When I was in high school, I was a pretty athletic guy. But I had never been much for hiking until I was invited to go on a hike with some friends in a church group. We hiked over the Cascade Mountains into Holden Village and then on to Lucerne. We took the Lady of the Lake back to Chelan. Jumped on the bus and rode home. (Thank goodness). It was a long hike; it was hard work, and you know what, I did it again the next year. 

One of my coworkers down the hallway likes to go trail running. (That's right, he's not hiking, he's running.), imagine my surprise when I learned about this new product from Arc’terx. 

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Power Pants. No joke. Power Pants. (Yes, it's funny to say it.) 

All sorts of jokes spring to mind with punch lines like. “Well, If I had power pants I could walk that way too.” 

According to theverge.com,
Arc’teryx has partnered with Skip, a spinoff of Google’s X Labs, to bring the technology to leisure time. The powered MO/GO pants feature a lightweight electric motor at the knee that can boost a hiker’s leg strength when going uphill while also absorbing the impact of steps during a descent.’ 

This looks crazy, right? And the price is a little crazy too, somewhere near $5000. You get the pants, you get what looks like knee braces, the electric motor and the battery system, which is supposed to be good for up to three hours. (That's actually impressive.) The system is being marketed as a mobility device that can help hikers (Or anyone else) move from point to point. And the claim is that it also makes you feel like you're carrying 30 pounds less weight as you're walking. 

Now the big question. 

Is it really worth $5000? I guess to answer that you really need to know who the user is. If this is a product that helps somebody do something that they want to do, that they currently cannot do. Then I guess the answer is yes. (Assuming they have $5000.) 

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I wouldn't mind Feeling 30 lbs. lighter, that would be lovely.
But I'm not going to spend $5000 to feel 30 lbs. lighter.  

I would rather just be 30 lbs. lighter. 

Arc’teryx’s new powered pants could make hikers feel 30 pounds lighter - The Verge
MO/GO™ | Arc'teryx Climb Academy (arcteryxacademy.com)
Skip - Move More with Powered Movewear Technology (skipwithjoy.com)

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