Robotic Ski Exoskeleton

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dd-fsC1i2Y4&t=3s

So, I have a new job this winter promoting these robotic air powered knee braces. Pretty kooky looking for sure, but I shit you not these things really work. We claim these devices take 30% of your weight off your quads and knees, reducing fatigue and knee pain, and so far the feedback has been pretty incredible. I skied with a 78 year old ripper yesterday who already has one knee replaced and is trying to make it through this season with severe bone on bone pain in his other knee (he has that knee replacement surgery scheduled for April), and he was so stoked as these devices allowed him to ski pain free, something he hasn't experienced in years. I skied hard on these and was also blown away (made my early season legs feel like I was in strong mid-season form).

Not trying to spam this place as this product is certainly not for everyone (including me) but I figured it was enough of a game changer and the technology is pretty far out there that it would generate some good discussion.

Thoughts?

I've seen something like this before. But it was just a springy thing.
But this is robotic?
What is it like in a yardsale?

https://www.roamrobotics.com/ski/

Pretty cool actually.

The possibilities for disabled skiers are intriguing
Not to mention the aging dentist demographic

yeah this is a fully robotic system. You wear a backpack with an air compressor and computer that knows when to inflate and deflate each leg depending on the support needed. When I tested it out I was surprised to see it reacts fast enough to work well while doing hop turns down steeps, providing support to your downhill leg, while allowing the uphill leg to be fully bent, and vice versa when you hop turn and have the other leg as your downhill leg.
I havent yardsaled on these yet so no feedback in that regard, but I am certain they would offer support to the knees, especially keeping them from hyper extending.

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Originally Posted by nordekette

how do they ski uphill?

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At this time they are only designed for downhill skiing, so they will not help for snowboarding, tele-skiing, and/or skinning.

What DIN do they go up to?

A few questions:
How will it affect my beacon?

Can you attach an airbag to that backpack?

Will it help me climb mountains faster?

Is it just me or are those skiers all in the back seat? As a skier also dedicated to riding in the back seat, I could use help in the perma wall sit.

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Originally Posted by ak_powder_monkey

A few questions:
How will it affect my beacon?

Can you attach an airbag to that backpack?

Will it help me climb mountains faster?

Is it just me or are those skiers all in the back seat? As a skier also dedicated to riding in the back seat, I could use help in the perma wall sit.

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We did not find issues with beacon interference during our testing in S. America in August, but we are also not pushing this as a backcountry device at this time. The version we have for this season is designed for in-bounds skiing and as such is not compatible with airbags, nor is there room in the pack for a shovel and probe. It will not help you climb faster, but it will help you ski longer and stronger with reduced fatigue and knee pain.

As for the back seat, I only see the lady in the blue helmet tailgunning and that is just how she rolls. The other guys in the video are former US Ski Team members and they are looking good to me.

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Originally Posted by Super G

As for the back seat, I only see the lady in the blue helmet tailgunning and that is just how she rolls.

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^ Yep

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Originally Posted by Super G

We did not find issues with beacon interference during our testing in S. America in August, but we are also not pushing this as a backcountry device at this time. The version we have for this season is designed for in-bounds skiing and as such is not compatible with airbags, nor is there room in the pack for a shovel and probe. It will not help you climb faster, but it will help you ski longer and stronger with reduced fatigue and knee pain.

As for the back seat, I only see the lady in the blue helmet tailgunning and that is just how she rolls. The other guys in the video are former US Ski Team members and they are looking good to me.

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I think this is really cool - thanks for the post. Gonna see if the old man has any interest.

Looks like these things are rented at 10 different resorts for 109/day, or 25 for a two hour test drive. Perfect for the one week a year skier who doesn't want to bother getting in shape. Pretty pricey for the serious skier with bad knees.

are they red?

not going to lie,,, I really want to try these.. if I can delay knee surgery for another year or so,,, that's a win in my book...

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Originally Posted by old goat

Looks like these things are rented at 10 different resorts for 109/day, or 25 for a two hour test drive

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Will they help getting off the chairlift?

Got anything for the spine/lower back?

Asking for some friends.
Lots of friends.

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Originally Posted by old goat

Looks like these things are rented at 10 different resorts for 109/day, or 25 for a two hour test drive. Perfect for the one week a year skier who doesn't want to bother getting in shape. Pretty pricey for the serious skier with bad knees.

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Correct. We are also taking orders for next year--$100 down deposit now with a total cost of $3,500 if you want to buy. The goal this year is to make it affordable for people to try, and then if they love them, they will be for sale for the 20/21 season.

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Originally Posted by PB

Got anything for the spine/lower back?

Asking for some friends.
Lots of friends.

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not yet, but from personal experience, stretching the hamstrings helps tremendously with skiing induced back pain.

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Originally Posted by DumbIdeasOnly

I think this is really cool - thanks for the post. Gonna see if the old man has any interest.

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Cheers. These can be rented at Keystone/Breck, Aspen/Snowmass, Big Sky, Park City/Canyons/Deer Valley, Sun Valley, Squaw Valley and Northstar.

Will they help me stomp like Hugo used to?

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Originally Posted by Super G

not yet, but from personal experience, stretching the hamstrings helps tremendously with skiing induced back pain.

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Stretch everything.. there are muscles and ligaments on the upper parts of your thighs that reach thru your abdominals and pull the top back edge of your pelvis forward.. This makes the arch of your back greater than it should be. Stretch quads and abductors around your hips is crucial to a pain free ski experience... Google lumbar lordosis, aka, how white girls get a thic booty...

Do people have to take them off to ride the lift? What's the connection to each knee like? Air line(s), power, and data lines? Does the pack have a compressor or do you get recharged during the day?

PM sent.

Best of luck with this. I believe I might be a customer for version 5.0


Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums

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Originally Posted by abraham

Do people have to take them off to ride the lift? What's the connection to each knee like? Air line(s), power, and data lines? Does the pack have a compressor or do you get recharged during the day?

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Once you put these on (which takes about 3 minutes), you are good to go for the day. Get on and off the lift with the pack and braces on and just ski as you would. You connect the airhose and the power line to each brace and that is it. The pack has a compressor in it that runs for about 7 hours on the provided recharge-able batteries. There is a control switch on your backpack strap that lets you turn it on and off as needed (riding the lift etc), as well as adjusting the 3 different settings (quick turns for aggressive skiing, less responsive for easy cruisers, and a setting inbetween). There are also 5 different power levels depending on the amount of support needed. Here is a video that shows the fitting process.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OU9u2hpSG90

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Originally Posted by bw_wp_hedonism

Best of luck with this. I believe I might be a customer for version 5.0


Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums

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No doubt. As is the case with technology, expect these units to get more and more dialed in as time goes on. The improvements our engineers have made from this year's version (2.0) to last year is incredible.

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Originally Posted by Super G

Once you put these on (which takes about 3 minutes), you are good to go for the day. Get on and off the lift with the pack and braces on and just ski as you would. You connect the airhose and the power line to each brace and that is it. The pack has a compressor in it that runs for about 7 hours on the provided recharge-able batteries. There is a control switch on your backpack strap that lets you turn it on and off as needed (riding the lift etc), as well as adjusting the 3 different settings (quick turns for aggressive skiing, less responsive for easy cruisers, and a setting inbetween). There are also 5 different power levels depending on the amount of support needed. Here is a video that shows the fitting process.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OU9u2hpSG90

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How do they work for big dudes that ski hard? Even though my joints work well enough and I’m young enough I can’t see myself using this as something other than a novelty item right now, I would be curious to try it if I happened to be somewhere it was offered.

$100 curious I’m not sure but it is something it’d be fun to experiment with for a couple runs.

I have a friend who is a high level avalanche instructor with one full knee replacement already. He'd be a pretty ideal candidate and a good person to get out on your gear if you are looking to tune it for the backcountry as well. I know he's having some trouble with his knee right now and he's way too young to not be able to get out and teach anymore.

Super G - are you reaching out to adaptive programs about this device?
PM me if you want an intro into Oregon Adaptive Sports...

Saw a guy with these at Big Sky today. A first for me. I could see it selling better if the pack was eliminated. No idea on price, but I am guessing comparable with knee replacement deductible.

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Originally Posted by DumbIdeasOnly

How do they work for big dudes that ski hard? Even though my joints work well enough and I’m young enough I can’t see myself using this as something other than a novelty item right now, I would be curious to try it if I happened to be somewhere it was offered.

$100 curious I’m not sure but it is something it’d be fun to experiment with for a couple runs.

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I am 6'3", 200 lbs with no knee problems and ski as fast as possible in all conditions and I took these out the other day when they opened the bowls here. It was pretty awesome and they held up well to the forces I threw at them. You can try them for $25 for 2 hours and that is definitely worth it, especially if you are skiing soft chopped up snow and crud. For strong folks like us, it is harder to realize the benefits in fresh powder or groomers, but once you actually have to exert effort, these things really provide a benefit.

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Originally Posted by Jason4

I have a friend who is a high level avalanche instructor with one full knee replacement already. He'd be a pretty ideal candidate and a good person to get out on your gear if you are looking to tune it for the backcountry as well. I know he's having some trouble with his knee right now and he's way too young to not be able to get out and teach anymore.

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Right now we are not focused on getting these tuned for the backcountry, but hopefully your buddy is able to get out and enjoy some turns this winter

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Originally Posted by TBS

Super G - are you reaching out to adaptive programs about this device?
PM me if you want an intro into Oregon Adaptive Sports...

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thanks. Right now we are focusing on connecting with groups that are in or near our host resorts, and we dont have anything going in OR right now maybe later on down the road.

This looks amazing!
Probably gonna need these is 15 or 20 years.

Might save my life one day too, because my long-term plans for getting old and broke and broken and not able to ski anymore have mostly consisted of a tree well.

Is it covered by insurance?

I’m your target demographic. I’ve already got a $1700 unloader brace from Steadman Clinic, that doesn’t really help much.

My deductible is already met this year.

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Originally Posted by PNWbrit

Will they help getting off the chairlift?

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That never get’s old

When does the uphill version drop?

We already know how to ski downhill.

How about a rocket assist for the chair lift separation?

It needs to be red.

Does it have a huck setting?

Oh, and we're (me, and my friends) are waaaaaaaay past stretching for back pain. See this as the first step in the cyborg option.

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Originally Posted by Shredhead

Is it covered by insurance?

I’m your target demographic. I’ve already got a $1700 unloader brace from Steadman Clinic, that doesn’t really help much.

My deductible is already met this year.

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Despite its benefits, Elevate is not considered a medical device, it is a recreational device, so this product is not covered by insurance at this time.

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Originally Posted by PNWbrit

Will they help getting off the chairlift?

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lord I hope so. Those beginner chairs seem to get lower every year.

I have a friend who suffers from a degenerative muscle disease, and amongst other problems his quads are weakening, causing him to have difficulty getting up from a seated position. His skiing days are a thing of the past, but I was thinking some kind of knee exoskeleton type of device might provide a useful assist to him in his daily activities.

Anyone have any personal experience with anything along those lines?