REVIEW – I may be one of the few people who is okay with mowing their lawn. My issue comes from circulation issues in my legs. After cutting the lawn, my legs and feet will ache for days. Enter the Mowrator S1 Pro, a remote-controlled lawnmower. I was given one to review; is it a gimmick? Will it actually do an excellent job of mowing my lawn? And, more importantly, will it give my legs some relief?
What is it?
Mowrator S1 Pro 4WD is the world’s first 3-in-1 remote-controlled lawn mower, designed to cut even the most challenging lawns effortlessly.
What’s included?
- Main Machine
- 4 x All terrain tires
- LiFePO4 18Ah 56V Battery
- Remote Controller
- 21 Inches Mowing Blade
- IP65 600W Fast Super Charger
- Grass outlet cover
- Mulching Insert
- Grass Bag
- Tool kit
- User manual
Tech specs
Weight: 114.6 lb. (Without battery)
Machine size: 37.8 x 25.8 x 16.7 in (without grass bag) 60.4 x 26.2 x 20.3 in (with grass bag)
Operating Temperature: 0~40℃ / 32~104℉
Water Resistance: IP54 (Splash Proof)
Deck Material: Reinforced Aluminum Alloy
Minimum Mowing Area: 2000 sqm / 0.5 acre
Steering System: RZ Steering System
Maximum Speed: 1.5 m/s / 3.4 mph
Climbing Motor: 250 W
Climbing Torque: Type 23 Nm, Max 34 Nm Type 17 ft-lb, Max 25 ft-lb
Cutting Width: 21-inches
Blade Disk Material: DC06 Reinforced Hardened Steel
Blade Torque: 6 ft-lb
Cutting Motor: 800 W
Max Cutting Motor: 1600W
Blade speed: Max 3200 rpm (adjustable)
Noise level: 63dB@3m
Operations: Mulching / Bagging / Side discharge
Ultrasonic Sensors: 4 collision sensors front/rear/left/right
Front Collision Sensors: Front Bumper Anti-collision
Tilt sensor: Supported
Anti-theft: Supported
Emergency stop: Two-button
RF module: Proprietary FHSS
Operating frequency: 2.400~2.480 GHz
Antenna: Dual PCB Antenna
Max RF Output EIRP: 9 dBm
OTA update: Supported
Design and features
The Mowrator S1 Pro Remote Control 4WD Lawn Mower is unlike any lawn mower I’ve ever seen. It looks like it should be exploring the surface of Mars, not cutting my lawn. My first impression was how tough the mower looked. The S1 Pro’s 21″ mowing deck uses reinforced aluminum alloy, and a steel tub frame surrounds the mower. Other design standouts include the airless all-terrain tires, blade height adjustment lever, and large front bumper sensor. Four more collision sensors are on the front, a battery compartment on top, and a grass outlet cover on the back. The S1 Pro comes with a grass bag with three cutting operations: mulching, bagging, and rear discharge. The height adjustment lever allows you to easily adjust the cutting height with five adjustable gears (1.5, 1.9, 2.6, 3.3, 4.3 inches).
Safety features
The Mowrator S1 Pro is loaded with safety features. It has automatic collision avoidance using front-and-side ultrasonic sensors. The sensors detect obstacles, people, and pets in advance, instantly halting movement and blade rotation. The padded front bumper sensor is triggered if the mower hits an obstacle. Its embedded sensor feedback technology also ensures immediate blade stoppage if the grass discharge area is opened during operation.
There are also two emergency stop buttons: one on each side on top of the mower and one on the remote control. Depressing either of these buttons will stop the machine and blade operation.
The Mowrator S1 Pro has all-wheel drive, which allows it to effortlessly handle gradients up to 75% (37º).
The S1 Pro comes equipped with a cruise control feature to make mowing easier. Press a button for automatic forward movement while the embedded IMU keeps it on a straight path. There are also dedicated buttons for the one-button zero-turn feature.
Battery and Mowrator Supercharger
The S1 Pro is powered by a revolutionary 10-year LiFePO4 battery with a mowing capacity of up to 1.125 acres per charge and a runtime of up to 135 minutes. With the included 600W Supercharger, a full charge takes 90 minutes, and a 70-minute charge will give you up to 1.5 hours of battery life.
Mowrator S1 Pro Professional Remote Control
Of course, if you’re a remote-controlled lawnmower, you need a remote control, and the Mowrator S1 Pro has a pretty good one. The S1 Pro Professional Remote Controller is a remote control device specially designed for smart lawnmowers. The remote has travel control joysticks, switches for blade speed mode, manual blade speed, blade-start, and mower drive speed. There are also buttons for the mower’s autopilot mode and an emergency stop button.
A 2.35″ color touchscreen displays the mower status and message prompts. The touchscreen also allows you to toggle the ultrasonic sensor switch, voice prompts, bumper sensor switch, etc.
The remote is powered by a rechargeable battery that can be charged using the included USB-C cable. The remote can update the S1 Pro’s firmware via the Mowrator app. However, at the time of writing this review, the app was only available for Android devices, and I have an iPhone. Mowrator told me that the iPhone and Mac apps are in development and should be released soon.
Assembly
The S1 Pro comes pretty much preassembled. All you have to do is attach the all-terrain tires and the grass outlet cover and put the grass bag on its frame.
Startup and performance
Starting the S1 Pro is easy. After securing the battery into the battery compartment and plugging in the power cable, hold the power button until the four green lights are illuminated. When the mower’s indicator lights turn yellow, power on the remote, and the indicator lights should turn solid green. Now, you’re ready to start mowing.
The first time I used the S1 Pro, I drove it around my yard to learn how to use the remote control. There was a learning curve, but I quickly got the hang of it. The remote is very responsive, and I detected no lag.
The Mowrator S1 Pro remote is very easy to use. It’s lightweight, and the joysticks, buttons, and switches are within reach of my thumb. Using it feels like mowing my lawn with my PlayStation 5 controller. The 2.35-inch touchscreen is intuitive and easy to read, even in bright sunlight.
Starting the 21-inch mowing blade is done by holding down the two blade-start buttons on the front of the remote and then tapping start on the touchscreen. While mowing, you need to keep your finger on one of the blade-start buttons, or the blade will stop. I thought this might be a comfort issue, but the buttons’ placement made it pretty comfortable overall.
The S1 Pro performed consistently well, whether I was bagging or using the mulching insert. Unlike my other battery-powered mower, I didn’t have to go over the thicker areas of my lawn multiple times with the S1 Pro. I appreciate being able to adjust the blade speed (rpm) and move speed using the remote. The Smart Mode is a great feature, automatically adjusting the blade rpm according to different situations and saving battery power when enabled.
The cruise control and zero-turn feature worked well, but I was more comfortable using the joysticks to control the mower.
The ultrasonic sensors did an excellent job detecting when the S1 Pro got too close to objects. However, cutting close to the house or around landscaping tended to slow the mower down too much, so I turned it off.
The front bumper sensor did its job; it immediately stopped the mower and blade when I accidentally bumped into a junction box.
As you can see from the video and pictures, my lawn looked beautiful afterward.
I have a berm in my yard that I’m not responsible for mowing. Still, it has a significant incline, so I took the opportunity to test how the S1 Pro’s AWD handled slopes. As you can see from the short clip below, it did so without any issues.
Cutting my lawn with a remote control was a surreal and cool experience. In fact, it got a lot of looks from people driving by. Several people stopped to ask about it, including a couple who told me they had to turn their car around after driving by to ask what it was.
What I like about the Mowrator S1 Pro mower
- Well built
- Easy to use remote control
- Powerful
- Great battery life
- Fast charging
- Three cutting modes: bagging, mulching, and rear discharge
- Ultrasonic sensor object detection
- Front bumper sensor
- Does a fantastic job of cutting long, thick, and wet grass
- Ability to change the blade and move speed with the remote
What I’d change
- Absolutely nothing
Final thoughts
Isn’t technology amazing? I never thought I would be able to mow my lawn using a remote control, but the Mowrator S1 Pro has made it possible. This lawn mower is already professional-grade on its own, but with the added remote feature, it’s the best lawnmower I’ve ever used. It’s also the most complete new product that I have ever reviewed. Most importantly, it has saved my legs, and my lawn looks fantastic. Thank you, Mowrator!
Price: $3399.00
Where to buy: Mowrator
Source: The sample for this review was provided by Mowrator. Mowrator did not have a final say on the review and did not preview the review before it was published.
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We stopped tending to “green deserts” and converted our space to a wild flower pollinator garden instead.
What grass we have are now shared with clovers for self-feeding, less mowing, and huge decrease in watering needs…win/win on all fronts.