Should You Buy a Robot Lawn Mower?

Robot lawnmowers are battery powered autonomous bots that will cut your lawn, saving you time and time out sweating in the sun. Think a Roomba for the outdoors. The robot will do the hard work for you, granted the conditions of your yard are right.

See, that's one of a few catches. Robot mowers are great for flat, even yards and lawns, surfaces without serious inclines, obstructions, and problem patches. And like their vacuum counterparts, robotic mowers aren't super precise either. Even if you have a good one, you'll need to come behind it and tidy up the edges of the lawn. Beyond that, they can just generally be expensive. And they don't bag clippings or help you clean them up in anyway. And if your yard is anything more than a quarter-acre

But there are some positives and reasons to buy one. The obvious case, because we're writing this in the dog days of summer, is the heat. It's 100°, your grass is growing like crazy, and you don't want to spend a whole morning in the sun. Robot mowers are great for that, even if you only use them to do the front yard during the worst of summer and avoid an HOA notice. If mowing the whole yard, or even doing upkeep on a zero-turn, is too strenuous for you, a robot mower is perfect and easy to keep clean.

That said, we can't help but think the average guy could stand to save a few hundred bucks and get a good old-fashioned mower. The same way a robot vacuum gets stuck on rugs, a robot mower might get scared of a slightly too large branch that blew out of a tree. At Esquire, we're fans of real vacuums and real mowers, but we see the positives and understand this is where everything is going.

In conclusion, if saving time and energy is a priority, and your yard is flat and simple enough for your grandson to mow (sorry kid, find a new summer gig), a robot mower is in the cards. Otherwise, it's best to stick to an old school push or seated mower. In all cases, we've found the one that will take your lawn game to the next level.