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DNSYS X1 Honest Review | What a Powered Exoskeleton Does to Your Legs on a Hike

2026.06.05

"Powered assist for hiking" sounds excessive — like something separate from proper mountain walking. That's what I thought too. Then I wore one for a whole day, and the way my legs felt changed noticeably. It added an option to how I can enjoy the mountains.

The device I tested is the DNSYS X1, a powered exoskeleton made for hiking. It sits around your hips, supports the hip joint, and helps with the motion of lifting your leg. At about 1.6 kg it's far more compact than the name suggests. I wore it for the roughly 20 km traverse from Jinbasan toward Takaosan, in the hills west of Tokyo, and tested it across a full day.

My conclusion up front: it's progress, but it isn't finished. The sensation of lighter legs is real. So is the battery problem for mountain use. Below I've written down honestly what I felt walking with it — how easy it is to put on, how each mode behaves, how the battery held up, and what happens once it runs out.

What is the DNSYS X1? A powered exoskeleton you wear at the hips

The DNSYS X1 straps around your waist and both thighs — essentially a wearable assist device. People call these exoskeletons or AI-powered suits, which makes them sound intimidating, but in person it's surprisingly compact. Mine weighed about 1.6 kg.

The principle is simple: motors at the hips assist the motion of lifting your leg forward. Think of it as an e-bike for your legs. You're still walking under your own power; the device gives each step a gentle push. That's the relationship.

Under two minutes to put on — switch it on in the app and go

The first surprise was how quickly it goes on. Click the buckles on each side, then turn the dials to tighten them to your thighs. Even on my first attempt, unfamiliar with it, it took under two minutes.

Power is just as simple. Open the app, switch it on, and it connects immediately. I set off with the battery close to full, around 90%.

Features

• About 1.6 kg and compact: lighter than its chunky looks suggest, and it sits neatly around the hips
• Hip assist: motors help the motion of lifting your leg
• Multiple assist modes: from Economy, which supports you gently, up through Sport, which lifts firmly, and beyond
• App connectivity: power, mode switching and battery level all live in the phone app
• Black finish: it does look mechanical on the body, but the black keeps it from shouting

What it was like on the mountain — starting from Jinbasan

The first thing I noticed on the climb was that Economy mode works better than expected. It supports your leg with a slow push, and each step gets a little lift under it. Even on steep sections, fatigue seemed to accumulate more slowly than usual.

Economy vs Sport

At the foot of a steep pitch I switched from Economy to Sport, and the difference is obvious. If Economy pushes you along slowly, Sport pulls you up. On tall steps, your leg comes up firmly enough to clear them.

What's interesting is that the change reaches your muscles. My glutes worked as usual, but the fronts of my thighs were clearly easier. The more consecutive steps there were, the more I appreciated the lifting assist. That said, more power means more battery, so what felt right for me was Economy as standard and Sport reserved for the steepest sections. Honestly, on an ordinary mountain day, Economy is plenty.

Looks vs feel — wearing it is more natural than it appears

What surprised me over a long day is that it doesn't get in the way of movement. Big steps up, placing your foot on a descent — almost no catching or restriction. There was never a moment of "this machine is making walking harder."

Held in your hands, 1.6 or 1.8 kg is a real weight, and I was uneasy at first about carrying that all day. But once it's sitting on your hips the load barely registers and you walk normally. For all the visual impact, wearing it feels very natural. That gap between how it looks and how it feels was the most welcome discovery.

The catch: battery life, and what happens when it dies

Being straight about it, the battery is the biggest problem for mountain use.

I started at 8 a.m. at roughly 90%. By the summit of Jinbasan (857 m) it was down to 63% — and up to that point I'd been almost entirely in Economy, with maybe five minutes of Sport. It still drained that fast. Heading on toward Kagenobuyama, at just under 8 km the warning sounded and the battery dropped straight to zero. I never completed the traverse to Takaosan; it died short of Kagenobuyama. That was about four hours from an 8 a.m. start. A mountain you can loop in three hours or so is well within range. A long traverse with assist the whole way is not realistic yet.

Here's the important part, though. After the battery died, I kept walking with the X1 still on. I didn't need to stop, and I didn't need to take it off. It simply became "a bit heavier by the weight of the X1" — that was all. The moment it cut out I realised how much it had been supporting me, but the exoskeleton itself never fought against my legs, and I walked from Kagenobuyama to Kobotoke Pass with it powered down.

For a piece of mountain gear, I think that matters enormously. When a battery dies on a mountain, does the thing become dead weight, or a hindrance? The X1 just reverts to being a frame. It doesn't get in your way. That fact was the most reassuring thing I took from the day. If you want to go far, plan around carrying a spare battery.

Pack compatibility, and the regenerative braking on descents

Two more practical things I noticed.

The first is how it works with a pack. Because it sits at the hips, tightening a pack's waist belt puts the two in the same place. A larger backpack with a substantial hip belt may be awkward to combine with it. My sense is that a vest-style trail-running pack without a waist belt would sit comfortably alongside it.

The second is the regenerative function on descents. It recovers energy when you're going down or slowing, and tops the battery up automatically. You can't feel it happening while you walk, but when I switched the unit back on at Kagenobuyama, the charge had recovered to 13%, which surprised me. On descents the impact through my knees was also easier than expected — the assist seems to work in the direction of supporting you, not just lifting you.

Who it's for

• Anyone who wants to add a different kind of enjoyment, or a new stimulus, to a familiar mountain
• Anyone who wants to ease the load on their legs, especially the fronts of the thighs, on steps and steep climbs
• Anyone worried about their knees or leg strength who wants assist to preserve their range
• Anyone who wants to try it casually on a low mountain or day hike of around three hours
• (If you want it for a long traverse, plan on a spare battery)

The sibling models

Two more from the same DNSYS line. For anyone concerned about their knees, there's the Z1, which supports the knee joint specifically — combine it with the X1 and you have both hip and knee supported. There's also a limited edition made in collaboration with the game *DEATH STRANDING 2* (Kojima Productions), which is worth a look if you're into the design or the game.

Conclusion: progress, but not finished

After a full day of walking, my answer is this: it's progress, but it's still a work in progress.

The sensation of noticeably lighter legs and the ease on tall steps are both genuine. It's simple to put on and you barely notice you're wearing it. And when the battery dies it reverts to a plain frame that doesn't get in your way — for mountain gear, that reassurance counts for a great deal.

On the other hand, on routes with a lot of steep climbing the battery runs out sooner than you'd plan for. That's a real limitation. If you want distance, plan around a spare.

Even so, a day of climbing with powered assist was genuinely enjoyable. You get to climb a familiar mountain with an unfamiliar feeling. Changing the mood with a piece of gear like this now and then might be one more way to enjoy the mountains. It's evolving, and it isn't done yet — which is exactly why I'm interested in where it goes next.

Note: this post is based on a video produced with a unit provided by DNSYS.

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