The Exoskeleton You Can Actually Buy Costs $799. Here’s What You Get.

In early January 2025, a South Korean startup called WIRobotics announced it would showcase an updated version of its WIM walking-assist robot at CES 2026. The device weighs 1.6 kilograms, straps to your waist like a fanny pack, and uses a single motor to assist both legs simultaneously. It can be put on or removed in under 30 seconds. A four-week trial with elderly participants showed a 78% improvement in physical function.

The price: roughly $2,330. That is 3% of what a ReWalk Personal 6.0 medical exoskeleton costs.

Across the Pacific, a Chinese company called Hypershell was shipping its third-generation hiking exoskeleton, the X Ultra, with 1,000 watts of peak power, a 30-kilometer range on a single battery charge, and a weight of just 1.8 kilograms. The device won Best of Innovation in Robotics at CES 2025. The price: $1,999. The entry-level model, the X Go, starts at $799.

And in California, Skip—a startup spun out of Google X—partnered with Arc’teryx to develop powered exoskeleton pants that integrate motors directly into hiking trousers. They boost leg strength by 40%, reduce perceived pack weight by 30 pounds, and cost $5,000. Preorders are open. Shipping starts late 2025.

These are not concept devices. They are products you can buy, with published specs, customer reviews, and return policies. The consumer exoskeleton market has arrived, and it is moving faster than the medical or industrial markets that preceded it.

The Spec Sheet War

If you want to understand which companies are winning, ignore the marketing language and look at three numbers: weight, power, and price.

Weight: The WIM Advantage

Every kilogram you strap to your body compounds fatigue. Hikers obsess over gear weight for good reason: carrying an extra pound for ten miles uphill is exhausting. An exoskeleton that weighs more than it helps is worse than useless.

WIM weighs 1.6 kilograms—3.5 pounds—making it roughly one-third the weight of most competing powered exoskeletons. That achievement comes from a design choice: WIM uses a single motor to drive both legs, rather than the typical dual-motor setup. The motor sits at the waist and transmits torque to both hips through lightweight linkages.

Hypershell’s X Ultra weighs 1.8 kilograms (just under 4 pounds), using premium materials: SinterShell titanium meets SpiralTwill 3000 carbon fiber. The X Pro, at 2.0 kilograms, uses carbon fiber reinforced polymer and aluminum alloy. Both are impressive, but WIM is lighter.

Skip’s MO/GO pants weigh 7 pounds (3.2 kilograms), roughly double WIM’s weight. Part of that is the integrated pants design—you are carrying the fabric as well as the motors. Part is the dual-motor architecture. Either way, it is heavier.

For reference, a medical exoskeleton like the Ekso Indego weighs 14 kilograms. Even the lightest consumer models are an order of magnitude less burdensome.

Power and Range: Hypershell’s Numbers

If weight is WIM’s strength, power and range are where Hypershell dominates.

The X Ultra delivers 1,000 watts of peak power and 32 Nm of continuous torque at the hips. It supports speeds up to 25 km/h (15.5 mph) and offers a battery range of 30 kilometers when walking—or 65 kilometers when cycling. The X Pro provides 800 watts and 17.5 kilometers of range. The X Go, the budget entry, runs on 400 watts with a 15-kilometer range.

DNSYS X1 offers 900 watts and claims 7 hours of battery life on the base model, extendable to 14 hours with the dual-battery Carbon Pro version. That is roughly 25-30 kilometers at typical hiking speeds, competitive with Hypershell but slightly shorter.

WIM does not publish power output or range specs. The company focuses on efficiency claims—20% reduction in walking energy—rather than raw performance numbers. That marketing choice signals a different target: older adults and rehabilitation users, not performance-focused hikers.

Skip’s MO/GO runs for 3 hours or 5-6 miles per charge. That is shorter than Hypershell or DNSYS, but the device is aimed at serious trekkers who prioritize seamless integration over maximum range. You can carry spare batteries, but you cannot carry a lighter pair of pants.

Price: Hypershell Undercuts Everyone

The Hypershell X Go retails for $799, with occasional sales dropping it to $799 or €899 in Europe. The X Pro sits at $1,099 (sometimes $1,199). The X Ultra is $1,999. For context, that is the price of a mid-range e-bike, not industrial equipment.

DNSYS X1 costs $1,300, positioning slightly above Hypershell’s X Pro but below the X Ultra.

WIM launched in Korea at ₩3.2 million, approximately $2,330. That is more expensive than any Hypershell model despite being lighter and less powerful (on paper). The premium reflects different positioning: WIM markets itself as a rehabilitation and elderly-care device with medical-grade gait analysis software, not a recreational hiking tool.

Skip’s MO/GO is $5,000, with an early-bird price of $4,500 plus a $99 deposit. That is 2.5 to 6 times more expensive than Hypershell, depending on the model. The price includes the pants, motors, batteries, and charger—a complete system rather than an add-on device. But it is still five thousand dollars for hiking pants.

For passive devices, Ski-Mojo costs €699 (roughly $760)—no batteries, no motors, just spring-dampened knee support for skiing. It is cheaper than any powered option but serves a single sport.

What the Specs Do Not Tell You

Numbers are useful. But buying an exoskeleton is not like buying a laptop, where you can compare RAM and storage and pick the best value. The device sits against your body for hours. If it does not fit, if it chafes, if the weight distribution feels wrong—none of the specs matter.

Reviews of the Hypershell X note that it makes climbing “almost too easy,” to the point where some users felt their workout was less effective. That is a feature for people who want to hike farther or reduce strain. It is a bug for people who hike for exercise.

WIM’s 30-second donning and doffing time is a genuine usability advantage. If you stop to rest or adjust your pack, you can take the device off without a frustrating buckle-and-strap process. Hypershell and DNSYS require more time to put on and remove—not prohibitively long, but noticeably slower.

Skip’s MO/GO integration into pants eliminates the donning problem entirely: you just wear the pants. But that creates a new problem: if the motors fail, you are stuck with heavy, non-functional pants. With a separate exoskeleton, you can take it off and keep hiking. With integrated pants, you are committed.

Thermal comfort is another hidden variable. Exoskeletons trap heat. On a cold-weather hike, that might be welcome. On a summer trail in Arizona, it is miserable. None of the spec sheets quantify this. User reviews do.

The Chinese Advantage (And Its Limits)

Hypershell and DNSYS are both Chinese companies. Kenqing Technology, another Chinese manufacturer, produces exoskeletons for elderly users at ₩17,000 yuan ($2,334). The pattern is clear: Chinese firms are leading the consumer exoskeleton market on price, production scale, and iteration speed.

The reason is manufacturing infrastructure. China has established supply chains for motors, batteries, carbon fiber, and electronics—components that Western companies often source from Chinese suppliers anyway. Building the final product locally reduces costs and speeds up iteration cycles.

But there are trade-offs. Hypershell’s performance claims—20% reduced walking effort, 39% reduced cycling effort, 63% increased hip flexor endurance—are not independently verified. They come from the company’s own testing. The same applies to DNSYS’s 30% quad energy reduction claim.

That does not mean the claims are false. It means they should be treated as optimistic projections rather than guaranteed results. Real-world performance depends on user weight, terrain, fitness level, and how well the device fits. A claim of “20% effort reduction” might be accurate for a 70 kg user on moderate slopes and meaningless for a 100 kg user on steep trails.

WIM’s 78% improvement in physical function comes from a four-week usability test with elderly participants—a more rigorous methodology than manufacturer self-testing, but still not a peer-reviewed clinical trial. The improvement likely reflects baseline frailty in the elderly cohort. A young, fit hiker would not see 78% gains. They might see 10-20%, or less.

Skip’s partnership with Arc’teryx brings credibility through brand association—Arc’teryx does not attach its name to products lightly. But the $5,000 price point reflects that brand premium. You are paying for Google X’s robotics expertise and Arc’teryx’s outdoor reputation, not just the hardware.

The Innovation Nobody Expected

In early January 2026, a company called Sumbu announced the Exo-S3 series at CES: the world’s first commercially available dual-vector consumer exoskeleton.

Most exoskeletons assist movement in one dominant plane: forward and back (sagittal plane). They help with walking, running, or cycling. But climbing stairs, navigating uneven terrain, or transitioning between activities requires multi-directional support. Dual-vector systems dynamically support multiple movement patterns and automatically adjust between power modes for uphill climbs, stairs, and cycling—without manual intervention.

The Exo-S3 line includes three models: the base Exo-S3 at $1,199, the Exo-S3 Pro at $1,499, and the Exo-S3 Ultra at $1,999. All three feature IP65 durability rating—dust-tight and water-resistant—which is higher than Hypershell’s IP54. The series includes human-intent recognition AI that analyzes shifts in posture to automatically switch movement modes, plus an automotive-grade EV battery for extended range.

Sumbu ships in June 2026. Whether the dual-vector technology delivers on its promise will depend on real-world testing. But the fact that a startup is bringing genuinely novel architecture to a consumer product at a competitive price signals how fast this market is moving.

Hypershell took three years to go from concept to Best of Innovation. Sumbu is trying to leapfrog that with a more sophisticated design at launch. If it works, Hypershell will need to respond. If it does not, it becomes a cautionary tale about over-engineering.

Two Strategies, Two Markets

The companies succeeding in this space are not all pursuing the same strategy. They are targeting different segments of the outdoor and mobility market.

Hypershell is building the iPhone of exoskeletons: multiple models at different price points, broad appeal, emphasis on ease of use and performance. The X Go at $799 captures budget-conscious buyers. The X Pro at $1,099 targets serious hikers who want more power without breaking $1,500. The X Ultra at $1,999 serves enthusiasts willing to pay for premium materials and maximum range.

The strategy works because the products are differentiated enough to justify the price gaps but similar enough to share components and reduce manufacturing complexity. This is consumer electronics playbook 101, applied to robotics.

WIM is pursuing the opposite approach: one core product, deeply optimized for a specific user demographic. WIRobotics was founded by former Samsung robotics engineers, and the design reflects that heritage: elegant, minimal, focused. The single-motor architecture is not just a cost-saving measure. It is a statement that mechanical efficiency matters more than raw power.

WIM’s app provides gait analysis—tracking speed, agility, symmetry—and calculates a “gait age” metric. It creates tailored exercise plans based on that data. No other consumer exoskeleton includes that level of software sophistication. The target is not thrill-seekers summiting mountains. It is aging adults who want to walk longer, recover from injuries, or delay physical decline.

The WIM S model announced for CES 2026 includes four modes: Air, Hiking, Care, and Aqua. That last one—Aqua—suggests water resistance for poolside rehab or beach walking, a use case no other consumer exoskeleton explicitly addresses.

Skip’s MO/GO is not trying to be affordable or lightweight. It is aiming at a customer who already spends thousands on Arc’teryx gear and wants the most integrated, high-performance solution. The $5,000 price is a feature, not a bug—it signals premium quality and filters out casual buyers.

Early reviewers noted that the powered pants feel natural in a way external exoskeletons do not. There is no separate device to attach, no straps pressing into your hips. You just wear pants. That seamlessness comes at a cost—literally and figuratively—but for the target customer, it may be worth it.

The Honest Comparison

If you are trying to decide which exoskeleton to buy (or whether to buy one at all), here is what the data actually supports:

For budget-conscious hikers or first-time buyers: Hypershell X Go at $799 offers the lowest barrier to entry with decent performance (400W, 15 km range). It will not blow you away, but it will assist your walk and cost less than a decent tent.

For serious hikers who want maximum range: Hypershell X Ultra at $1,999 delivers 30 km walking range, 65 km cycling range, and 1,000 watts of power. It is the most capable device on the market today, and the price is justified by the specs.

For older adults or rehabilitation use: WIM at $2,330 offers the lightest weight (1.6 kg), fastest donning (30 seconds), and best gait-analysis software. The price is higher, but the design prioritizes safety, ease of use, and medical-adjacent features that other devices skip.

For premium outdoor enthusiasts: MO/GO at $5,000 provides seamless integration (it is pants, not a device you strap on) and the strongest brand backing (Arc’teryx + Google X). If you value form factor over cost, this is the option. If cost matters, it is not.

For early adopters who want cutting-edge tech: Sumbu Exo-S3 series at $1,199-1,999 offers dual-vector drive and IP65 rating—genuinely novel technology. But it ships in June 2026, so you are betting on promises, not proven products.

For skiers: Ski-Mojo at €699 is the only passive exoskeleton on this list, meaning no batteries, no motors, just mechanical spring assistance. It is lightweight, maintenance-free, and specifically optimized for skiing. If that is your use case, nothing else comes close.

What Nobody Is Saying

The consumer exoskeleton market is growing at 31-44% annually, depending on whose forecast you trust. The global wearable exoskeleton market hit $2.62 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach $30-64 billion by 2033-2034. That growth is faster than medical or industrial exoskeletons, which face longer regulatory timelines and narrower customer bases.

The reason: consumer products can iterate faster. No FDA approval. No workers’ compensation insurance. No need to prove ROI to a CFO. If a hiking exoskeleton works well enough to generate positive reviews and repeat purchases, the company can scale. If it does not, it disappears. The market decides quickly.

But the market is also deciding based on incomplete information. Almost every performance claim in this category—20% effort reduction, 40% strength increase, 78% function improvement—comes from manufacturer testing, not independent validation. A systematic review of exoskeleton research found that user experience varies widely based on fit, task type, and individual physiology.

The honest takeaway: these devices work. They reduce muscle strain, extend hiking range, and make physically demanding activities less exhausting. But the magnitude of the benefit is user-dependent, and the published numbers represent best-case scenarios. Expect your real-world experience to fall somewhere between the marketing claims and zero.

The technology is real. The hype is also real. Both can be true.