Woodland Hike: Testing the Dnsys X1 Exoskeleton Outdoors!

[00:00:07][music] >> Hello and welcome to another episode of Primal Nomad. I'm here today testing >> [music] >> an exoskeleton. Yes, a bit of technology out here in the woods, but this might enable some people who have got disabilities, injuries, old age, or just a bit of fatigue to get that little bit further. So, we're going to get this on in a second. And we're going to have a little go and see just how it performs on some undulating terrain and [music] a nice walk through the woodland. And it has been a little while since I've uploaded. So, apologize for that. But let's get stuck into it. And thanks again massively to Dinsow for sending me this [music] bit of kit.

[00:00:58]>> [music] >> So, before I walk any further, it's probably about time that I explain to you what this is. The Dinsow exoskeleton, this is the X1, is worn on the waist and attaches to your legs and has gears, AI gait detection, and an electronic system that assists your walking. It can also enhance if you need to sprint. It can give you that little bit of extra power where you need it and also reduce the amount of carrying weight that you feel from your load on your back. So, I'm really excited to test this out. And let's start by actually putting it on. So, it's a very, very clever bit of kit. It has straps that go around your legs. And to just demonstrate to you guys, it kind of unfolds like a drone. It's got these arms that go out. But this is the belt system that goes around your waist. And then these sections go down your leg and strap on. So, we'll get these on now.

[00:02:06]So, the battery system is tiny, as you can see. It's a lithium battery that has this adapter on the end that allows you to charge it, which is really handy or use it as a portable charger. So, something handy to always keep in your pocket when you're using this device.

[00:02:21]To actually power it on, this cable connects to the battery.

[00:02:27]This battery slots onto your waist here.

[00:02:30]And then the cable wraps around the back and clips into the device.

[00:02:43]The leg pieces, as you can see, go around the front of the leg and they have these straps, which hook on the front.

[00:02:58]And they go through this here at the back.

[00:03:02]So, these can be adjusted to any leg length.

[00:03:05]But for my tiny little legs, we're going to get it on the shortest section.

[00:03:14]Once you've got your legs done, it's actually time to then adjust it with this knob.

[00:03:29]And now we essentially we have the kit on.

[00:03:35]And then we have the beeping.

[00:03:39]Turned on, we have lights on either side. Now it's time to connect to the phone. So, I'm now wearing the Dinsow Exoskeleton.

[00:03:46]And as you can see, it's quite low profile, to be honest.

[00:03:56]And it fits really well. You don't really notice you're wearing it.

[00:04:01]I'm quite a slim person, so I'm sure I can probably tighten this up a little bit to make it fit a little bit more snug, but you can already hear the gears working, but it's not actually on. So, now we have to go on to the the app here, which is the Dinsow Sis Boost app.

[00:04:25]And we have to turn on our Bluetooth.

[00:04:33]And connect. We can hear it connecting there.

[00:04:36]Now we can see that we're in idle mode.

[00:04:41]So, the exoskeleton is currently in transparent mode. And if I click this app to the right and go into eco, I can now feel the exoskeleton basically starting to walk for me. It's a very strange feeling.

[00:05:01]It feels like my leg's getting lifted up. Now, I'll put the camera down and try to show you exactly what it's doing. But, there is different modes like sport, which I can definitely feel there's a lot of pick up there.

[00:05:15]And boost, which would be more like a jog.

[00:05:20]And boost plus, which definitely feels like it's assisting and feels like it's more running for me.

[00:05:30]So, we'll go back into eco mode.

[00:05:32]We'll get you down.

[00:05:50]>> A good way of me demonstrating just what it's doing might be to run on the spot.

[00:06:00]And you might be able to hear those gears or those motors. And you can see the amount of force percentage that is going in through the motors.

[00:06:17]And you can see how many calories per minute you're saving or this device is saving with the output that it's giving you.

[00:06:25]It also gives you your speed, your average speed, and how many steps you've done, and obviously a battery percentage.

[00:06:35]So, behind me I have a fairly nice hill, which is nice and sandy, quite loose underfoot, and I've already been coming up quite a gradual incline, which doesn't look much on camera, but it definitely is gradual and steady and long. So, I'm going to be taking a walk up this hill with it on eco mode and just see basically how I feel with it.

[00:07:04]It's quite hard to compare.

[00:07:06]Obviously, I've done this walk many times in the past.

[00:07:12]Never with a robot on me, though.

[00:07:20]There's one thing I can already say, and that is that walking up a hill kind of makes you feel like you're almost semi sat down, which is nice.

[00:07:32]And it's definitely something to get used to.

[00:07:37]Lovely squirrel there.

[00:07:40]He's not too used to the sound of this is.

[00:07:54]So, I've been coming up this hill for a little while now.

[00:07:58]And all I can say is it yeah, definitely makes you feel like you're semi sat down.

[00:08:02]I do have a little bit of a kind of ache around the hip area.

[00:08:07]Um, but I think that's more just bad fitness than anything else. And to be honest, I'm quite a slim chap, so there is a tiny little bit of play.

[00:08:18]Um, but nothing that a bit of extra adjustment can't figure out, so I'll do that when I get to the top.

[00:08:24]I was actually just walking next to a cyclist and we were both going up the hill and pretty much keeping it a level speed.

[00:08:33]Which uh yeah, is is impressive. And there's one comment that he made to me, which obviously I can't observe, which is you can bend your knees. A lot of other exoskeletons don't seem to allow you to fully bend your knees, which is lovely about this. You can get a fully straight leg.

[00:08:53]So, yeah, I'm going to crack on the rest of this hill.

[00:08:56]You can tell I'm already out of breath, so I might pump it up to sports mode actually and let's see if that gets me up here without losing too much of that breath.

[00:09:21]Yeah, I can't lie. Cranking that up to sports mode suddenly just made a whole world of difference coming up that hill.

[00:09:31]I should have put it on when that cyclist was there.

[00:09:33]I'd have been overtaking him.

[00:09:38]You can see the long hill behind me there. It's a very gradual burner.

[00:09:43]And it's still going.

[00:09:46]So, let's crack on and see how this thing does. We'll have a little look at the battery usage as well.

[00:10:00]Tell you what, you still get out of breath on this hill.

[00:10:04]Well, done that basically in one go.

[00:10:07]And I've been backwards and forwards for the camera.

[00:10:12]And we've basically peaked out.

[00:10:15]>> [snorts] >> What a burner.

[00:10:19]So, I was going basically with the eco mode all the way up until about there.

[00:10:25]Around that corner, I went to sports mode. And here, I actually put it in boost cuz it's such a steep incline.

[00:10:32]And I think what's going to be the interesting bit is actually going downhill to see how it assists you with the resistance. Because that's one of the other things, obviously with a geared system, it not only can help you get up places, but it can also help reduce stress and impact when coming down these places and help it be a little bit more more controlled, which is fantastic. And I do honestly think for someone who's a bit out of fitness, um I'm not the greatest of fitness at the moment. It's been a rough year. I've been solidly working and not done much walking, unfortunately, but we're getting there. And um yeah, I think for people with ill health, people with a disability or an injury, this is going to be absolutely fantastic. It's going to be a game changer. It does lift your leg for you.

[00:11:12]It does help you get up that hill.

[00:11:14]You're still using your body. You're still the one working. Um this is just giving you a bit of an assisted kind of uh step, I guess. A bit of a gait. And that's one of the other cool things. The AI detection in this actually learns your gait. So, I could tell that the further as I was getting up this hill, the less I was kind of fighting it. And when I say fighting it, it's not like the machine is fighting me and like sending my leg off in all sorts of directions, but it definitely it's trying to predict when you're taking a step. And the more it learns your rhythm, your natural style of walking, the better that's going to become. And I was feeling a lot less like I was going before the step and it was going in time with me, if that makes sense.

[00:11:59]So, right she's going to turn it down now off of boost.

[00:12:03]Using this button here.

[00:12:05]And now that's back on sports mode. And actually it's quite flat, so I'll probably go back down to eco mode. And that's how hands-free it can be. You don't have to have your phone in your hand at all. You don't really even have to have the app, I don't think. Yeah, let's go on for this bit more of a walk. As you can see behind me there, it's straightened out a little bit. It's a bit up and down there. We're giving it a full run for its money. And I'm going to dip into the woods. Imagine I was going to set up camp and see how this interferes. Uh the other thing is I've obviously got quite a heavy backpack on at the moment. I've got water, some snacks. Got my camera gears, batteries, batteries for this.

[00:12:40]Um so, it's fairly weighted up.

[00:12:44]Definitely not a light backpack by any means.

[00:12:47]And it's pretty much like sat on the back and we and it's pretty much like not sat on the back, but it's definitely taking a bit of that load. Which is fantastic.

[00:13:04]And I think just because of the extra support I've got in my legs, um it just doesn't feel as arduous on the back as usual.

[00:13:13]So, yeah, very impressed with it as for now.

[00:13:18]Obviously, you've got to get used to those gears.

[00:13:21]You can hear the sound of whirring You can probably hear that in the background, but other than that, it's comfortable.

[00:13:31]It's not really loud at all by any means.

[00:13:34]And it doesn't really feel like I'm wearing anything now.

[00:14:04]Woohoo!

[00:14:11]So, I just wanted to have a little sprint in boost plus mode, which by god, it does want you to move quick.

[00:14:21]I think these are going for a long long jog without a backpack flying around on my back, strapped down a bit better um to judge that one.

[00:14:30]But by god does it move.

[00:14:34]I'm actually back in sports mode by accident. Let's go.

[00:14:38]Back down to eco, which is more just for walking, tiny little bit of assistance.

[00:15:14]Well, I'm not going to lie.

[00:15:16]I kind of felt like I was just relaxingly walking up that hill. That was basically lifting my leg.

[00:15:23]So, yeah, actually like pretty impressed by how the motors all worked on the on the hip and on the legs. It doesn't really seem to interfere with anything.

[00:15:34]I think I'm going to test it now going down this hill, which I just did in the sports mode and it kind of felt a little bit freer. So, there is a lower resistance mode, which I think is meant for downhill. So, we're going to put that into that now.

[00:15:51]So, that's in free mode, transparent.

[00:15:54]We'll go one lower, which is a bit more resistance, and we'll see what going down this hill is like.

[00:16:05]So, that's still fairly free.

[00:16:07]And coming up, that's a lot of resistance. It feels like I'm walking through water, which it actually is called water mode.

[00:16:14]So, we'll go one more, deep water mode.

[00:16:17]And this should help me on the descent.

[00:16:29]Much more tougher. And if I try to walk up the hill, literally like I'm wading through mud.

[00:16:41]So, that's a really good workout mode.

[00:16:56]So, all in all, I'm really, really impressed with this exoskeleton. I do think it would have very good use case for people hiking and mountaineering.

[00:17:04]So, we'll go into the woods now and we'll just see how it acts coming through this thick kind of undergrowth material.

[00:17:17]Lovely birch polypore on the side of that tree.

[00:17:22]And just to note, there's no issues coming through this kind of terrain.

[00:17:29]Absolutely none at all.

[00:17:31]In fact, yeah, it was absolutely perfect.

[00:17:35]Lots of good birch bark on the floor as well.

[00:17:40]There are no quarrels from me in terms of getting through thick wooded areas.

[00:17:46]Like I said, it's really low profile, so it's not a big snagging potential.

[00:18:09]It's only gone down about 10% in battery. And bearing in mind some of that has been using it in boost mode.

[00:18:15]I've been cycling through cycles.

[00:18:17]I've been kind of messing around with settings. So, it's not really an accurate display of how much power you would use if you just had it on one setting and were going for a walk.

[00:18:26]But, I do think you'd use it dynamically. I do think as you start to get to a steeper section, it makes sense to go into the boost um kind of modes.

[00:18:35]And it's funny because there's someone in particular who comes to mind who would have found this not only exciting to try, but probably very beneficial. And that would have been Bill and Kate, who was a very, very fond almost a grandfather of the bushcraft community.

[00:18:51]And he obviously came into the circle through Craig East Anglia bushcraft community camps. And really never left until the day he passed.

[00:18:59]Um and he was always that face that no matter how um how worn out he was feeling, he'd always you know, he'd always be there. And he'd always have made the effort to walk in and hike loads of stuff into camp. Even at the age of 76, he'd be there with masses amounts of kit. And he'd always be knackered, so I could just imagine him wearing this and thinking, "Yes, another excuse to get out."

[00:19:24]I don't really think there's a better way to test an exoskeleton than jumping on a rope swing.

[00:19:38]>> [music] [music] >> So, we've come out the woodland area now. We're going to just walk around the edge of it and then just see how this performs on just a really nice walk. So, I'm looking forward to it. I'll keep you posted with the journey.

[00:20:29]>> [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] >> So the only thing I've noticed [music] with it is that when you stop abruptly sometimes, the legs kind of want to carry on. There's a tiny little wiggle backwards and forwards, but I don't think that's anything that makes it bad or I think if anything it's just learning when you're stopping and trying to predict that. So there's always going to be some air of the motor wanting to go ahead when you're trying to stop it. So I think half of the proof is in the pudding when I just went to turn it down onto transparent mode and I was like, "Oh, have I gone one too far? It feels like I'm on like resistive mode or something."

[00:22:02]Um but I wasn't. I was just on transparent. So actually it just felt like a lot of effort was being put into walking.

[00:22:11]And it's not the gears in this cuz there's literally no resistance. When you put this on and it's not turned on it's free flowing. There's no resistance. Maybe the tiniest bit of drag, but now when it's on transparent Yeah, that really feels like I'm having to put effort into walking whereas if I click it just one notch onto eco suddenly it feels normal again.

[00:22:32]Feels like I'm walking normally again.

[00:22:36]I don't know if that's a good sign or a bad sign, but still it definitely shows that the the actual skeleton's working how it should.

[00:22:43]These are the kinds of old English paths that I absolutely love.

[00:22:48]I think we should get off the road. You know, it gives me that kind of Lord of the Rings esque feeling.

[00:22:54]And I guess in some regard there's no surprise cuz this is Tolkien's country, isn't it? England, Britain. And it really is a magical place to be. And uh yeah, just want to say massive thank you for you guys if you've made it this far into the video.

[00:23:09]Surrounded by these lovely sweet chestnuts as we can see here.

[00:23:13]Um but yeah, lovely lovely part of the forest.

[00:23:16]There's some Corsican pines right next to a golf course actually, which is where you might hear the occasional fwack or four being shouted.

[00:23:24]Um yeah, it's glorious. There's loads and loads of foliage and catkins on the floor. It's absolutely littered.

[00:23:32]So, the pollen's probably up in the air, but luckily I'm not too affected by hay fever or anything of the such. And it's really nice to be out for a walk, an unassisted walk at that.

[00:23:45]See a few blackbirds hopping around the leaf litter.

[00:23:48]Squirrels.

[00:23:50]And like I said, there's just this florally smell.

[00:23:53]It's almost like a spring honey.

[00:24:10]So, I'm on the way back now, on the walk back.

[00:24:14]And very very impressed with how this exoskeleton has performed.

[00:24:38]That's so great.

[00:24:56]I really don't think associate the sound with walking.

[00:25:02]So, I've got close to a lot of squirrels and stuff recently.

[00:25:06]And this muntjac buck is not bothered at all.

[00:26:30]It's my little privilege to be stalking such a lovely muntjac buck.

[00:26:34]I'm wearing an exoskeleton, too.

[00:26:36]It's funny, and Daphne was not bothered by the sound of the exoskeleton.

[00:26:41]Obviously, any twig snaps, but the motor's absolutely not. I don't think it's um something that's had long enough in existence them to kind of um get associated with.

[00:26:57]>> [snorts] >> So, very, very nice to see that lovely example of a buck in velvet, as well.

[00:27:03]So, that was the antlers looked quite furry. That's cuz it was in velvet.

[00:27:11]So, I'm walking down that hill that we came up initially. And we have it in eco mode. And I'll tell you what, it's definitely helping on the decline.

[00:27:20]Cuz it's helping me kind of lean into the hill.

[00:27:23]Definitely feels a little bit more controlled.

[00:27:26]Which is actually really, really nice, especially if you've got a load on your back.

[00:27:29]I can tell that this gives you that tiny little bit more control.

[00:27:34]And it's funny because there's definitely lots and lots of potential for this. And I'd really like to test this on a higher couple mountain or on a hike on some fells. So, maybe that's the next thing I'll do is when I go out to a place like that, I'll bring this bit of kit and do a video, a follow-up review of this in some harder terrain. Although this is no joke of some hill. It's definitely a steep incline.

[00:28:02]Um and yeah, I've done a good few miles today.

[00:28:06]And so far, I've only had to swap out the battery once.

[00:28:10]And the original battery was only actually on 70% since my last test. So, it's not a fair conclusion of how long a battery lasts, either.

[00:28:25]Well, thank you guys so much for watching this video. And definitely go check out Dinsow. I'll leave a link down below to all of their bits of kit. They do have other additional parts to this exoskeleton that help articulate the knees and give you a lot more control on inclines and declines. But, this one is definitely an eye-opener into how the world is going and moving forward what kind of technology we're going to have to assist us to come outdoors. Now, of course, this tool doesn't need to be in everyone's kit. But, for those of you who are interested in extending your time out, or maybe you've got an injury, or someone who's just a little bit ill of health, or a slight disability that doesn't allow them to be as mobile as they used to be, or just as other people, and I think this tool is one of the greatest things I've seen for that case. And I'm really, really excited to see where it goes. And I'm excited to see how some people who do have some ailments find it. So, if there's any of you guys who are viewers, and you struggle with mobility issues, and you want to give this bit of kit a go, maybe we can arrange meeting up and giving it a test and doing a little review that way. So, please do drop me a message if that's the case. But, I'm going to enjoy the rest of this walk. I've got about another mile and a half to go, and I will catch up with you guys at the end.

[00:29:47]And, as always, guys, thank you for watching, and stay safe.

[00:29:54]>> [clears throat] >> And here is testament to retracing your footsteps. So, I've come back the way that I was going, which uh I was going for two reasons. One, obviously, to get back, but two, because I'd dropped my lens cap somewhere, and I'd walked back this direction.

[00:30:11]And I thought, well, I remember putting my lens cap down on the floor along this path when I was filming one of my first clips. It was just next to my bag, and I thought, I wonder if I even picked it up.

[00:30:23]And I had a feeling that I'd walked past that spot, and rather than carry on and kind of search relentlessly, I walked all the way back, basically all the way up that hill, and then retraced my footsteps all the way back down that hill. So, I've done that hill a few times, and I can say that definitely the exoskeleton helped out. As you can tell, I'm not too out of breath.

[00:30:41]But, there we are. There we have the lens cap on the floor. So, we are back in action.

[00:30:48]This thing is so tiny, but I've never managed to lose it. I mean, I've lost it on many trips, but always managed to find it again, which is great. It's definitely my good luck little charm when I find that again. I'm going to hike on back and give you guys an update when I'm back, like I said before.

[00:31:34]So, I'm currently probably about a mile away from home now.

[00:31:38]And I have to say, I turned the device off and put it in transparent mode, and it was quite a bit more effort to walk. I'm not going to say that.

[00:31:49]I think the best comparison I can say or the best thing I can say to probably make you guys understand is when I turn it on to eco mode, which is the first level of strength, you could say, it really does feel as if someone's taken a few kilograms off of my legs.

[00:32:08]So, I'm basically finished on my walk now.

[00:32:11]And yeah, one thing I wanted to say was just how comfortable this exoskeleton has actually been. There's a still a slight ache on my hip, but I think that's more of a case of I'm not wearing it in exactly the right position. But, when I say ache, it is the very, very dullest.

[00:32:27]Um, but it kind definitely outweighs definitely outweighs it with the assistance on walking. Like I said, um, it just feels like it lightens your load a little bit, which is fantastic, especially for bushcrafting and camping.

[00:32:41]So, I'm excited to keep testing this and giving it a bit more of a uh a thorough run-through with some longer camps and some hikes, like I said before. Uh the only thing that obviously is a drawback to it is that it's powered, but the batteries are tiny. They are small and they don't take a long time to charge, so I do think that's one of the things.

[00:33:02]It's not like you've got to have a huge Bluetti power bank to keep this thing going.

[00:33:06]And it's gone for plenty of plenty of miles today and it's still going strong, so look, I'll leave it with you guys.

[00:33:14]What do you think? Leave me a comment down below if you think this has a place in the outdoors and what you think about it and where you think technology is heading. And until next time, guys, stay safe and I'll see you soon.