Tourism is not for everyone. It’s a beautiful pastime, but it requires persistence and a consistent mode of transportation. At the very least, it can be one of the cheapest ways to experience that elusive sense of green peace. S MO/GO exoskeleton hiking pants, trekking through the mountains is becoming increasingly mechanical, not to mention expensive. For this pair of turbo pants, you’ll have to shell out $4,500 if you get in early. It will cost you a cool $5,000 later.
MO/GO (short for “Mountain Goat”) is a collaborative effort with established outdoor apparel manufacturers Arc’Teryx and tech startup Skip. I remember Samsung exoskeleton pants concepts? They are kind of similar, although Skp and Arc’Teryx’s first commercial product covers all of these dazzling metal pieces with an already expensive pair of designer hiking pants. According to the company, MO/GO should charge you 40% more. What does this mean in context? Fast company they rolled in them for a walk and found that the exoskeleton took a lot of weight off the knee, cushioning the step and kicking the leg forward when tackling an incline.
Just two weeks ago I dragged myself up the short but intense circuit of Breakneck Ridge in the name of Apple and Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra comparison. There wasn’t a single point in this hike where I thought, “I could really use a wearable exoskeleton.” At first, you’d think companies would market them as a literal boon to aging hikers or those with foot problems who still want to enjoy the fun — at a price. But no, instead they describe themselves as “range extenders” to make seasoned hikers better at what they already do. Skip says he has another, related product “designed to help people living with neurological conditions” in the works.
These pants promise to turn you into the world’s most efficient cyborg hiker. And anyone who meets you on the trail will know it too. Two clips go into each leg, while the 3-hour power pack sits on the belt line just above your back.
The MO/GO is a pair of Arc’teryx Gamma pants with cuffs to snap Skip’s carbon fiber exoskeleton hips to the outside of each leg, which should engage the quadriceps and thigh muscles. The companies claim that each ligament weighs 2 pounds, with the pants weighing 7 pounds in total, but instead of adding weight, the arms absorb the impact of each step, enough to make users feel “30 pounds lighter.”
Just for context, a regular pair of Arc’teryx Gamma Men’s Pants costs $200 on the company’s website, so you can already see how much of the MO/GO’s price is determined by its technology. On Skip’s site, you can see an inside look at how the motors spin each time the user lifts their knee. The pants are supposed to have a built-in algorithm to handle stairs or a steep incline differently. You also don’t control it with an app. There are three buttons on the pants: an on/off switch, as well as “less assist” and “more assist” switches.
The founders of Skip are originally from Google. Skip CEO Catherine Zeland said TechCrunch that in late 2023 “it started to become clear that it really wasn’t going to make sense as a project within Alphabet.” She initially led Google’s “X” projects, which included several armatures for exoskeleton legs. They are mainly billed as tools for increase in manual labor workers or help people with mobility issues. Bloomberg reported Zeeland raised $6 million to spin off Skip from Google’s parent company, Alphabet.
Arc’teryx hosts eight-hour, $80 MO/GO rentals in Canada and the western US. There is more demonstrations will be held on August 23 and 24. There are 10 sizes available so far, and those who want them must offer their full height, weight and size requirements to skip when pre-ordering. You could get even more if you’re doing a less strenuous hike, and pre-orders come with two batteries. Those who want to get in early must make a $100 deposit. Reservations should ship in December 2025. At least MO/GO is not the most expensive custom exoskeleton we have seen.
