AIN'T NO MOUNTAIN HIGH ENOUGH

Could an exoskeleton help you scale every peak with ease? Ezzy Pearson straps on some cyborg enhancements to find out

- by EZZY PEARSON

I used to love walking. When I was younger, my ideal afternoon was heading off into the woods and seeing where my feet took me. But now that I'm nearing 40, my knees aren't what they used to be and I find myself making that 'oompf' noise every time I stand up.

So, when I was offered the chance to try out an exoskeleton that would give my ailing joints a boost, I was intrigued. Especially as I would be using it to hike the rugged landscape of Snowdonia, home to Wales's highest mountain.

It would be a chance to reclaim the hobby that city-living and ageing limbs are taking from me, and - better still - I could do it by living out my sci-fi fantasy of becoming a cyborg.

YOUR LEGS, BUT STRONGER

The term exoskeleton conjures up images of bulky mechanical robo suits, think Ripley's power loader in Aliens. So, I'm surprised to find that, despite being billed as an exoskeleton, the Hypershell X Ultra I'll be testing looks more like a climbing harness.

It's a lightweight contraption, weighing just 1.8kg (3.9lbs), that straps around my waist and to my thighs. Sensors throughout the £1,599 device monitor my movements, then an AI algorithm learns my gait and predicts when I'm about to take a step. When it thinks I'm starting to move, an electric motor pulls the brace around my thigh, taking some of the work of lifting my leg.

It took around 15 minutes to fit the device and learn how to use it, with an app to guide me through the process. At first, I felt like a marionette, with my legs being controlled by some invisible puppeteer, but it wasn't long before I got used to the sensation.

The idea behind the Hypershell X Ultra is to help people to hike further across more challenging terrain than they otherwise would, and there are several settings depending on how much mechanical assistance you need.