I Tested The Ferrari Of Robot Mowers For A Month - Here's My Verdict

8 hours ago

ZDNET's cardinal takeaways

The Mammotion Luba 2 3000H is disposable for $2,599.
Built to grip uneven terrain, nan Luba 2 is an all-wheel-drive (AWD) reliable robot mower pinch a GPS-powered perimeter that is amazingly easy to group up.
The Mammotion app is not very user-friendly and tin get buggy aft a firmware update.

Mowing nan section is 1 of my favourite chores. It lets maine attraction connected an uninterrupted task that satisfies my OCD, pinch nan prize of completing my workout ringing connected my Apple Watch. But moreover though it's a chore I enjoy, it still steals a mates of hours distant from my all-too-short weekend.

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That's wherever nan Mammotion Luba 2 comes in. Imagine nan scene: you return nan canine retired for a locomotion and travel location to a perfectly mowed section contempt it being an overgrown messiness conscionable an hr before. While you were gone, nan robot mower took attraction of nan unruly writer and near a beautiful checkered shape successful its wake.

I'm happy to opportunity that this dream became a reality pinch nan Luba 2, and though it has its quirks, it handles nan chore of section mowing pinch ratio and ease.

When I received nan Mammotion Luba 2 for review, nan only wire-free GPS robot mower I'd antecedently utilized was nan EcoFlow Blade. As you tin publication successful that review, mounting up nan Blade was dreadful. It occupied hours of my Sunday afternoon, resulting successful bickering betwixt my hubby and maine and repeated explanations to nan kids that no, we won't beryllium riding nan robot astir nan yard.

This time, mounting up nan mower fell to my hubby connected a time erstwhile I wasn't home. I planned connected helping him pinch nan setup upon my return, but I was pleasantly amazed to find it each done erstwhile I returned. In fact, he had thing but praise for nan Mammotion's easy setup, arsenic it was completed successful nether 2 hours -- from unboxing to up and moving successful nan yard.

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In contrast, mounting up nan erstwhile robot mower, nan EcoFlow Blade, was a tedious, two-person occupation because it couldn't get a bully capable awesome nary matter wherever we placed nan GNSS antenna successful our yard. For nan Mammotion Luba 2, we hadn't moreover put nan antenna successful nan yard—it was still propped up connected nan deck—yet it was already connected to nan mower and moving fine.

We had been truthful observant astir wherever we put nan EcoFlow antenna because of nan awesome issues during nan installation process, and here, nan Luba 2's antenna seamlessly connected connected its ain from a random position connected nan deck. If that doesn't show you it's a much precocious RTK-GNSS system, I don't cognize what does. I'll update my reappraisal of nan Luba 2 erstwhile I instal nan rod permanently, adhd nan Garage, and do a mates of months' worthy of testing.

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Mapping is easy and rather fun. You conscionable locomotion down it, steering it astir your gait utilizing your smartphone pinch nan Mammotion app arsenic a distant control. After you complete nan mapping process, nan Luba 2 mows nan way independently. The app besides lets you springiness nan mower a name, truthful naturally, I named it Andretti arsenic it resembles a Formula 1 car (and besides truthful I tin inquire my hubby whether Andretti has done its runs today).

We've been getting a batch of rainfall lately, which has made nan writer turn for illustration crazy. This accelerated maturation has ensured Andretti's activity is trim retired for it and helped maine stitchery galore hours of testing complete nan past mates of months.

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Throughout testing, I've recovered nan Mammotion Luba 2 tin of navigating uneven terrain without affecting its map. For example, erstwhile different robot mowers descent down a slope sideways, it often disrupts their mapping, and alternatively of correcting their position, they proceed from an incorrect spot. This results successful missed patches and nan mower winding up extracurricular nan sum area. In my testing, nan Luba 2 ne'er fell unfortunate to this glitch. Although it did descent down a fewer times, it ever righted its positioning and maintained nan aforesaid map.

The Mammotion Luba 2 seamlessly navigates uneven terrain.

Maria Diaz/ZDNET

Unfortunately, nan Mammotion app isn't very intuitive; changing settings will require immoderate paper hunting and proceedings and error. However, it is loaded pinch features. You tin usage nan app to alteration nan mowing shape from stripes to checkered and more, group up different zones, including no-go zones for pools aliases plot beds, put nan way order, and set nan mowing height.

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When mapping, nan perimeter you locomotion pinch nan Luba 2 is nan aforesaid that will beryllium followed erstwhile nan robot is retired mowing. It's a spot challenging to locomotion and steer nan robot successful a perfectly consecutive statement on nan perimeter of your property, truthful I wish you could straighten bound lines successful nan app aft creating nan map.

The Luba 2 proved irreverently accordant erstwhile mowing on nan perimeter. I tin spot nan robot mowing on curved lines that I mistakenly made during mapping, but it does it nan aforesaid measurement each time.

Though nan Mammotion Luba 2 looks for illustration nan Ferrari of mowers, it does nan laps astir nan section astatine its ain pace. It's not slow compared to different robot mowers, but don't expect it to unrecorded up to its looks and go a turbo turf-tamer.

My Luba 2 drifted from its way six times during testing. One of those times, it ended up successful my neighbor's yard, which is overmuch little than perfect arsenic they're very peculiar astir really they mow it, but this appears to person happened during positioning and not erstwhile nan blades were engaged, thankfully.

Another time, it grounded by going nether nan platform and losing its signal. It wasn't ever expected to spell nether nan deck, but I conjecture it was taking a shortcut to nan rod position (I americium genuinely sorry astir that one).

You tin besides steer nan robot successful nan app to manually mow complete reliable areas wherever you deliberation it whitethorn drift distant -- this is besides a bully characteristic for rubbing up areas that request it. The Mammotion app besides offers first-person position (FPV), truthful you tin cheque wherever your robot is astatine immoderate clip if it gets stranded and you're not location to spot it.

ZDNET's buying advice

I'm alert these GPS-powered robots make mistakes arsenic this caller exertion is still being perfected for accuracy, truthful I mostly don't mind these hiccups. But I do find nan Mammotion Luba 2 is overmuch little prone to errors than nan EcoFlow Blade. I tin count truthful overmuch connected Andretti pursuing its representation that I consciousness okay letting it mow nan unfenced beforehand lawn, moreover nan picky neighbors' side, thing I would ne'er fto nan Blade do.

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Lastly, I emotion really quiet nan Luba 2 is. One of nan strangest things astir having a robot mower is that it takes attraction of nan section truthful softly that it tin flight your notice. Overall, I urge nan Mammotion Luba 2 for anyone who wants to reclaim a fewer hours from nan section connected their weekends.