Hands on with the Anker Solix EverFrost 2 battery-powered cooler

Portable electric coolers continue to evolve, and the Anker Solix EverFrost 2 40L proves that battery-powered refrigeration can offer yet another off-grid solution. 

Anker imagines this to compliment someone going camping, either sporadically or in an RV, or just looking to get out for the day with cold drinks on hand at all times. No more ice required, in theory.

Anker’s smart cooler therefore offers cold portability, and has flexibility via its battery powered operation, and solar charging compatibility. 

The market for solar/battery coolers is warming up. Anker isn’t alone with its offering, but this is its second-generation with quality of life improvements over the original. ESS News went for a detailed look at the unit and tried to find out where it fits, and where it doesn’t. Anker brought the device to IFA 2025 and gave us time and a cool drink to go with it.

Battery 

The battery is all important here. This isn’t a traditional cooler or esky that you pop some ice blocks into: the EverFrost 2 is powered by a removable 288 Wh lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery, offering around 52 hours of operation on a single charge. This time is reduced based on how you use the settings, such as running it on Max mode, or by what temperature you set, how often you open the cooler, and so on. No great surprises.

The removable battery also can offer charging for other devices via a 12W USB-A and 60W USB-C port, which makes it a mixed-use device for charging phones or laptops or drones, and so on. Not bad.

The 100W solar panel that Anker offers can charge the battery swiftly on a bright, sunny, clear day. Outside of perfect conditions, you’re more likely to draw 10-30W, which is still useful but think of it for bonus charging than anything spectacular.

There’s also room for an additional battery, which you can purchase, meaning you can roughly double the run time.

Each battery weighs 2.5kg or around 5.5 pounds but has a neat handle for carrying it around.

Thanks to 12 W USB-A and 60 W USB-C ports, the battery power bank can be used to charge other items, such as smartphones or laptops which is handy.

Charging and using

When it comes to recharging the battery, there are four different ways to do so: the standard AC wall socket, USB-C charger (60 W), car cigarette socket, or via a 100 W solar panel. 

Anker bundles a 100 W solar panel in its sales of the EverFrost 2, which can be used to charge (12-30V, 8.2A) while the fridge runs, or just charge the battery. A 200 W panel won’t work with the device, and you can’t plug solar directly into the fridge without the battery.

The EverFrost 2 comes with three cooling modes: Max, Smart and Eco. Temperatures can range from -20°C to 20°C, based on what you are storing inside and how aggressive you are on cooling. There’s plenty of room, and the depth is easily sufficient for taller bottles standing upright, plus a light to help you see what you’re grabbing:

Anker claims up to 52 hours of operation from the single battery provided when fully charged. Running it as a fridge at 4 °C, in the most frugal Eco power mode, data from independent testers that ESS News contacted showed the battery lasted just a few minutes over 23 hours. Running as a freezer at -18C, it lasted closer to 16 hours.

Anker’s app does a good job of running the fridge via a Bluetooth or Wi-Fi connection, offering controls and monitoring features.

Weight & portability

Weighing 23kg when empty, the EverFrost 2 40L is much heavier than your traditional cooler. 

Despite the weight, the cooler remains portable due to its sturdy handle and wheels. Carrying it alone up a flight of stairs without help might be tough, but rolling it across surfaces such as grass, concrete or asphalt works well. Anker includes wheel chocks to help keep it in place on a slope.

Dimension-wise, the cooler is 74.9 x 45.9 x 49.3cm, and the wheels are 15cm. 

To recap, this is a look at the 40L model, but Anker also offers a 58L model, which weighs around 29kg when empty. You can almost double that weight if loaded to capacity. This model is 98.6 x 45.9 x 49.3cm in dimensions.

Noise levels in operation

The Anker Solix EverFrost 2 isn’t silent: when you first turn it on, it’ll run its compressor and fans with a consistent noise. The white noise when running is nothing too annoying, even in a very quiet test environment, as there’s no unusual bubbling or higher-pitched noises. 

The cycling noise on and off to maintain temperature is a little more bothersome, as the device seems to turn on for around 10 minutes and then off for 10 minutes. That on/off is a little more annoying if you’re looking for silence, but in most situations, it won’t even be noticed. 

Elsewhere

A few other points: the lid has a nice soft-close function that prevents it from accidentally slamming. You may need to completely close it with a gentle press. And in testing, the portable cooler has a handy function where, after around three minutes, a warning noise emerges, plus a push notification from the app, if the lid is not closed properly. Nice feature.

For solar charging, the XT-60 connector is directly on the EverFrost, not the battery itself. This makes external solar charging of the battery alone only possible when it’s housed in the machine.

Pricing, availability

Anker sells the EverFrost 2 series across North America, Europe, and Australia, with pricing varying per region, at 23L, 40L, and 58L. The 40L mentioned here retails at RRP $899 in the US, but the Anker website at the time of checking had a discount to $699.