Mowing the lawn is a chore for many people, including myself, who get no joy out of getting the lawnmower out weekly during the summer months. So, I decided to try the STIGA A8 automatic robot lawn mower, which has completely changed the mowing game for me. Robotic lawn mowers offer several advantages, including time savings, a healthy lawn thanks to consistent cutting, and reduced noise. The A4 model and the A8 model can handle lawns up to 800m², and that’s not the only impressive feature.
However, I was sceptical about how well it would work because it is a huge investment and a luxury for most households. It claims to maintain a beautiful lawn while improving its health, something my grass could benefit from. My lawn, although mainly in the sun throughout the day, isn’t in great condition and has many weeds growing across it, so I was excited to give this a go.
Set up
To begin with, I unpacked everything in the box, including the charging base. I then placed it in the garden, making sure nothing was near it, and plugged it into an outside outlet.
One of the nails to secure the base in place broke when I pushed it into the lawn, so make sure it’s slightly soft before pushing the plastic nails in to avoid this from happening.
I was then asked to place the robot mower onto the charging base and left it to pair, initialise, and calibrate before digitally mapping out the garden.
This was quite a simple step, although I did give it a couple of goes before getting it right, as I wanted it to be perfect. This was all done via the app, and I can also manage the mower from the STIGA.GO App, which is super helpful.
The robot’s technology relies on seamless data communication between the STIGA Cloud and the robot itself, ensuring optimal performance. A stable connection is required for the robot to function.
Each robot includes a complimentary connectivity period, and after this period, users will need to purchase a separate connectivity pack. For the A4 and A8 robots, a complimentary two-year connectivity pack is included.
After the initial setup period, it was time to test the robot mower in my garden.
How it works
The STIGA autonomous lawn mower cuts the grass within a virtual boundary set by the app, removing the need for wires around the perimeter of your garden.
Essentially, the boundaries you set are where the edges of the lawn are, and it’s important not to go into any flowerbeds or nearby pots.
The robot is a maintaining mower which means it does not collect the grass clippings but instead they are scattered onto the lawn that then decompose acting as a natural fertiliser.
Whilst this is a great way to use grass clippings and improve the lawn’s health, it did look messy straight after cutting, so I often removed a layer.
However, this was just after the first cut, as the grass was a little longer, and after this, the regular cuts meant there weren’t as many clippings on the lawn.
Its robot is programmed to trim the lawn at scheduled intervals, and it automatically knows when to return to the charging station.
This is a super clever aspect of the robot lawn mower, and I loved seeing it roll along the lawn without needing any input and returning to the station without needing to be told to do so.
The mower can run whenever you want it to, but STIGA recommend avoid doing so at night. They said: “As grass is very humid at night and the garden is occupied by nightlife, such as small insects and hedgehogs, we recommend for both nurturing lawn health and respecting the ecosystem to not schedule cutting sessions overnight.”
The mower was super effective at cutting my lawn, and even getting the edges which is usually always a problem. I was a huge fan of how it worked and how sturdy the device felt, and it definitely took the hassle out of mowing the lawn for me.
Is it worth it?
The STIGA A8 autonomous robot mower is a hefty investment, retailing for £1,399, making it a huge luxury. Saying this, however, if you have a garden with a large lawn area, it is definitely worth it in the long run, as it can save hours of your time whilst also improving the health of your lawn.
I did find the initial setup a little tricky, especially when calibrating the mower, but once set up, it was super easy to navigate and control from the app.
There are also some super helpful videos on the STIGA website if you get stuck as I find seeing things visually always makes them easier.
If you’re in the market for STIGA’s A8 robot lawn mower, it can be purchased on STIGA’s website where the whole range of automatic mowers can be found.
Other robot mowers on the market include the Lawnmaster 16cm Cordless Robotic Lawnmower available for £300, or the Flymo EasiLife GO 250 1cm Cordless Robotic Lawnmower for £650.
If you’re in the market for a new simple lawnmower, I recently tried Flymo’s cordless lawn mower, which was a game-changer.
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