When you need something simple, small, and effective in keeping a small lawn managed, the Gardena Sileno Life is here for you. While it doesn’t have all the fancy bells and whistles as some of the other robot mowers out there, it still delivers smooth, clean results with every mow.

Today we’ll share our honest review of Gardena’s most robust mower in the U.S. lineup.

Features

Bluetooth Connectivity

Set up your smartphone with your Sileno Life using the Gardena app. You can remotely control the mower, and set its schedule right from your device. The mower comes with an app kit to help you get started with this.

Waterproof Design

Rain or shine, the Sileno Life will get the job done. The outer shell is waterproof, so the rain won’t interfere with its performance. 

Nice Big Tires for Uneven Terrain (To a Point)

The other reason you can use this mower in the rain is because of its big tires. They’re designed to handle lawns in any weather, even if the lawn is uneven. So if you need to level your lawn, the Sileno Life can still keep the lawn looking great in the meantime. Just ensure that slope height doesn’t exceed 35%.

Temperature Detection

The weather sensors sense when the temperature drops to close to freezing, and adjusts the mowing schedule and its performance accordingly.

Spot Cutting

In certain hard-to-reach spots on your lawn, this mower will spirally cut parts of the lawn that are growing irregularly compared to the rest of the lawn.

Security

For your and your family’s protection, the Sileno Life comes with the basics: PIN code, alarm, and lift and tilt sensors. 

Specs

• Cutting height: up to 50 mm
• Cutting width: 22 cm
• Cutting range: 1,000 m^2
• Charge time: 1 hour with a lithium-ion battery
• Run time: a little over an hour
• Size and weight: 58x39x23 cm at 18 pounds
• Sound level: 57 decibels

Performance

It’s true that this mower doesn’t have the breathtaking power and capabilities that other higher-end robot mowers may have. But for its price, its simplistic features still bring a lot to offer owners.

This lawn mower handles up to medium-sized lawns with little to no trouble. With the help of the large wheels with strong tread, the Sileno Life will easily maneuver over pits or small ruts. That tread comes in handy if you have slopes on the lawn; slopes up to 35% will look excellent throughout the mowing process.

So long as the perimeter wire is properly placed, the Sileno Life will mow every edge with precision. But it doesn’t mow in straight lines. Instead, it mows in random directions so that it covers areas on the lawn that haven’t gotten much attention. The result is evenly cut grass all across your lawn. You will need to keep in mind the type of grass you have.

Read: why grass type matters when choosing a robotic lawn mower

Who is This For?

Because of the Sileno Life’s size and power, the perfect buyer would be homeowners with slightly smaller sized lawns up to 8,100 Sq Ft. Since the Sileno Life has a run time of one hour, it will cover the whole lawn before it returns to the charging base. 

With many robot mowers costing well over $1,500, this is a good fit for those keeping an eye on their budget while having a lawn suitable for a more light-weight model. It’s more likely to succeed in well-manicured/flatter lawns.

Some slopes would be no problem, but without the weight to help, uneven terrain/dips and holes may be more problematic than other heavier-duty models.

Read: why are robotic lawn mowers so expensive?

Is it Worth the Purchase?

If you’re looking for a basic, budget-friendly robot mower for a not-so-big lawn, the Sileno Life is definitely a worthwhile purchase. You’ll get good results at a price point that’s cheaper than many other robot mowers designed for small lawns.

However, this may not be the best fit if your lawn has uneven terrain, or it’s medium-sized and complex. 

Here are some recommendations for mowers ideal for uneven terrain:
–Husqvarna Automower 435X AWD

–Husqvarna Automower 450XH

–Gardena Sileno City 500

–Robomow RK2000

Read: mowing uneven terrain with a robotic lawn mower

While the wheels have good traction, combining a medium-sized lawn with several dips and trenches might hinder the Life’s overall performance.