Private exoskeletons have been all over the place at CES 2026. There have been formidable 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 high mannequin, and Ascentiz had us sprinting across the show floor.
An exoskeleton is a comparatively new class of wearable system designed to boost, assist, or help human motion, energy, posture, and even bodily exercise. The principle piece goes round your waist like a belt, and from it, a pair of hinged, mechanized splints lengthen 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 are actually being offered as mainstream client units. It’s a quickly rising market, too, with reports suggesting progress from greater than half a billion {dollars} in 2025 to greater than $2 billion by 2030.
As of immediately, solely Hypershell and Dnsys (each Chinese language corporations based in 2021) have client exoskeletons you should buy. And, as promised, after we first reviewed the pre-launch prototype of the Dnsys X1 (5/10, WIRED Review), as quickly as we may, we’d race them. So, with the launch of the Hypershell X Ultra, that day has lastly arrived.
By a collection of “athletic” pursuits at London’s Lea Valley Athletics Center, we went head-to-head with the $1,999 Hypershell X Ultra and the $1,899 Dnsys X1 Carbon Pro. Each are flagship merchandise, each are commercially out there, and each precipitated individuals to cease and stare, though that might have simply been our astounding athleticism.
A Leg Up
Dnsys and Hypershell spend loads of advertising price range selling the bodily advantages of their exoskeletons. Hypershell, as an example, claims its units can result in a 42 p.c decrease coronary heart price, 20 p.c much less exertion when strolling, and a 63 p.c enhance in hip flexor endurance. Dnsys suggests sporting their units will “lower energy demand by as much as 50 p.c.”
As we found with testing the Hypershell Pro X (6/10, WIRED Review), 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 price, tempo, and distance utilizing a smartwatch, a few of our efforts instructed we used extra power 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 significantly rely on you as a person. Chris Haslam, considered one of WIRED’s crack product reviewers enlisted for this check, has a 76-year-old father with one titanium hip. Chris’s dad was in a position to make use of an exoskeleton to climb a hill with out his standard breather on the midway level. Chris, nonetheless—a wholesome, lively 48-year-old—discovered them extra of a hindrance than a assist.
Having two totally different exoskeletons allowed us to check efficiency and focus on perceived effort. Sure, among the dash races have been somewhat tongue-in-cheek, however the extra time we spent sporting every system, the clearer image we received as to what the exoskeleton is definitely doing and the way it felt whereas it’s doing it.
The Assessments
Gradual and Regular: We accomplished an unaided, exoskeleton-free baseline run of 400 meters earlier than repeating the identical checks in every exoskeleton. Tempo and distance have been stored the identical, so the distinction in exertion might be seen clearly via a drop in coronary heart price.
