guesstimate with ice.
While a luxury in many cases, the Anker EverFrost 50 offers flexible cooling for those willing to work with it; it can travel with you over long distances with multiple power options.
