My front garden doesn’t have any slopes, but there are lawns all over the UK that do. If this sounds like your garden then you’ll be pleased to know that the LawnMaster VBRM16 can handle inclines up to 35%. This is comparable to the range of Flymo and WORX robotic mowers. Charge and Mow Time The boundary wire is the only guidance they have, and they will move around your garden for a set period or until they need to return to their base station for a recharge. The Worx Landroid M500 Plus WR165E reduces this problem. The spinning disc that the cutting blades are attached to is offset from the centre, closer to the side of the mower, which lets it cut closer to edges. It doesn’t eliminate the problem completely, but if you lay your boundary wires carefully, you can minimise the extra work that’s left behind. Think of the length you'd like and all that factors that you're looking for in a robot lawn mower, including whether you'd like to control it from an app or not.

Rather like the robot vacuum cleaners that automatically clean carpets, a robot lawn mower will move methodically around a garden of up to around 5,000 square metres (depending on the model), precision trimming the lawn to your perfect length. As with all robotic lawn mowers the LawnMaster VBRM16 is a mulching mower. This essentially means that it doesn’t collect the clippings as this simply wouldn’t be feasible with such a compact machine. Instead of being guided by a wire, the mower uses a camera mounted on the front of the device to scan the lawn in front of it. If it sees a surface that isn’t grass, it turns round and heads off in a different direction. Because of this it doesn’t need a perimeter wire or a charging station – when it’s cut enough you simply switch it off and put it away. The battery is removable and is charged in a separate charging unit. What do I mean by this? Well, unlike most robotic mowers, this one isn’t designed to be left outside all the time. It’s a drop and go machine which can be charged indoors and then you simply need to pop it on the ground and let it do its thing. There are many advantages to this which I’ll dive into in my LawnMaster VBRM16 review.

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This mower comes with everything you need included. There’s 12 replacement blades, 50 m of boundary wire and 100 hooks included. Mechanically, most robot lawn mowers are surprisingly similar. In your garden they look a bit like a tiny car, about the same size as an upturned washing-up bowl, with two large wheels to control movement and one or two coasters to add stability. They tend to cut the grass with sharp steel blades that closely resemble razor blades, which you will find attached to a spinning disc on the underside of the mower’s chassis. Are they difficult to set up? The mower can move over an inclined path up to 8.5 degrees. To be honest, it’s not a great angle to cover because several other models can cover anything between 20 to 35 degrees. If you own a flat lawn, then there is no need to consider the inclined movement. However, if the garden has some high slopes then you should look at other options present on this list.

It’s possibly better aimed at those with a small garden looking for an easy life, rather than anyone wanting a perfect lawn. No robot mower is good at creating neat edges up to every type of boundary but this model won’t even do a perimeter lap to straighten everything off. I really appreciated the ease with which it gets up and running, though. With 20-60mm cutting height and scheduling it easy to keep your lawn looking good. Though you will need a strimmer to finish the edges (Image credit: Steven Jenkins) What else does the LawnMaster L10 have to offer? The LawnMaster L10 will cut the perimeter of your lawn on every third day, just before it starts its normal random mowing pattern. You also have the ability to manually start this perimeter mow should it be required. This is a great feature as it limits the amount of additional work cutting around the edge of the lawn. One of the things that a lot of people ask me about robotic lawn mowers is whether they have enough power to complete the entire lawn in one go.Charging your LawnMaster VBRM16 takes barely any time at all. Simply attach it to the charger, plug it in and it’ll be ready in around one hour! Navigation System The mower makes your lawn attractive and healthy because of its mulch function. It leaves all the tiny pieces of grass over the grass bed so that they can decompose and add some nutrients to the soil. To change the cutting height, there is a simple to use dial. It can deal with slopes up to 35 per cent and leaves no grass clippings to dispose of. In terms of specifics, this mower has cutting heights ranging from 20 mm to 60 mm, and a cutting width of 18 cm. It can be controlled using a Bluetooth app, while there’s also an LCD display and keypad so you can adjust the settings on the unit itself. In terms of design, it’s nicely compact, with a 16cm cutting width and cutting height variations of 20-50mm . Its interface is relatively simple – it’s controlled by four buttons , with advanced settings available through the Flymo app . It can definitely be used without the app, but the app does help with fine-tuning things. As you can see in my video review, the LawnMaster L10 benefits from a PIN system. This means that no unauthorised access to the robotic mower will be possible and makes theft nigh on impossible.

One top tip from a customer who says that it's an impressive piece of equipment: "To ensure the mower can mow your lawn your need to install a boundary wire around the edge of your grass. For a lawn my size of approximately 25m by 15m it took a good couple of hours so you need time to get the mower working." Which robot lawn mower is best? However, you can add additional functions and take greater control over the mower using an app on your smartphone. This lets you start and stop the mower remotely (though it only supports Bluetooth, so you still have to be in the vicinity). More crucially, it lets you control exactly when the robot should head out for a run, with two programmable mowing slots available for each day of the week, so you can really fine-tune your mowing. With the boundary wire in place you need to finish the set up by connecting to the base station and a power outlet. On the plus side the L10 comes with a long power cable which gives you options to place the charging base pretty much wherever you want without the need for an extension cable. Those looking for neater edges will be better served by the Worx Landroid M500 Plus WR165E. This needs perimeter wire and a base station to be installed but its off-set blade is capable of cutting as close to the edge of the grass as a robot mower can safely be allowed. Its cutting schedule can be controlled by a smartphone app and it can manage a lawn of up to 500m2. The LawnMaster L10 is a brilliantly simple and compact robotic lawn mower that is excellent if you’re looking for something uncomplicated and easy to install and configure. It doesn’t require a huge technical knowledge to get started and yet you’ll still be left with a clean and neat finish for your lawn.If you plan on running this lawnmower on a lawn that’s used by young children or pets, you have nothing to worry about – its safety features are fantastic . The blades stop running if the lawnmower is lifted or tilted and, if the mower does happen to run into you, the bump is extremely gentle and won’t cause any pain. The fact that you need to enter a pin code before you can actually do anything with the mower helps to keep it safe from thieves too.

The rating of a robot lawn mower is quite dependant on your wants and desires, because someone with a tiny garden only needs a robotic lawn mower that works for a small space. Compared to petrol mowers, robot lawn mowers are better for the environment. They don’t emit any fumes and they can be started with the push of a button. This also means they are a lot quieter , with many people choosing to set their mowing schedule for overnight. However, most robot lawn mowers now come with effective safety features , such as a collision detection system. This allows your mower to stop and turn before it bumps into an obstacle, but it’ll also prevent it from crashing into people or pets. While there are more sophisticated robot lawn mowers like the WORX range, for example, the LawnMaster L10 is a simplistic version that still does an amazing job of cutting the lawn! I ran the two side by side on my own lawn and the results were very similar. So if it’s simplicity you’re after then I’d say go for the LawnMaster L10, without a doubt.Ability to move over inclines paths is another function you should consider, especially if you have a lawn with lots of hills and slopes. Most of these tools can handle slopes up to 15 degrees, but some of them can mover 35 degrees as well. There’s a button on the control panel which you can press after popping the mower down in whichever area needs touching up. It’ll then use a spiral pattern to trim any longer bits of grass and ensure a uniform finish over the whole lawn. Cutting Pattern Not mowing in the rain helps to ensure that the mower’s wheels are not damaging the lawn when it is soft and wet from the rain. As you will see in my YouTube video, I tested the LawnMaster VBRM16 on my front lawn which is around 100 square metres; the perfect size for this mower.