In our last video and blog, we began our robotic mower comparison test, pitting the Kress RTKn against the Sunseeker Orion X7 and the Mammotion Luba 2. In that video, we were comparing these three popular robotic mowers based on the ease of installation, the quality of the cut, and the obstacle avoidance technology.
While those areas are important when choosing a robotic mower, they certainly aren’t the only attributes a customer would look for. And when we do testing, we like to be thorough. After all, we don’t like to get a reputation among the machines as just giving an easy A. Oh, no. We put robotic mowers through more like AP Lawn Cutting. That way, we can best determine the relative strengths and weaknesses of various models.
So, for the second part of our testing, we compared the performance of the Luba 2, Orion X7, and Kress RTKn on a big slope and under some heavy leaf cover.
Overall, we were impressed with the performance of all three robotic mowers. However, we did discover some important differences between the models as we tested. You can see what we found in the video below. Or, you can read on for a summary!
Luba 2
First up, we ran the Mammotion Luba 2 through our tests. We have enjoyed the Luba since it came out a few years back, and we have been impressed by the upgrades between the Luba 1 and the Luba 2. However, promised upgrades are one thing; actual performance in the field is another. So let’s recap how the Luba 2 did, which we can then use as a comparison to the Orion X7 and the Kress RTKn.
Slope Test
We expected the Luba 2 to do well on the slope test, and it lived up to our expectations.
The reason we thought the Luba 2 would do well is because it is designed for steeper slopes. The robotic mower is rated for up to 38°, or 80%. The extra traction in the tires and the AWD especially help the Luba 2 do really well on hilly areas. Indeed, when a customer has a property with steeper slopes, we generally recommend this Mammotion product.
The only curveball that we had was that it had been raining the day before our test. As our soggy sneakers proved, the grass was still fairly wet. So how would the Luba 2 handle a slick, steep surface? (We love our alliteration!)
Overall, the Luba 2 did a fantastic job handling the slope, despite the wet grass. Both uphill and downhill, the machine kept mowing in a perfectly straight line. We watched carefully as the Luba 2 had to turn around even while still at a steep angle. We saw the tiniest bit of slipping, but again, the robotic mower maintained a straight line throughout. So all in all, we were very impressed with the Luba’s performance on our big, stupid hill.
One Important Note
We do have one caveat, however: we didn’t have the Luba 2 actually cutting the grass. We were in a public park, and the workers have their own schedule they follow. So, we respected them and just had the robotic mowers running the lines. As a result, we can’t comment on if the Luba 2 missed any blades of grass while mowing this slick, steep slope. We would be surprised if it would have, given what we have seen with the robotic mower and given how well it maintained its traction. Still, we will confirm the evenness of Luba 2’s cut on wet slopes in future tests.
Canopy Test
For the canopy test, we weren’t necessarily worried that the Luba 2 would completely lose its place. The Luba 2 has redundancy built in, and one of the benefits of having vision and RTK tech working together in robotic mowers is that if the mower loses connectivity with the positioning system, the vision system can take over. Thus, we were curious how often the Luba 2 would switch to vision, and if that switch would slow it down at all.
Just like on the slope test, we walked away really impressed with the Luba 2’s handling of the canopy test. During mapping, we did notice that the mower switched over to vision tech when it made it to the most densely covered areas. However, that didn’t slow down the process much at all. And once the robotic mower had finished mapping, the Luba 2 did not switch into vision mode at all while mowing.
Another Important Caveat
We will point out that if you have a property with dense tree cover or a ton of buildings, we wouldn’t guarantee the same results with the Luba 2. Results can vary. Thus, if we were to help you select your robotic mower, we would want to check how the Luba 2 performed on your property.
Still, in our test, the Luba 2 did quite well with tree canopy. And with the vision tech built in for redundancy, we would feel confident using the Luba 2 in most situations.
How did Luba 2’s results stack up against the Orion X7 and the Kress robotic mower? Let’s find out.
Orion X7
Next up was the Sunseeker Orion X7. This was one of our first times getting to try a production model of the Orion X7. As a result, we were very excited to see how it would handle our slope test and canopy test.
Based on the specs of the Orion X7, we expected the robotic mower to do well on the slope test. Our hopes were more subdued for the canopy test.
For the most part, we were accurate, with a few interesting twists. See what we mean below.
Slope Test
The Orion X7 is not rated for slopes quite as steep as the Luba 2, but it can still handle a 70% grade. The robot mower features both a 3-wheel AWD system and studded tires to help it conquer slopes. Since the hill we were on was not 70%, we expected the Orion X7 to traverse the slope well. (That’s right: we know big words!)
The Sunseeker mower actually exceeded our expectations. We saw absolutely no issues. The Orion X7 went up and down the slope at a steady pace, maintaining excellent lines. In fact, we were so impressed that we feel strongly that the robotic mower could handle a much steeper slope, even if the surface was wet.
Just like the Luba 2, the spot we were watching especially carefully was the boundary located on the slope. We have seen other mowers really struggle with that scenario, slipping badly. However, the Orion X7 had no problems at all, showing no signs of even temporarily losing its grip.
Canopy Test
We gave the Orion X7 a really good challenge by putting it under some heavy tree cover, next to a structure, and over some rough terrain. And we are glad we did, since this environment simulates many people’s yards quite well.
Overall, the Sunseeker robotic mower did better than we expected, but it did have a small hiccup. The Orion kept a steady pace through most of the canopied environment. However, it did have a little trouble when it hit the densest canopy, pausing for a bit. That said, the Orion X7 uses vision tech and an AI mapping feature to learn your property. So, we aren’t sure if the mower lost signal or was mapping that it wasn’t on grass. We suspect it was the latter, but we need to do more testing.
There are other reasons we would want to do more testing on the Orion X7 before using it in dense areas. Our reference station was pretty close, so we would want to see how the Orion handled the station being further away. Also, we would want to see the Sunseeker mower in action several times in the same area. We have seen wireless robotic mowers act really inconsistently under dense cover. And again, we aren’t sure how the AI mapping feature would impact the Orion.
In short, we were pleasantly surprised by the Sunseeker Orion X7 on this test. However, we need to see more before giving our full seal of approval.
Kress
Last but not least was our old friend, the Kress RTKn. In truth, we call it our old friend in this context in the same way that we called our dad “old man” when he was only 40. (We can now attest: 40 is NOT OLD!) Though the RTKn has been around longer than the other two models we tested here, it is still plenty young compared to some of the other robotic mowers on the market.
Besides, the Kress proved during these tests that it stacks up well compared to the other two young bucks.
Slope Test
Compared to the Luba 2 and the Orion X7, we were putting the Kress RTKn much closer to its capacity with the slope test. After all, the RTKn is rated for a 25° slope, lower than the other two.
However, we were really impressed with how this Kress model performed. It went up the slope at a slower pace than the other two models we tested. However, performance-wise, we saw no issues. The Kress RTKn maintained straight lines and climbed to the top without a lot of difficulty. (The RTKn had much less difficulty than we did, anyway, that’s for sure!)
On the way down the slope, one of the RTKn robotic mower’s neatest features kicked in. While going downhill, the machine uses that kinetic energy for power, extending battery life. Thus, even though we were pushing the Kress to its ratings limits, the robot mower was able sustain the full mow.
Canopy Test
The Kress RTKn also has one other distinction over the Orion X7 and the Luba 2: it does not have a camera.
You might think that a lack of a camera would put the Kress mower at a disadvantage during the canopy test, but we thought the RTKn did as well as the other two robotic mowers in our comparison. What the Kress robotic mower does is count its wheel rotations. That way, even if it does lose connection, it knows where it is in relation to the border. As a result, we didn’t see any pausing at all, even when the was in the densest leaf cover.
Putting it all Together: Kress vs Orion X7 vs Luba 2
Well, we promised AP Lawn Cutting, and we feel we did that, especially if you look at both of our videos together.
We said we wouldn’t give out any easy As. And we haven’t. We put these robotic mowers through the biggest challenges they are likely to face on residential or commercial property. And yet, we really do feel that all three mowers deserve scores in the A range. We were impressed by all of them.
That said, we do have a few distinctions that we would offer:
- Due to the range of products of different sizes, we would recommend the Kress RTKn for more open areas without a lot of terrain variation. The Kress is also a great option if you don’t want to have a reference station on your property. (The downside to this is that you do need to live within roughly 30 miles of a dealer.)
- We would recommend the Luba 2 if you have steep slopes on your property.
- We would recommend the Orion X7 if you want massive versatility in cut heights within just one machine.
Of course, if you contact us, we will be happy to come out to your property and help you determine the best fit for your needs.
And don’t worry: we only test the mowers, not our customers.
