As a country girl from Mississippi, I was never much a fan of camping – for one, because that far south, temperatures and humidity were unbearable during certain times of the year, and for another, because we already lived in a rural area so I would always rather enjoy nature near home and return to the comforts of AC when I was exhausted and dehydrating. It wasn’t until I moved northward, now living in NYC for 17 years, that I came to enjoy the disconnect camping – or even just hanging out all day in a park – could afford. Of course, this usually involves filling and refilling a cooler with more and more ice as the hours went on, which is no longer a problem when introducing an electric cooler into the equation. Enter the Anker SOLIX EverFrost 2 58L Electric Cooler with its dual-zone compartments, which I’ve been testing out despite New York’s still-chilly spring weather, but will certainly be a useful companion once the recreational baseball season here picks up later this month, running through summer. Head below to read about my experience so far with this all-new model that makes ice runs a thing of the past.
Unboxing and setting up Anker’s SOLIX 58L EverFrost 2
Anker’s SOLIX EverFrost 2 electric cooler came together in one very large box, which immediately introduced me to one of my biggest problems – the weight. The delivery guy ended up leaving it on the first floor inside the gate to the common area outside my apartment, and I don’t blame him. This thing was a hassle to get up my stoop to the second floor, taking two people to do so (I’m not very strong FYI).
The cooler itself took up most of the box space, with some basic plastic wrapping being the only real protection between it and the cardboard, but despite the box’s obvious wear and tear from the shipping journey, I couldn’t find any actual damage to the unit itself and it has run without fault in my time testing it, so I guess it did its job.
While this new model, along with its 40L counterpart, sports dual battery ports for longer runtimes, the cooler came with only one 288Wh LiFePO4 battery alongside the main AC outlet charger, a secondary charger to plug into an auxiliary car port, and two wheel holders – which I do understand the purpose of, but unless I’m parking it on an odd angle, the cooler isn’t bound to roll off anywhere thanks to its hefty weight of 64 pounds – and that’s just the cooler all on its own.
Like a lot of other smart tech I’ve tested out, the general setup was quick and easy, with an included quick start guide booklet that offered a complete digital user guide and the means to connect the cooler via QR codes. The battery came with a pre-charged 27% capacity, plenty of power to get its basic settings in place on the small LCD screen, like my language of preference, and so forth. I then immediately plugged it into an AC outlet to get it to full while downloading and connecting the cooler to its companion app on my phone (with options for Bluetooth or Wi-Fi), which was all very straightforward with step-by-step instructions.
The single battery took a little under three hours to charge to full, with my testing of its recharging capabilities from a completely drained battery taking around three and a half hours, so you can only imagine the time it would take were I to have double the batteries in place. While it doesn’t come as any surprise to me for those times, folks who may be unfamiliar with this kind of gear can’t expect it to be ready for extremely last-minute plans, unless those last-minute plans give you several hours in advance to plug it in. That’s also assuming you’re going completely off-grid with no car, solar panel, or outdoor AC power supply to charge it back up.
On that note, it would do quite well as a road trip companion thanks to the included car port charger, getting juiced up as you drive without it running down your car’s battery. However, keep in mind that if your alternator isn’t in use, while you’re parked, for example, I could very much see folks forgetting and draining their vehicle’s battery by mistake, especially if you’ve gotten comfy and started drinking or enjoying other recreation for very long periods of time. Of course, there are plenty of factors to consider for such a thing to happen – I’m mainly speaking from my experience when I had to sleep in my car once overnight, letting the AC run the whole time so I didn’t die of heat stroke in the middle of a very hot summer in 2016.
Once all is done and set up, the app controls are pretty simple, with a nice layout that is extremely user-friendly and has everything on one single page. You have three cooling modes to choose from – max, smart, and eco – with separate controls for each of its compartments that range from 68 to -4 degrees Fahrenheit. It also provides you with the real-time battery level, as well as the battery’s power output and input as you use it or charge it.
Anker SOLIX EverFrost 2 main design and features
This 58L EverFrost 2 comes as the sole model with the dual-compartment design, with ample space to store plenty of food, drinks, and more within it. Unlike the previous generation, this one trades direct cooling systems in favor of air-cooled systems, which is not only asserted by Anker as being 30% faster, but also clears up the confusion about where some of that weight is coming from, as it has been given two large fans at the top of each of its doors, one in each compartment.
While the 65-pound weight can be a hassle for some folks, especially when considering the added weight from any food and drinks stored inside, it’s been given two large 6-inch wheels for easier transport over grass and up to semi-rough terrain, as well as a fold-down tray that doubles as a handle to pull it along. While this tray isn’t all that large, it’s still a handy carry-over feature from the previous generation that gives you a place to put things as you open either compartment, with the top of the cooler better suited for things like cutting boards and the like were you to take it camping or to a casual picnic, BBQ, and so forth.
There are even some dedicated spots on the tray and the side bar that you can attach a few of the brand’s add-on accessories, with a Road Trip Kit purchasing option that gives you a dual cup holder, knife holder, and rod holder. It even has an integrated bottle opener on one side, which is always welcome in my book, as we all know what many folks will be using it for in the coming months.
The 288Wh battery is completely removable from the cooler and can double as a power bank when needed, giving you the versatility to top off personal devices with either the 60W USB-C or 12W USB-A ports. The USB-C port also offers an alternative way to recharge the battery, though at slower rates than you’d get putting it in the dedicated slot and connecting the AC charger.
Alongside the AC charging, car port charging, and USB-C charging directly to the battery, you can also connect up to 100W of solar input too, which Anker claims to take just as long as an AC outlet to get it back to full, though I am unfortunately unable to test this aspect as I do not have a viable panel.
With the battery safely in its port, you might also be happy to hear that the entire cooler carries an IPX3 water-resistance rating from light rain and splashes, so there’s no fear taking it with you to the lake or beach. This also provides a bit of protection from your own clumsiness, especially after drinking or exhausting yourself, which is likely when an accident or spill from a bottle might occur.
So how well does the EverFrost 2 perform?
So being as it’s still pretty cold in NYC, with temperatures sporadically going back and forth from the 30s and 40s to occasional rises above 50 degrees that don’t seem to last long, I cannot say just how much things will perform with a hot July sun beating down on it, especially in southern and western regions with far higher temperatures and humidity.
With that said, I ran a series of tests on warmer and sunnier days out on my balcony, while tests indoors were done with my heat set between 75 to 80 degrees. I know, I know, I am living like a lizard, but in my defense, I am both anemic and live inside a rather drafty apartment at times, so you can’t blame a girl for trying to be comfortable in the confines of her home.
While Anker claims it only takes 15 minutes to reach 32 degrees in max mode from an average room temperature of 77 degrees, the quickest it dropped for me was a little higher at 24 minutes. At this point, I set the individual compartments to both cooling and freezing at the same time. I ran these initial tests at the FDA-recommended temperatures of 0 degrees for the freezer and 39 degrees for the fridge, with a moderate amount of opening after it had reached the desired levels, between myself and one to two occasional visitors.
Let’s break everything down into what I noticed based on the cooling mode I had it set to, starting with the max mode. While set in max mode, it averaged at about 9% battery loss per hour, lasting right around 11 hours. The smart mode did a bit better at 6.5% loss per hour, lasting about 15 hours, while the eco mode, unsurprisingly, performed the longest at around 5% loss every hour for 20 hours. This is a far cry from the brand’s claim of 52 hours off a single battery and up to 104 hours with the dual setup, though for what most folks are likely to use it for, namely day-long outings to the beach, backyard BBQs, or at on-grid campsites, 20 hours of battery-only cooling and freezing isn’t all that bad. It also beats having to make several ice runs throughout the day.
My advice would be to get it to cool/freeze levels while plugged into an AC outlet or the car port so you don’t drain the battery any, then set it to eco mode once you’re disconnected from any other power source, if you’re going to go purely off the battery. If you have a dedicated place to plug it in, and you may be concerned about how power hungry it is, mine seems to average out at a steady 88W input from a wall outlet so that can quickly grow in total consumption depending on just how long you plan to hunker down.
Aside from my gripes about the weight, with things increasing up to and even over the 100-pound mark once it’s packed with food and drinks, depending on just what you’re putting inside, it does provide ample space to store a lot and does a great job at keeping everything chilled/frozen. I do wish there were some kind of shelving unit to go inside, though, as when it’s filled to capacity, it can be annoying to find anything without removing and re-inserting things, losing temperature, and thus running the battery down faster. Of course, if you’re planning to load it up with drinks alone, this might be far easier, reaching in and pulling out.
On the note of the weight, this is much more suited for folks who aren’t living in an urban environment or a building where you’ll have to carry it up and down a lot of stairs, unless you’re living on the ground floor or you have the strength to handle it all, of course. Pulling it along on even ground or even slightly uneven pavement is a lot easier a task, so keeping it in a garage, for instance, is a better call than my situation, especially if you’re doing so by yourself. Picking it up to go into a car, however, is an entirely different thing.
Pricing and availability
The 58L Anker SOLIX EverFrost 2 model does carry quite the steep $1,100 full price, which will likely be a major factor for a lot of folks, though you can certainly find some ample savings across a few different sites. Since its release, we’ve been seeing it offered direct from Anker during sales at $899.99 shipped, which comes with a single battery, while buying an additional one will run you another $249 shipped.
The best pricing we can find comes from Wellbots, where the cooler and a single battery are currently discounted to $854.05 shipped, after using the on-page promo code at checkout for an additional 5% off.
While Anker has not yet released the smallest 23L model (it is slated for later in the year), you can save a bit more money by going with the 40L single-compartment model at a discounted rate of $699.99 shipped direct from Anker’s site, while Wellbots is offering the same model with an on-page extra 5% off code that takes the cost down to $664.05 shipped.
Anker SOLIX EverFrost 2 58L Electric Cooler – final thoughts
One other thing that may or may not be a problem for folks is the low humming while it runs, which to me is not enough to even tickle my impatience, as I live with a chaotic cat that performs prolonged monotonous ridiculousness, as well as years of robot vacuums that operate at much higher decibels and plenty of traffic going by outside my windows that I’ve grown accustomed to. Sleeping within tight quarters in a place far closer to silence may be a different story.
At the end of the day, as I said, the steep price might be a major turnoff for many folks beyond tech enthusiasts and cookout kings who wish to have the latest gadgets to show off at gatherings. Even so, if you really need/want 58 liters of storage in a portable dual-zone cooling and freezing cooler, then Anker’s SOLIX EverFrost 2 58L Electric Cooler will fit right in with your traveling or camping setup and will give you quite the prestige among those still having to make ice runs.
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