Yarbo robotic snow blower review: A yard crawler for all seasons

Price When Reviewed

$4,999.00

Best Prices Today: Yarbo Snow Blower

Yarbo’s modular yard robotic was a success on the CES present in Las Vegas in January 2025, however I have to say I used to be skeptical of the idea. Once I had the chance to check the brand new machine with its snow blower attachment, one of many many equipment you possibly can connect to this track-propelled robotic, I modified my tune.

The Yarbo package arrived in three massive bins and putting in the machine is a challenge. It is totally not troublesome because of the clear instruction handbook. You get all of the instruments you want and every them, together with the Allen wrenches, are labeled. Great!

Mikael Lindkvist

Specifications

• Manufacturer: Yarbo
• Equipment: Yarbo Core, snow blower module, battery, docking station, equipment)
• Weight: 134 kilos (61kg) (Yarbo Core, much less snow blower)
• Battery: 36V, 38.4 mAh
• Working temperature vary: -11.2 levels Fahrenheit to 113 F (-24 to 45 C)
• Weatherization: IPX4 (i.e., not examined for mud ingress, protected against water sprayed from any route)
• Towing capability:

Control it with a smartphone or Yarbo’s handheld distant

After a few hours, the RTK antenna is in place on the facade of the home, the bottom station is nailed down and the machine is able to begin testing. On my first journey to Västerbotten, a province in northeastern Sweden, I didn’t have time to do way more than assemble the package and manually drive the snow blower round. You can select to manage it together with your cell phone or with an included handheld distant that appears prefer it belongs to a recreation console. The thought is, in fact, that you simply schedule the snow elimination to avoid wasting time, along with saving your again.

Mikael Lindkvist

Controlling it through your cell phone is very easy, as Yarbo’s app is exemplary. But there’s a lot to maintain observe of in addition to navigating the machine. You can set the facility stage of the snow blower motor itself in a number of steps in addition to how deep it ought to dig and the angle at which it ought to eject the eliminated snow. That’s not so good when you’re throwing ice and perhaps some gravel at your automotive or the entrance of your own home. The snow blower is highly effective, proper up there with the higher battery-powered snow blowers I’ve tried, so it has no drawback tossing snow (and ice chunks) 7- to 8 meters (7.6- to 8.7 yards).

Mikael Lindkvist

I had extra time to essentially check what the Yarbo was able to on my second journey. Now, the perfect factor would in fact have been to arrange the machine originally of the winter, not when half a meter (1.6 ft) of snow had thawed after which froze once more. In phrases of the snow on the bottom, situations have been merely not optimum.

Studded tracks are a should in winter

The very first thing I did, which I didn’t handle to do within the first a part of the check, was to modify to studded tracks. Without them, the Yarbo Core simply slides over icy surfaces. This is a reasonably easy challenge, nevertheless, and the robotic obtained round significantly better with them on. It was unimaginable to see the way it maneuvered icy excessive edges.

Mikael Lindkvist

The Yarbo Core costs both whereas standing on its charging pad, or through an included AC charger. The included 36V battery costs totally in about 3 hours, however when its chilly outdoors, it must heat up for 20- to 30 minutes earlier than you can begin charging its battery. A full cost lasts as much as 4 hours in accordance with the specs. The robotic cleared massive areas in that period of time, so the working time with the snow blower shouldn’t be an issue until you’ve large areas to deal with.

On paper, Yarbo ought to be capable of deal with as much as 125,000 sq. meters (149,499 sq. yards); however in fact, it is dependent upon the job. The space I labored was solely 700- to 800 sq. meters (837- to 957 sq. yards) within the kind of a big driveway and a stretch of street. During the 2 check intervals, the robotic had no issues with navigation, needing a little bit assist to get onto its charging pad solely as soon as .

Mikael Lindkvist

It’s very simple to plan your automated snow elimination utilizing the Yarbo app. If you’ve ever arrange a boundary wire-free robotic garden mower, you’ll be accustomed to the idea. You drive the machine across the edges of the world you’re mapping, throughout which you’ll mark no-go zones. It’s additionally essential that you simply point out point out which route the snow ought to be pushed. This is best to do after you’ve created your preliminary map. You can then schedule once you need the snow blower to run. You can even customise it to clear snow solely after snow occasions.

Mikael Lindkvist

There are additionally another sensible options, together with Smart Vision, which helps you to look out by means of the robotic’s onboard cameras whereas the robotic is working. Another essential characteristic is that the machine will acknowledge obstacles, together with individuals. As quickly as I walked close to the snow blower, it will say “human detected” and pause till I used to be at a secure distance–round 4- to 5 meters (13- to 16 ft)–from the robotic.

This robotic can pull a trailer, too

It is in fact troublesome to evaluate the reliability of a machine like this in a couple of days of testing, however my first impression is that this can be a actually high-quality machine with secure software program. You most likely wouldn’t purchase a Yarbo Core only for its winter utility (Yarbo presents a scraper bar ($59) and a snow plow blade ($159) as elective add-ons). Once you’ve the Core, you possibly can select between two sizes of garden mower modules and a string-trimmer module for slicing grass within the spring and summer time, and there’s a leaf blower module for clearing leaves within the fall.

DataNova

I think about this robotic will do an important job of mowing lawns, not less than it received’t have any issues getting round. You can even tow as much as 500 kilos with its trailer hitch put in, and choosing Yarbo’s $149 Back Brace Mount boosts that capability to 3,500 kilos (with a 200-pound tongue weight). Finally, when you reside on a big parcel of land, you possibly can program it to patrol as a robotic safety guard.

The Yarbo Core and its snow blower attachment are loopy costly, however that is undoubtedly one of many coolest merchandise I’ve tried.

This article initially appeared on our sister publication M3 and was translated and localized from Swedish.

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