What do we think of Anker's new battery-powered cooler?

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CafeRoaster

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Hey y'all. Anker has a new battery-powered cooler on Kickstarter (I won't post links, because I don't want to be accused of being a shill haha).

I don't yet have a powered cooler, mostly because I haven't spent to time to research them. What looks interesting about this cooler, however, is that it could work independently of a power bank, and could be plugged into your 12v less than some other coolers. That's what it seems like to me, at least.

Now, I don't have a drone or anything big that needs to be charged. I've just got my iPhone, my tent LED strip, and an LED strip in the future for my canopy. I have two 36,000 mAh power banks that should be enough to power the LED strips and charge my phone once or twice.

For someone taking 1-4 day trips like myself, I'm intrigued by this battery-powered cooler. What do y'all think?
 

zgfiredude

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Those look quite interesting! Anker is a quality brand in my opinion, and if I didn't already have a cooler, I'd certainly look hard at these, especially at that price point!! Just pay attention to the wording " up to 42 hours".
 

KonzaLander

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It does not seem to have any IP rating to provide dust and moisture protection. That is a major turn off of a 'portable' product that would likely be subjected to dust and moisture. It will be interesting to see how these things hold up.

I think the product is gimmicky. The few advertised specs seem like a cheap fridge with a cheap power bank. And I agree with @MiamiC70, Anker is a huge company with reported 3 billion dollars in revenue each quarter... running a Kickstarter campaign makes my head spin.
 

Kross

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I don't understand the outrage over them using a Kickstarter campaign - who's being hurt here?

Its a perfectly reasonable way to test the market for a first-in-category product such as this.

A reputable company gets to secure few thousand pre-orders. Customers get a significant discount. What am I missing that's making people "sick"?
 

CafeRoaster

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I don't understand the outrage over them using a Kickstarter campaign - who's being hurt here?

Its a perfectly reasonable way to test the market for a first-in-category product such as this.

A reputable company gets to secure few thousand pre-orders. Customers get a significant discount. What am I missing that's making people "sick"?
Yeah, the way I see it is it’s just a good way to market and to give early adopters a discount. Their goal was only $10,000 too.
 

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I'm looking at the BougeRV 12V 26 qt, it has a 220Whr battery that last for a day or more. Draws 30-45 watts so it would run a long time on even the smaller power stations.
 

trail_runn4r

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Hey y'all. Anker has a new battery-powered cooler on Kickstarter (I won't post links, because I don't want to be accused of being a shill haha).

I don't yet have a powered cooler, mostly because I haven't spent to time to research them. What looks interesting about this cooler, however, is that it could work independently of a power bank, and could be plugged into your 12v less than some other coolers. That's what it seems like to me, at least.

Now, I don't have a drone or anything big that needs to be charged. I've just got my iPhone, my tent LED strip, and an LED strip in the future for my canopy. I have two 36,000 mAh power banks that should be enough to power the LED strips and charge my phone once or twice.

For someone taking 1-4 day trips like myself, I'm intrigued by this battery-powered cooler. What do y'all think?
Meh, it seems a bit too bulky for the capacity.
 
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Kross

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A $3 billion dollar company should have set aside budgets for marketing, promotion and R&D as well as significant access to capital and cash reserves. Kickstarter was a vehicle for a small business or entrepreneur that had no access to any of those resources to enter the market. Companies like Anker, Peak Designs etc… have no business on there.
I mean, they just did $1mm of business there.
Again, who's being hurt? Kickstarter benefits, customer benefits, Anker benefits... It's not like they're running a donation campaign lol
 
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Kross

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You could get a Jackery 500 and a decent 12v cooler for the retail MSPR of the Anker.
A Jackery 500 is roughly $450. Which 12v cooler would you recommend that keeps the price below the MSRP of an equal-sized cooler?
Serious question as I'm in the market and joining Anker's campaign.
 
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zgfiredude

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Perhaps it's a bit larger because it's self powered :tonguewink: ...........the combo size of a Jackery and a cooler is substantially larger.

I am not in the market, but for the reduced price point and the self-powered aspect, I feel like it's good value. If of course it fits your application and available space.