Photos and Features
The Anker EverFrost Powered Cooler has a traditional full-sized coolers rectangle size and Anker has it available in three different size models. They have a 33L model that they call the Powered Cooler 30, the 43L model which we have here today that is the Powered Cooler 40, and then the Powered Cooler 50 which is 53L. All three have the same dimensions when it comes to the height at 19.1 inches tall and the depth at 16.9 inches it is the width of the cooler that they change depending on the model. The 33L model is 25.2 inches, the 43L model is 28.8, and the largest model the 53L is 33.5 inches wide or long depending on how you look at it. For comparison one of the largest coolers at my local big box store is a 48 Qt and is 25.71 x 14.12 x 14.25 Inches. The EverFrost Coolers are noticeably larger in height and depth and the 43L model we have here is a little longer as well. So the size of all three of the EverFrost Coolers is on the bigger end of things when we compare them to a traditional cooler. But these aren’t a traditional cooler at all, they are a small refrigerator or freezer that also have a built-in battery to run completely off the grid. You can see that when you check out the overall design which sticks with the camping/nature theme and has a dark green color with a few black accents. They do have the Anker logo printed on the side in silver as well. The side of the Power Cooler has a textured plastic finish across most of the cooler, just like you would see on a traditional cooler. But towards the back wheels is a non-textured area which has ventilation for the airflow that the refrigeration needs.
The front of the EverFrost Powered Cooler looks nearly the same as the back that you saw above including the vented area near the wheels. The front however has a built-in bottle opener which may come in handy depending on what you are using the cooler for and up on the top edge the black lid has a latched handle on this side to keep the lid closed. The textured plastic does have an interesting dot that you can see all over it, I don’t know for sure without ripping it all apart but I suspect these are where the inside and outside of the main assembly are plastic welded together. I’ve seen it on other coolers before but it's especially noticeable here. This could be because our sample is a preproduction model. I won’t be able to confirm that until the retail coolers come out. The other thing I wanted to point out was the wheel configuration. The Powered Cooler 40 and the other sizes as well have wheels at the back to help you pull the cooler around which is important given its weight of 48 pounds for the mid-sized 43L model. The smaller 33L is 44 pounds and the large 53L version is 55.8 pounds. That is without anything inside the cooler, this isn’t something you are going to want to carry around once loaded up, the wheels will be very helpful. But I am concerned that the plastic wheels may not hold up as well long term, especially with that kind of weight. The ground clearance isn’t very high as well which may be an issue if you plan on dragging it far off trail or even down some trails.
The end of the EverFrost Powered Cooler opposite of the wheels has a large black handle attached to the cooler. Its main function is to use with the wheels to pull the cooler around but Anker has given it a secondary function in that it can also be a small attached table on the end of the cooler. It flips up and under it, there is a small attached lip on the cooler, this works with the metal bracket in the table/handle to pop out and prop the table up. Our preproduction cooler did make this bracket extremely hard to remove but that is the type of issue that normally gets worked out when you go to production, at least I hope it does. In addition to the table/handle, there is a traditional handle up top as well which when combined with the handle on the other end can be used to pick the cooler up.
The wheeled end of the EverFrost Powered Cooler has the same handle that we saw on the other end for two-handed carrying. But below that, once you get past the textured plastic finish into the flat finish you are into the electronics and refrigerator portion of the cooler. This starts with the large black panel which has a small access hole in the middle. This covers up the battery opening and is where the battery slides in. The opening in the panel gives you access to the USB connections for charging other devices as well as charging the battery backup if needed via USB Type-C or the yellow solar power connection on the battery. Then down at the bottom below that are more ventilation slots and in the middle of that is a squared-off 12 or 24 volt power connection, this is what the included power cables hook to for charging the battery and plugging the EverFrost Powered Cooler to your car or AC power.
The bottom of the cooler has the two wheels that I’ve already talked about but on the opposite end, they have two plastic sliders to prop the cooler up when you aren’t moving it around. Between them, there are two plugs in the plastic housing with one being the drain hole for the cooler. You don’t need the drain for your melted ice, but if you clean it out or spill anything a drain will come in handy. The plastic housing has more of the plastic welded spots which are a lot more visible here. Then towards the back, it does have a sticker with the serial number and a larger sticker with all of the model information. There is also a large green sticker warning that c-pentane is used in the foam which can be very flammable.
The top of the EverFrost Powered Cooler is all black plastic with a majority of the space taken up by the door. Because of the size of the cooler, it was a little hard to get good pictures of this area but you can see that when it ships the screen on the left does come covered in plastic to prevent any scratches. Near the end beyond the door, you have a glossy finished area which has the Anker branding on it and a small inch and a half side status screen. To the right of that, you also have four buttons. One is the main power button, two for up and down in the controls, and then a gear icon to flip through the options. Being up on top you do need to be careful that this doesn’t get banged up, however.
When we open the door to the cooler Anker has given the door a magnetic seal similar to what you would find on a home fridge. The lid has a ball chain attached to the lid and to the cooler to keep it from flopping too far open. The lid itself is also thicker in the middle with extra insulation and has the Anker branding on the underside.
For capacity inside it will depend on what size EverFrost Powered Cooler that you go with but I have the breakdown of all three sizes below. The refrigeration does take up a good potion in that bottom corner on all three designs. Each is the same size except for length but the 53L model is unique that it is divided up and you can control both halves to run at two different temperatures, making it possible to run half as a freezer and the other half as a fridge. The 33L and 43L options also both can run down to those same temperatures, only you have the one section. I was surprised when I opened things up that the interior has a metal cage inside just like in some chest freezers. I also love the LED light which is a small feature that will be a big help. I know even with a traditional cooler there have been multiple times a light would have helped. The metal cage for our pre-production model did have a few areas that seemed like an afterthought. Specifically where the lid chain attaches the cage was just bent to fit around it, which works but I have to wonder if that is how it will be with a production cooler. The same goes for the drain plug down in the bottom which the cage just barely covers up and blocks the removable plug in the bottom.
The battery pack for the EverFrost Cooler is basically a portable battery backup that just happens to also fit in all three of the EverFrost Cooler models. That flexibility is great and given Ankers's wide range of products could even be tied in with other products in the future. It is 7 and a half inches wide, just over 4 inches tall when you have the handle down, and 3 and ¾ inches deep. Its shape is rectangular but all of the corners have been rounded and if you look at it from the side or front views you can see it is wider at the top than at the bottom which helps it slide into the opening on the cooler. The outside is all plastic with the top having a blue color and it has a built-in handle that also doubles as the latch. When you put the handle down two spring-loaded prongs stick out of each side but they are angled so you can drop it in even with the handle down. Then near the bottom, it has a grove in it to keep the battery from being installed backward.
The bottom has all of the model information printed on it including the certifications logos and its model number which is A1780. The bottom also lets us know more about its inputs, outputs, and capacity. It has a total capacity of 20800 mAh at 14.4 volts which puts it at 299 Wh. They list the watt-hour rating in the specifications to prevent confusion because mAh is often used with 5v power banks but at the higher wattage, this battery has a much higher capacity than a 5v 20k battery backup would have. Its power input through the USB Type-C connection maxes out at 60 watts and that plug can output at that same wattage as well. Then the USB Type-A plugs can both do 2.4 amps each. The top of the battery has the Anker logo in the center then the three USB connections that I have already mentioned. It also has a heavy-duty power plug for the Anker 100-watt solar connection that their portable power banks also support which means that you could use a solar panel to keep your cooler running. The top of the battery also has four pinhole status LEDs so you can see the battery capacity left and a button to activate those LEDs.
In addition to the EverFrost Cooler and the battery that powers it all Anker did include a few accessories to go with them. You get a bundle of wires for a few different uses. Two of them go together and would be the main AC power supply and cable. The EverFrost has a unique squared-off connection which the power supply has a plug for, then the additional cable is the AC cable which in my case is for US power plugs. The power supply itself has a 95-watt output and supports 100 to 240-volt inputs which means with different cables it will work internationally. The AC side looks to be a C7 connection which should make finding replacements for that easy at least. They include a surprisingly long DC power cable for hooking the Everfrost up in your car. The cigarette lighter plug even has a power switch to help prevent the cooler from running down your battery accidentally. Then the last cable adapts the squared-off power plug from both power cables to the smaller plug that Anker uses for their solar panels. The idea is to have the option to be able to charge the battery independently using either of the charging cables if needed. Overall you have a lot of flexibility on how to charge the EverFrost Cooler and its battery, especially once you also include Type-C which you can charge the battery up with as well. Each option has different capabilities as far as charging power as well, the USB Type-C connection for example caps out at 60 watts. Both the power AC to DC power supply and the DC car adapter are 95 watts, and the solar connection can do 100 watts.
