During the National Day holiday, hiking with a technological boost has become a new trend. This year's National Day long holiday saw peak visitor flows at scenic areas across the country, including Mount Tai, Mount Hua, and Mount Huang. Beyond queuing up to climb, a new sight has appeared at these scenic spots — tourists wearing exoskeleton robots (hereafter referred to as "exoskeletons") to help them hike. With lightweight gear strapped to their waists and legs, they are gently lifted on uphill climbs and given knee cushioning on descents, as if equipped with a personal "electric motor."
This is not a scene from a science fiction film, but a real consumer phenomenon unfolding during the 2026 National Day holiday. Exoskeletons, long confined to professional fields such as medical rehabilitation and industrial production, are completing their consumer market breakthrough in an unexpected way.
Putting on an exoskeleton does not mean instant superpowers
An exoskeleton is a wearable smart device that combines an exoskeleton structure with robotic technology. By working in coordination with the human body's movement system, it enhances or restores human mobility. It is essentially a human-machine collaboration system that helps users perform more efficient and safer movements while reducing physical burden. In fact, exoskeletons are not a new invention. In professional fields, they have long formed specific application systems. In medical rehabilitation, for example, exoskeletons mainly serve patients with hemiplegia, frail elderly individuals, and children with cerebral palsy, with unit prices ranging from tens of thousands to over a million yuan. In industrial settings, exoskeletons are mostly used for heavy lifting and high-altitude work, with unit prices typically ranging from ten thousand to several hundred thousand yuan.
The real turning point came from technological iteration and economies of scale. As the cost of core components declined, lightweight materials such as carbon fiber and aviation aluminum alloy became widespread, and AI gait recognition and torque adaptive technologies matured, exoskeleton robots began evolving from "bulky machinery" toward "wearable consumer electronics," knocking on the door of the C-end market. In terms of intelligence, take the "Tashan AsExo-TK1000" launched by Zhiyuan Research Institute as an example. It integrates AI gait prediction and torque adaptive technology, achieving automatic adjustment and precise prediction through deep learning algorithms with an accuracy rate of 99.2%. In terms of lightweight design, take the "π" launched by Kenqing Technology as an example. After iterations, its weight has been reduced to 1.8 kg. According to incomplete statistics from Consumer Report, well-known exoskeleton brands such as Jike Technology, Chentian Technology, Kenqing Technology, Aoshark Smart, and Taixi Smart have already entered scenic hiking and trekking areas across the country, offering exoskeleton rental services. In terms of pricing, a single rental typically costs between 80 and 200 yuan, equivalent to 20 to 30 yuan per hour. During brand promotion experience events, the cost per experience can be discounted to under 10 yuan.
"29 yuan for 1 hour, 39 yuan for 2 hours, 59 yuan for 3 hours. (Uniform pricing for weekdays and holidays.) Putting it on takes only 3 minutes. We recommend wearing comfortable sports shoes and loose long pants for a better experience." A staff member at the Planck AI Exoskeleton Baiyun Mountain Experience Station told Consumer Report that after using the exoskeleton for assistance, users feel as if they are being carried along, making stair climbing less tiring. Walking from the South Gate to the top of Moxing Ridge takes about 1.5 hours at a fast pace, and the device's battery life is about 2 to 3 hours.
Tourists experience exoskeletons at Guangzhou Baiyun Mountain Scenic Area (Source: social media). In a sense, the exoskeletons offered at scenic spots are like shared bikes or shared power banks, appearing during a few hours of outdoor travel. The sharing attribute breaks down an exoskeleton device worth several thousand yuan into a low-cost novelty experience sold per use. Consumer Report noted that the exoskeletons rented at scenic spots resemble knee braces or waist supports in appearance, weigh mostly between 1.5 and 3 kilograms (per set), and have battery life of 2 to 8 hours. Tourists can simply scan a code to rent one and complete fitting in just a few minutes. The core technology lies in built-in sensors and an AI smart system that can precisely perceive the wearer's movement intentions. When the wearer wants to lift a leg, it provides an upward thrust; when the wearer walks downhill, it provides damping cushioning.
Shortly before National Day, Mo Jun (aged 25-30, a regular hiker) participated in a free experience event held by a certain brand. He told Consumer Report that the exoskeleton is not bulky and provides a sense of ease when climbing steep slopes. However, he admitted that the product's battery life is insufficient, the device itself has some weight, and when the battery runs out, there is a feeling of sagging at the hips. The overall battery life is about 4 hours, while the entire activity lasted over 5 hours. Without a spare battery or power bank, it becomes a weight to carry. "I feel it's useful for older people or those who don't exercise much. Since I hike a lot, I wouldn't have been very tired on that day's route with or without the exoskeleton, so the actual improvement was not significant. Also, downhill assistance cannot be activated as precisely as uphill assistance, so its usefulness is less pronounced," he said.
Another user, Chen Feng (aged 45-50, who regularly engages in low-intensity exercise), who experienced an exoskeleton at the Beigaofeng Scenic Area in Hangzhou, believes that exoskeletons are very helpful for uphill and stair-climbing scenarios. "With each step, there is leg assistance, so your thighs don't get sore even after continuous stair climbing, and the assistance automatically weakens on descents to protect your knees. The downside is that it takes time to adapt after first putting it on, it's not suitable for running, and you need to watch the battery level," he told Consumer Report.
During the National Day holiday, Liu Chang, who enjoys traveling, experienced an exoskeleton at the Tiger Leaping Gorge Scenic Area in Yunnan. He told Consumer Report: "Going uphill, I felt it could save 20%-30% of energy, but going downhill, the product had no obvious assistive effect. The exoskeleton's following motion has a slight delay, but during regular brisk walking, it can provide stable power." On social media, a hiking enthusiast shared: "Putting on an exoskeleton doesn't mean instant superpowers. It takes about 1-2 hours to feel its assistance. It might be that you only start to gradually tire after hiking for 2 hours, making the effect more noticeable by comparison. Or it could be that the device needs time to read data and adapt to the user's movement rhythm."
From the feedback of experiencers, the exoskeletons at scenic spots do provide some assistive effect for walking, but the assistance on descents is less significant than on ascents. In addition, exoskeletons require time for users to adapt, and battery life still has room for improvement.
Exoskeleton rentals leverage the C-end and industry growth
In the past, those wanting to save energy while climbing mountains needed to use cable cars. But this "simple and rough" way of going up has many limitations. On one hand, tourists concentrate too heavily at certain attractions, increasing the carrying pressure on scenic areas. On the other hand, tourists taking cable cars miss much of the scenery along the way. Exoskeletons appearing in rental form can, to some extent, alleviate these problems and also offer consumers who want to exercise but have limited stamina a technology-filled leisure hiking experience.
In fact, for scenic areas, this is a business with an extremely fast payback. According to estimates in a September 2025 research report by Orient Securities, if 100 exoskeleton devices at Mount Tai Scenic Area all operated at full capacity, daily revenue could reach 24,000 to 32,000 yuan. If the device scale were expanded to 5,000 units, the theoretical annual revenue potential would reach 300 to 400 million yuan. The exoskeleton devices at scenic spots bring more than just direct rental income. The aforementioned research report shows that about 78% of rental users would additionally purchase sports data analysis services, and 43% of users develop purchase intentions for customized hiking gear. After using exoskeletons, users' travel time is significantly shortened and physical exertion is reduced, which is expected to notably boost secondary consumption in dining, performances, entertainment, and cultural creative products, thereby raising the overall customer spending.
For exoskeleton manufacturers, scenic area rental is an excellent "product fitting room," accumulating market awareness and word-of-mouth for subsequent C-end sales. Consumer-grade exoskeletons range in price from several thousand to tens of thousands of yuan, and the product itself is not a "necessity" for consumers, making direct purchase quite difficult. But once broken down into per-use rentals costing a few dozen yuan, consumers' decision-making costs are greatly reduced. This B2B2C model solves the promotion dilemma of a new category: the threshold for first-time use is lowered, on-site experience completes parameter education, and devices worn by tourists become mobile advertisements, bringing topicality and social attributes to the new product.
According to public data from Ctrip, in the first quarter of 2025, sales of scenic area products featuring robot experiences increased by 217% year-on-year, with users aged 18-30 accounting for 73%. This set of data reflects that novel experiences can serve as a marketing highlight to attract young consumer groups. The popularity of exoskeleton rentals has also driven overall sales. Data from the Ministry of Commerce shows that in the first four months of this year, online retail sales of smart walking-assist exoskeletons grew by 785.5%. According to IDC data, total shipments of exoskeleton robots in China in 2025 were approximately 26,000 units. Although medical rehabilitation still contributes most of the revenue, consumer assistance categories already account for 72.8% of shipments, nearly 19,000 units. In 2025, rental models represented by scenic areas, elderly care institutions, and professional service providers developed rapidly, effectively lowering the threshold for user experience through centralized procurement and operational services, becoming an important channel for rapid volume growth in the consumer market. JD Retail big data shows that in the first half of 2026, the transaction scale of exoskeleton robots exceeded 1,500% year-on-year.
From a longer-term perspective, the popularity of exoskeletons at scenic spots reflects that the entire exoskeleton industry is in a period of rapid growth. Public data from multiple institutions shows that this is a golden track with enormous market potential. According to Toubao Research Institute data, the market size of China's exoskeleton robot industry reached 4.2 billion yuan in 2025, of which the elderly care and cultural tourism consumption sub-track was 730 million yuan, accounting for 17.4%, showing a trend of accelerating growth. The institute believes that the elderly care and cultural tourism consumption sub-track has room for hundred-billion-level growth, with a potential consumer base exceeding 100 million people. Research firm ABI Research states that the global exoskeleton robot industry output value is growing rapidly, expected to increase from $392 million in 2020 to $6.8 billion in 2030, with a compound annual growth rate of approximately 33%. Taixi Smart founder and CEO Liang Linchao publicly stated that the brand's new product pre-sales exceeded expectations, shipments in the first half of this year have grown several times compared to previous years, and full-year shipments are expected to achieve more than 10-fold growth.
These data mean that renting an "exoskeleton robot" to climb a mountain at a scenic spot today may only be the beginning of the entire commercial narrative. In the next stage, exoskeletons may not only appear at mountaintops, but like most smart devices, become a natural extension of human capabilities. Note: Mo Jun, Chen Feng, and Liu Chang are pseudonyms in this article.
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