We Strapped on Exoskeletons and Raced. There’s One Clear Winner
Private exoskeletons have been all over the place at CES 2026. There have been bold designs from newcomers WiRobotics, Sumbu, Ascentiz, and Dephy, whereas Skip Mo/Go was again selling its long-overdue tech trousers. Dnsys (pronounced Deen-sis), a relatively nicely established identify, had some new launches to tease, Hypershell was again with its prime mannequin, and Ascentiz had us sprinting throughout the present ground.
An exoskeleton is a comparatively new class of wearable system designed to reinforce, help, or help human motion, power, posture, and even bodily exercise. The primary piece goes round your waist like a belt, and from it, a pair of hinged, mechanized splints prolong down over the hips to strap onto every thigh, the place they supply some robotic help to regular actions like strolling, operating, or squatting.
As soon as solely utilized in medical rehabilitation and in manufacturing facility settings, exoskeletons at the moment are being bought as mainstream client gadgets. It’s a quickly rising market, too, with experiences suggesting development from greater than half a billion {dollars} in 2025 to greater than $2 billion by 2030.
As of at this time, solely Hypershell and Dnsys (each Chinese language corporations based in 2021) have client exoskeletons you should purchase. And, as promised, after we first reviewed the pre-launch prototype of the Dnsys X1 (5/10, WIRED Evaluation), as quickly as we might, we might race them. So, with the launch of the Hypershell X Extremely, that day has lastly arrived.
By means of a sequence of “athletic” pursuits at London’s Lea Valley Athletics Heart, we went head-to-head with the $1,999 Hypershell X Extremely and the $1,899 Dnsys X1 Carbon Professional. Each are flagship merchandise, each are commercially obtainable, and each triggered folks to cease and stare, though that would have simply been our astounding athleticism.
A Leg Up
Dnsys and Hypershell spend a variety of advertising funds selling the bodily advantages of their exoskeletons. Hypershell, as an example, claims its gadgets can result in a 42 p.c decrease coronary heart charge, 20 p.c much less exertion when strolling, and a 63 p.c enhance in hip flexor endurance. Dnsys suggests carrying their gadgets will “lower energy demand by as much as 50 p.c.”
As we found with testing the Hypershell Professional X (6/10, WIRED Evaluation), corroborating or refuting these claims is tough at finest, particularly when the tech (and human) doesn’t at all times play alongside. Regardless of monitoring coronary heart charge, tempo, and distance utilizing a smartwatch, a few of our efforts urged we used extra vitality with the exoskeleton than with out.
However there’s no denying that the exoskeletons work. They put a robotic spring in your step and positively propel you alongside. How a lot tangible profit you get from the help will vastly depend upon you as a person. Chris Haslam, one among WIRED’s crack product reviewers enlisted for this take a look at, has a 76-year-old father with one titanium hip. Chris’s dad was ready to make use of an exoskeleton to climb a hill with out his traditional breather on the midway level. Chris, nevertheless—a wholesome, lively 48-year-old—discovered them extra of a hindrance than a assist.
Having two completely different exoskeletons allowed us to match efficiency and focus on perceived effort. Sure, among the dash races have been somewhat tongue-in-cheek, however the extra time we spent carrying every system, the clearer image we obtained as to what the exoskeleton is definitely doing and the way it felt whereas it’s doing it.
The Checks
Sluggish and Regular: We accomplished an unaided, exoskeleton-free baseline run of 400 meters earlier than repeating the identical assessments in every exoskeleton. Tempo and distance have been stored the identical, so the distinction in exertion could possibly be seen clearly by means of a drop in coronary heart charge.