I didn't buy a robot mower (obviously) but my trusty old Toro finally kicked the bucket so I went to Home Depot and picked up a new Honda. I got the one that's like $500. When I first looked at lawn mowers many years ago the cheapest Hondas were like $800+. They've come down quite a bit.
For pure cutting it really puts the old Toro to shame. That one was about $399 new so I assume it's a step down in level from the Honda. The Honda slices through everything, no matter how tall or thick. Even when new the Toro would chug with the same grass density. I would often have to go with half swaths to make it to through.
The Honda also mulches WAY better than the Toro did. If I let the grass get a little too tall the Toro would leave big piles of grass clippings all over the lawn. The Honda doesn't seem to leave any piles; It's pretty impressive.
What was better about the Toro? It was quite a bit easier to handle. There are some places in my lawn where I have to go underneath branches and navigate thick bushes, and with the Toro it was quite easy to reach wherever I needed to while keeping the throttle bar down. The new Honda has an annoying "throttle paddle" that's located in the center of the bar. Its very hard to keep pressed down in certain situations. The Honda is also appreciably heavier and harder to maneuver when things get tight.
All in all though I'm sure I'll figure it out. I would even give the Honda a 5/5 rating.
Little fun fact - when I first got it started it was extremely difficult to move. I thought something was wrong.
Then I looked down and realized I had forgot to set the deck height. It was on the lowest setting. Once I raised it to 4 it was fine. I now have a small stretch in the middle of my lawn that looks like a golfing green. I wonder how long it'll take for that too grow back.
For pure cutting it really puts the old Toro to shame. That one was about $399 new so I assume it's a step down in level from the Honda. The Honda slices through everything, no matter how tall or thick. Even when new the Toro would chug with the same grass density. I would often have to go with half swaths to make it to through.
The Honda also mulches WAY better than the Toro did. If I let the grass get a little too tall the Toro would leave big piles of grass clippings all over the lawn. The Honda doesn't seem to leave any piles; It's pretty impressive.
What was better about the Toro? It was quite a bit easier to handle. There are some places in my lawn where I have to go underneath branches and navigate thick bushes, and with the Toro it was quite easy to reach wherever I needed to while keeping the throttle bar down. The new Honda has an annoying "throttle paddle" that's located in the center of the bar. Its very hard to keep pressed down in certain situations. The Honda is also appreciably heavier and harder to maneuver when things get tight.
All in all though I'm sure I'll figure it out. I would even give the Honda a 5/5 rating.
Little fun fact - when I first got it started it was extremely difficult to move. I thought something was wrong.
Then I looked down and realized I had forgot to set the deck height. It was on the lowest setting. Once I raised it to 4 it was fine. I now have a small stretch in the middle of my lawn that looks like a golfing green. I wonder how long it'll take for that too grow back.
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