Ker-lunk! Brrrrrrr! (Flymo Micro Compact 30)

Member Name: ricky.ginty

Product:	Flymo Micro Compact 30
Date:	31/05/03 (1006 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: cheap and cheerful, picks up well, easy to empty

Disadvantages: consumes blades, no kudos

How does the song go... "I'm a survivor...!"

Our Compact 30 (C30) is a survivor. I've considered throwing it in the skip so many times! But after four years, it's still there, lurking in the shed, encrusted in dried cuttings, and I still get it out, put on more new blades and mow the lawn... at least it doesn't seem to embarrass me like it used to.

Survivor? More new blades? Embarrassment? What sort of lawnmower is this?

The C30 pioneered a new concept in lawnmowers. It's a hover mower, like so many from Flymo but is different in that it has disposable blades. It's a bit like the printers they bundle with PCs these days - the printer doesn't cost much because the true cost is in the inkjet cartridges. The mower's purchase cost isn't much, about £80 I think, but you'll have to remember to keep up with its appetite for blades, at about a quid a packet.

That was embarrassment No.1 - I bought a mower with plastic blades! How could I not notice..? I thought I'd bought little more than a toy. But, I'd bought it, and I wasn't about to take it straight back, so it was time to give it a try.

First experience was not good. I plugged it in, it whirred and took off and I headed on down the lawn. Ker-lunk! Brrrrrrr! One of the blades had hit a stone, flown apart and the whole thing was vibrating like hell. That's no use! Put on another blade; hit a kerb, ker-lunk! Are the neighbours watching? Do they know I bought a toy mower? My face was bright red, whether neighbours were watching or not. Embarrassment No.2.

This led to embarrassment No.3. I had to go and buy more blades. At the garden centre, Lawnmower Service Counter, among people getting bits for their flashy petrol mowers and ride-on tractors. I shuffled up and said, "Have you got some of these... plastic blades for a Flymo?" I'm sure the man behind the counter gave a

"You didn't buy one of them did you?" smirk as he turned to find them.

But...

That was four years ago. Since then I've bought a replacement mower (Black and Decker 30", about the same price) which I threw in the skip last Saturday, along with the B&D electric strimmer that I never use. I still use the Flymo. I've developed a Blade Conservation Strategy, avoiding the corners and edges till last; and no matter how much abuse the mower gets and how much grass goes through the motor, it just refuses to give up! I thought for a while that I wouldn't get blades, but B&Q stock them. The C30 cuts well enough and it's an impressive grass picker-upper, with a cleverly designed, easy to empty bin.

So if you're on a budget, and you have a wee patch that needs trimmed, you could do worse than the Compact 30. Don't expect miracles. I suspect it could be a very good second-hand buy, from someone with a stony garden...

3 stars.

Footnote On Why I Binned The B&D Gear

Mower
I said above that the Flymo had a cleverly designed, easy to empty bin. The B&D 30 had a poorly designed bin that (don't tell the wife!) I eventually put my boot through, in a temper; and it had steel blades that were angled downwards, so they didn't actually cut anything. No stars.

Strimmer
For a strimmer to be useful, it needs string that lasts more than 30 seconds before it breaks; and after the string breaks it needs to be designed so you can lengthen it quickly and easily. B&D forgot these key points. No stars.

Summary: