The Honda Miimo Robotic Lawn Mower came out in 2017, and I’ve been dying to get my hands on one ever since.
It’s like the robotic vacuums you’ve likely seen that drive themselves around the house and return to their charger when they’re done – except instead of vacuuming your floors, it mows your lawn!
The Miimo has a charging station as well as a guidewire that’s installed on your lawn to keep it where you want it. Unlike a vacuum that can’t get out of your house, the Miimo uses the wire as a boundary to keep it from running off down the road or julienning all of the vegetables in your garden with its 4 on-board razor blades.
Once ours was set up, our lawn care became a very hands off process.
We set it up on a weekly schedule to mow 3 times per week just before we go to bed, and we wake up to a lawn that appears to never grow.
I used to always get behind on mowing the lawn, so by the time I did it, the grass was longer than it should have been, which meant I’d have grass clippings sticking to my feet whenever I walked around the lawn for a few days. Now since it’s mowing so frequently, any clippings it does make are much smaller and fall back down into the undergrowth.
Because of how the Miimo cuts the grass it’s even better for your lawn:
1. It uses razor blades
When grass is cut with a sharp blade, it takes less time for the grass to recover. The Mimoo uses 4 razor blades, which are sharper than a typical mower blade.
2. It makes frequent small cuts
I have my Miimo set to cut the grass every 2 days for an hour. That means it is cutting smaller pieces than what would typically be cut if I mowed every 1-2 weeks. The general rule is to never cut more than 1/3 of the grass height, and even less is better.
3. It reduces thatch
Due to the frequent mowings and using a razor blade to cut the grass, the Miimo leaves what I’d consider grass “dust” in it’s wake. Those small pieces are easier to break down, don’t result in thatch that prevents air, water, sunlight, and nutrients from reaching the soil, and help provide the lawn with more nitrogen to grow.
Other Features
- Super Quiet – The Miimo is incredibly quiet. It’s so quiet that even when I’m outside, I normally only notice it’s mowing when some motion catches my eye. To say it’s quieter than a typical mower is a MASSIVE UNDERSTATEMENT.
- Anti-Theft – Before you can operate the Miimo you have to enter a pin code, and it it sounds an alarm if it’s ever picked up.
- Double Sided & Retractable Razor Blades – The Miimo alternates between cutting the grass in a clockwise and counterclockwise motion so that it can use both sides of its razor blades, keeping them sharper longer. They’re also mounted in a way so that if they come into contact with anything hard, they pull back into the unit.
- Sensors – If the Miimo comes into contact with anything, it immidiately backs up and goes off in another direction.
- Adjustable Mowing Height – It’s easy to adjust the blade height from .8″ to 2.4″ with a simple twist knob.
At this point the only grass upkeep I do is some light trimming with my weed eater around the deck and fence every couple weeks. I’d love for the Miimo to be able to reach every bit of grass, but for the sake of safety the blades are tucked underneath like a typical mower.
The Miimo comes in two models depending on the size of your lawn. The Honda Miimo HRM 310 can cut up to 1,500 square meters (.37 acres) and the Honda Miimo HRM 520 can handle double that at 3,000 square meters (.75 acres).
Overall I’ve been very impressed with how easy it all works. It’s taken one more chore off my back, and does an even better job than I was doing. Now I just need a robot to pick up and clean my dishes, and I’ll be all set!
