Anker's Battery-Powered Cooler Is Ready for Summer
It's pricey, but it can be recharged with solar and will even keep your ice cream frozen.
- Shortlisted for British Photography Awards 2022, Commended in Landscape Photographer of the Year 2022
Anker is perhaps best known for its line of battery banks, so it's no surprise that the company has shoved a hefty battery pack into a cooler to help keep your food and drink icy-cool for your outdoor summer parties. The cooler features up to 50 liters of internal storage; solar panel input, and wheels and an extendable handle for easy transport. Cooling temperatures reach down to minus 20 Celsius (minus 4 Fahrenheit) to keep even frozen meats or ice cream from defrosting.
There's no official word on pricing yet, but a representative said to expect it to be somewhere around the $1,000 mark when the cooler goes on sale (via Kickstarter) later this year. (Kickstarter caveat: Bear in mind that not all crowdfunding projects deliver on time and as expected.)
Read more: Best Coolers for 2023
That's a hefty price, but Anker's cooler does have some cool tech behind it. The battery pack itself is capacious, able to run "at regular fridge temperatures" (around 4 or 5 degrees Celsius) for up to 35 hours. It's removable for easier charging, and it has universal solar inputs for recharging via Anker's own solar panels or via those from other solar panel brands like EcoFlow. There are also USB ports to charge your phones or portable speakers to help keep the party vibes going.
On the outside, you'll find a handy foldout table, and there's even a bottle opener built into the side. There's a control panel on top for setting the temperature and for seeing battery status. It seemed very easy to operate in our brief demo during Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.
It's a hefty thing, so those of you wanting a discreet coolbox for car camping might need to look elsewhere, but for those of you wanting a solar charging-capable fridge solution for your RV or simply a high-capacity portable fridge for parties in your back yard or at the beach, it may well be a reasonable option.
