I'm never toting ice after testing a smart cooler (and it just hit an all-time low price)

ZDNET's cardinal takeaways

• The Anker Solix EverFrost 2 is disposable for $1,349 but presently connected sale.
• This cooler works arsenic a portable mini-fridge, with dual-zone cooling and the capableness to frost oregon refrigerate.
• The Anker Solix EverFrost 2 is bulky and heavy, and it lone comes with 1 artillery truthful you person to acquisition the 2nd to scope the afloat 3.2 time capacity.

The Anker Solix EverFrost 2 58L electrical cooler is typically $1,100, but it's $800 close now, the lowest terms we've ever seen. The 40L version is $200 off, disposable for $700.

As a teenager, I dreaded going camping with my family. The Caribbean upwind successful my location state made the experiences blistery and uncomfortable, and the quality of camping was afloat of glaring inconveniences for my teenage mind. But I learned to emotion the disconnection that a four-day play astatine a quiescent formation oregon chill mountainscape provided with age, though being astatine the mercy of quality remained a pebble successful my shoe.

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Forgotten sunscreen resulting successful a second-degree sunburn or, worse, a poorly refrigerated chickenhearted resulting successful nutrient poisoning volition ever beryllium camping memories I could bash without. As an adult, I inactive emotion camping, but I've opened myself up to definite conveniences that marque it each the easier. One of the biggest of which is the Anker Solix EverFrost 2.

As an electrical cooler, the Anker Solix EverFrost 2 looks similar a fancy cooler you'd find astatine a store. But it's a existent powerhouse: a rechargeable artillery tin chill the interior anyplace you go, conscionable similar your fridge oregon freezer backmost home. You tin capable your cooler to the brim with perishables without having to marque country for ice.

The Anker Solix EverFrost 2 I tested is simply a 58-liter, dual-compartment exemplary with a built-in vessel opener and grip that doubles arsenic a retractable tray table. Each EverFrost 2 comes with 1 artillery but has the capableness for two, truthful you tin acquisition an other artillery to scope up to 3.2 days of functionality. 

Maria Diaz/ZDNET

It besides cools down truly fast. I utilized a astute thermometer to measurement the cooler's capableness to driblet from country somesthesia to 32 degrees, and it went from 68°F to freezing successful nether 15 minutes. 

While the dual-zone cooler I tested is dense -- 64 pounds erstwhile bare -- it does person wheels that marque it casual to transport, adjacent implicit grass. Each portion includes a removable, rechargeable battery, an AC adapter and charging cable, a car charging cable, an accessory container, and 2 instrumentality chocks. 

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Once you acceptable up your cooler, you tin easy power it with the Anker mobile app, which lets you cheque and set the somesthesia and spot the artillery life. The EverFrost 2 has 3 cooling modes: Max Mode, which is the fastest and astir energy-consuming mode; Smart Mode, which intelligently balances cooling and efficiency; and Eco Mode, which maximizes cooling clip by up to 13 hours. 

Maria Diaz/ZDNET

The removable artillery does much than simply powerfulness the cooler. You tin besides instrumentality it retired and usage it arsenic an outer artillery battalion successful a pinch. It's a 288Wh portable artillery with 12W USB-A and 60W USB-C ports, truthful it tin complaint your smartphone, camera, drone, and different devices.

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You tin recharge the Anker Solix EverFrost 2 with a partition outlet, a star panel, a car cigaret port, and a USB-C port. I've tested recharging it with portable Anker Solix 100W star panels during winter, and it took conscionable implicit 5 hours to complaint to 100%. With the close sunny conditions, Anker says it tin complaint to 100% successful 3.65 hours. 

ZDNET's buying advice

The Anker Solix EverFrost 2 is simply a cleanable electrical cooler to safely support drinks and nutrient acold portion camping, particularly if you bring accompanying star panels to recharge its battery. However, it tin besides go a convenient astute instrumentality for truthful overmuch more. You could permission it successful your trunk during roadworthy trips oregon tailgating oregon usage it to support drinks and nutrient chill astatine a parkland oregon during your adjacent backyard cookout. 

The biggest downsides are its terms and hefty weight. The Anker Solix EverFrost 2 is disposable successful a single 40-liter capableness cooler with up to 104 hours of cognition connected 2 batteries, which weighs 51 pounds and costs $900; oregon a dual-zone 58-liter capableness with up to 78 hours of cognition connected 2 batteries astatine 64 pounds that costs $1,100. This is, of course, the value of the bare cooler, without immoderate drinks oregon nutrient items inside.