To mark National Trails Day, you can try out a Hypershell X – the outdoor exoskeleton for everyone
An X exoskeleton will ordinarily set you back $1,000 or above, but Hypershell is partnering with the American Hiking Society (AHS) to mark National Trails Day on June 7, 2025. For the occasion, 30 Hypershell Pro X devices will be distributed to 10 hiking sites, where they can be tested by volunteers and walkers.
Enter Now to Win a Hypershell Exoskeleton
'Hypershell was founded on the belief that technology should expand the boundaries of human movement, especially in the wild,' says Kelvin Sun, the founder and CEO of Hypershell. 'Our mission aligns deeply with that of the American Hiking Society, which has been the national voice for America's hikers for nearly 50 years. We're honored to stand with them in promoting access, adventure, and stewardship on the trails.'
The Hypershell X
The Hypershell X is a piece of outdoor gear quite unlike any other: The exoskeleton fits to your back, around your waist, and attaches to your legs. It then puts you on cheat mode as far as hiking goes, giving you faster speeds and extending your stamina—you can use it to complete walks you might not otherwise attempt, or to finish routes you can tackle in a faster time.
For the hiking beginner, it gives you the confidence to get out on the trail. For the hiking expert, it levels up what you're capable of. For younger walkers, it can add years on, and for older walkers, it can take years off. The exoskeleton is there to help you move farther, stronger, and smarter, and it's designed to fit seamlessly into the way you move.
You've got three models to choose from: The Go X, the Pro X, and the Carbon X. They offer increasing levels of performance and power, with Hypershell promising they'll give you up to 40 percent more leg strength and equal up to 30 percent less physical exertion. It can offset up to 30 kilograms or 66 pounds of weight, while battery range is good for up to 17.5 kilometers or almost 11 miles.
The weight of the Hypershell X exoskeleton itself is a mere 2 kilograms or 4.4 pounds, or a little less if you go for the carbon fiber and titanium option—so it's definitely not going to weigh you down. As well as walking, because of its lightweight and unobtrusive nature, it's also suitable for running and cycling.
Enter Now to Win a Hypershell Exoskeleton
Underpinning everything is an AI MotionEngine, programmed to adapt in real time to your movement. Based on inputs from more than a dozen sensors, it figures out your next step, and then provides assistance to propel you forward. It's personalized too, so it learns your walking gait over time, and should feel more natural the more you use it.
You wear the battery on your back, rucksack style, and when you're not using your Hypershell X it folds right down too for easy transport. With the battery weighing in at 400 grams or 0.88 pounds, you can easily pack spares too—giving you even more range across several hikes or several days.
The exoskeleton offers quite a bit of control over how much assistance it actually gives you, and you've got three different modes of operation to choose between, to balance battery life and performance. What's more, it's IP54 rated, and can work in conditions as cold as -10 degrees Celsius (that's 14 degrees Fahrenheit).
In our review, Kyle described the Pro X model as being easy to use, comfortable to wear, and effective at helping you to walk further with less effort. There are 'plenty of people who can benefit from this device' he concluded—including not just experienced hikers but those who are less likely to go walking due to inability, injury, or age.
Enter Now to Win a Hypershell Exoskeleton
The Hypershell X is an award-winner too: It picked up an Innovation Award as part of CES 2025, with its 'revolutionary and ultra-light ergonomic design' singled out for special praise. Exoskeletons are no longer the stuff of science fiction, the super-rich, or the army—and you might start to see them much more often on your hiking trails.
National Trails Day
Hypershell's partnership with the AHS is about making hiking more accessible, to everyone—people of any age, of all abilities. Those who might otherwise have considered getting out on the trail beyond them can take on the challenge, while experienced walkers can get a synthetic boost to their natural abilities.
National Trails Day is the signature annual event of the AHS, and this year it falls on Saturday, June 7. The idea behind the event is to encourage people to get active outdoors, to connect with other members of their community, and perhaps to give something back to the trails in terms of tidying up a route and leaving it in a better condition than when you found it.
You can find out more about National Trails Day here, and look up events happening in your local area. Typically, tens of thousands of people across the US get together for the day, advocating for public lands and trails, and enjoying some of the majestic splendor offered by the natural landscape all around us.
These goals and passions fit in neatly with Hypershell and its X exoskeleton of course, and as part of National Trails Day this year, Hypershell will be at the Tahoe Rim Trail project near Big Meadow Trailhead in Lake Tahoe, California. The aim of the day is to introduce a new highway crossing reroute, which will improve hiker safety and mean a better overall experience for anyone using the route.
Anyone attending the project event will have the chance to try on the Hypershell Pro X and take advantage of all the benefits it brings: Reducing strain and extending endurance, and from there supporting the admirable work being put into trail maintenance during this special day of outdoor gatherings.
Enter Now to Win a Hypershell Exoskeleton
Just turn up on the day to get involved and see if an exoskeleton could be the upgrade for you. You can get more information on all of this from the official Hypershell website, or the official American Hiking Society website—both have plenty of resources and plenty of information for you to check out, and there are gear giveaways you can take part in too.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
15 minutes ago
- Yahoo
2025 Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest: How to watch, plus what to know about Joey Chestnut's return
If you buy something through a link in this article, we may earn commission. Pricing and availability are subject to change. Joey Chestnut and Miki Sudo hold the respective records for most hot dogs eaten in the men's and women's Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest. (YUKI IWAMURA/AFP via Getty Images) The Fourth of July is fast approaching, and you know what that means: It's time for fireworks, barbecue and tuning in to watch Joey "Jaws" Chestnut scarf down upwards of 70 hot dogs (and buns!) in 10 minutes. Chestnut is returning to compete at the 2025 Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest. The long-reigning champ was banned in 2024 after signing an endorsement deal with Nathan's competitor Impossible Foods. But this Friday, Chestnut returns to compete at Coney Island. Chestnut will aim to beat his world record of 76 dogs and buns. He'll face 2024 men's champion and No. 2-ranked eater Patrick Bertoletti, No. 3 Geoffrey Esper, No. 4 James Webb and No. 6 Nick Wehry. On the women's side, Miko Sudo remains the reigning champ, with a personal best of 51 hot dogs and buns set last year. Will she set a new record this year? Here's what to know about how to watch Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest live on July 4. How to watch the 2025 Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest: Date: July 4 Advertisement Time: Coverage starts at 10:45 a.m. ET; men's contest begins at noon ET Location: Coney Island, New York Channel: ESPN2, ESPN3 (web only), ESPN Streaming: DirecTV, Fubo and more When is Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest? Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest is held annually on the Fourth of July. 2025 Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest time: Coverage of this year's competition will begin at 10:45 a.m. on ESPN3 with the women's contest. Then, at noon, coverage of the men's competition will begin on ESPN2. 2025 Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest channel: ESPN will once again broadcast the hot dog-eating contest. The main event will air live on ESPN2 before being re-broadcast on ESPN, while the women's contest will air on ESPN3. The event will not be available to stream on ESPN+. Advertisement Need to find a way to watch the 2025 Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest? Here's what we recommend if you don't already have cable: Watch ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPN3 DirecTV DirecTV offers multiple live TV packages geared toward sports fans, with access to ESPN's suite of channels, ABC and more starting at $69.99/month. For ESPN3 content, you can log in to with DirecTV. You can try any tier free for five days before committing. Try free at DirecTV 2025 Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest TV schedule: All times Eastern 10:45 a.m. - Women's contest (ESPN3) 11 a.m. - Miki Sudo cam (ESPN3) 12 p.m. - Men's contest (ESPN2) 12:30 p.m. - Joey Chestnut cam (ESPN3) 5 p.m. - Main event re-airing (ESPN) 6 p.m. - Main event re-airing (ESPN2) 9 p.m. - Main event re-airing (ESPN) Who is competing in the 2025 Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest? The 2025 contest will see the return of top-ranked eater Joey Chestnut. He'll compete alongside 2024 men's Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Champion and No. 2-ranked eater Patrick Bertoletti, No. 3 Geoffrey Esper, No. 4 James Webb and No. 6 Nick Wehry. Advertisement On the women's side, Miko Sudo will look to win her fourth-straight Mustard Belt and her 11th overall. Her competition includes No. 9-ranked eater Michelle Lesco, among others. 2025 Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest record: The men's world record is 76 hot dogs and buns, set by Joey Chestnut in 2021. The women's world record is 51 hot dogs and buns, set by Miko Sudo last year. 2025 Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest prize: In addition to the Mustard Belt, the champions of this year's competition will each get $10,000. Second-place finishers will get $5,000 each, and third-place finishers get $2,500 apiece. Why was Joey Chestnut banned from the 2024 Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest? Joey Chestnut was banned in 2024 after he signed an endorsement deal with Impossible Foods. Nathan's viewed it as a conflict of interest with its all-beef product and banned him from competing. Advertisement Chestnut has since agreed to exclusively endorse Nathan's hot dogs as part of a three-year contract with Nathan's and the International Federation of Competitive Eating. More ways to watch Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest:
Yahoo
18 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Will Cleveland's new WNBA team be the Rockers? How did it earn an expansion franchise?
This has been a historic week in the WNBA. In one day, the league announced three new expansion teams, from the 13 playing now, to 18 by 2030. It continues up-and-to-the-right growth for the W since 2020. The first franchise which will begin play among those three franchises is in Cleveland in 2028. This marks the WNBA's return to the city, where the Cleveland Rockers were one of the eight original teams before they disbanded in 2003. Advertisement If the early interest in tickets is any indication, Cleveland seems ready for a WNBA team again. Nic Barlage, the CEO of Rock Entertainment Group, which owns the new franchise and the Cavaliers, said they already had more than 3,100 season ticket deposits as of Wednesday morning. It is the culmination of what he said was a process that began three years ago as the company grew more interested and invested in women's sports as part of its portfolio of sports properties. Barlage spoke to about how Cleveland got a WNBA team, why it bid for one, whether it'll bring the Rockers name back, and why he feels it was the right time to invest in a WNBA franchise. Congrats on the new WNBA team coming to Cleveland. Obviously, this has all been a long time in the making. Can you walk me through how you guys landed this team? As we were looking at our portfolio, we really started to see the momentum and the movement that was happening around women's sports, and so we partnered with the WTA 250 event here locally, called Tennis in the Land, which we've had a wonderful experience with. We're actually more of the sales and execution agency for them. We were part of the NWSL bid to bring women's professional soccer to Cleveland. Ultimately, that wasn't successful, but it was a great learning for us. But internally, through all these partnerships and endeavors, we've really been focused on the WNBA. Advertisement Our chairman, Dan Gilbert, has a deep, deep, deep, profound passion for basketball, and we have a deep, profound passion for leveling the playing field, if you will, and providing equal opportunity for both men and women. Our Cavs youth academy, which is 60,000 kids across the state of Ohio, upstate New York, Western (Pennsylvania). The largest growing segment of that has been young girls, who've been growing about 30 percent in participation rates year over year for the last two or three years. And so we noticed all this convergence of all of these things coming together. When we hosted the women's Final Four in 2024, it was historic viewership. We sold out the tournament in the fastest it's ever sold out. … Obviously we had a lot of unique opportunities in hosting Caitlin Clark and the undefeated University of South Carolina Dawn Staley-led Gamecocks. But all those things kind of said, alright, we're going to push our chips all in on something. When we push our chips all in on something, especially with having the backing of Dan and all that he thinks about, dreams about, and the vision that he has, this crystallized pretty quickly. And from there it just got down to how we wanted to execute the bid, and how big and bold we can make it. The bidding process for this latest round seemed to get pretty frothy. There was, I think, the most intense interest I've seen in getting a WNBA team to date. When did you guys find out that you had landed a team? And what do you think put you over the top? We found out right around (NBA) All-Star in February, maybe a little bit after that was the final confirmation. Obviously, there's a lot you have to work through once you're kind of selected. You've got legal documents, those kinds of things. But from our perspective, we think it's very symbolic of the Midwest. We think Cleveland is a city on the rise. We think we had such a great run in the early 1900s, we went through some tough times, and now we're kind of back in a bold way. Advertisement And if you study Cleveland at all, what people realize is sports and entertainment is really leading the resurgence and creating the momentum in this community. When we throw the ball in the air in April 2028 or May of 2028, Dan and the Gilbert family will have invested $1.1 billion in sports and entertainment infrastructure. Not like buying teams and moving them here, but like real infrastructure in Northeast Ohio. And so when you start to think about the infrastructure we have, the fan base that is unrelentingly passionate about sports. We were the most ready-made bid. So is it going to be the Cleveland Rockers 2.0? It's a great question. We're not going to commit to a brand identity at this point. We love the history of the Rockers, obviously, being one of the original eight. But at this stage in the process, we are absolutely going to have a dimension of our brand and our intellectual property that will pay homage to the Rockers, but we want to be very considerate of where Cleveland is going, where our fan base is going, as opposed to where it's been. And so for us, it's a little bit of that balance. Like paying honor and homage to the past while really focused on our bright future. And so from that perspective, we're going to go through a pretty intensive, thoughtful, inclusive process over the next six months. Advertisement Just trying to read a little bit into what you're saying, it sounds like it won't be the Rockers … No, I didn't say that. The Rockers will definitely be an option. The Rockers will definitely be a part of the mix of the options we look at. We just don't know if that's the right move for us yet. We haven't been able to publicly talk about this for a long time. We want to embrace the community. We want to be inclusive of their thoughts and their insights before we just pick a path, but Rockers will absolutely be under consideration. The reason I ask is — you guys might be the Rockers, you might not. The Portland expansion team looks like it's leaning towards bringing the Fire name back. I don't know if Detroit will be the Shock as well. But there is some nostalgia coating for some of these new WNBA teams. Do you think reboots can work for WNBA teams now, bringing back a less successful but sepia-toned era of the league? I absolutely think retro works. I think it can work depending on the situation. But I think for us, there's such a new fan base here in Cleveland. Cleveland has a different vibe to it now. They have a different vibrancy to the city. The communities that are going to be attracted to this demographic of this product, they might even look a little bit different or be a bit more involved. And so we just want to make sure, like I said, we're being thoughtful and inclusive of that. I would never commit to that without getting real data and getting real insights. Honestly, I could speak to the other markets, it would be irresponsible. Advertisement Were you surprised the W went to three teams in the end? Did you think it would be just the 16 teams and were you surprised that they went all the way up to 18? No, I wasn't. As you look at it, whenever this much interest — and this much interest is being met by a real business performance … When I was doing an interview the other day, I mentioned there was a Sunday night Fever and Sky game, I think it may have been about a month ago, on a Sunday, it did 1.7 million viewers. I think Yankees-Red Sox hit 1.3 million viewers. When you're seeing this much insatiable demand for something, I wasn't surprised at all. When the league is led by commissioner (Cathy) Engelbert, and obviously is a part of the broader NBA family led by (NBA commissioner) Adam Silver and (NBA deputy commissioner) Mark Tatum, they're very thoughtful about these things. They put a lot of strategy and rigor into it. And so when they came back into three teams, and all three already had NBA infrastructure wrapped around them, it made a lot of sense. And by the way, they're great cities. They're great markets. I think it made a lot of sense. Advertisement You mentioned the NBA infrastructure. I think it's been unmissable that five of the six expansion teams in the last three years, or six of the six, depending how you want to do your accounting practices, have gone to owners with NBA ties. Do you think that's been intentional? Is there something that has given NBA ownership groups who want a WNBA team a leg up in that process? Are NBA owners the best served to own and run WNBA teams right now? Our thesis on this is . And I think Adam shares a similar thesis. We have commercial infrastructure. We have administrative infrastructure. We have marketing infrastructure. We have venues, right? And so when you start thinking about the infrastructure we can wrap around these assets — and by the way, we have decades of institutional knowledge of how to operate them, both on the business side, but also on the basketball side. There's no doubt there's nuances and there's differences across the board, but, yeah, I think it's very intentional in regards to how the league is expanding. An existing NBA owner is also a minority owner of the WNBA in the current financial structure. So there's a lot of incentive from our perspective to be a part of the growth of the WNBA, and I think Adam is really driving that in partnership with Cathy. The $250 million expansion fee is a really interesting number. It's obviously the largest in WNBA history, and five times more than what the Golden State group paid to get the Valkyries. I've been reporting on WNBA expansion for a while, and there was kind of this apprehension about even getting to $50 million back in 2022. Interested investors didn't know if it would be worth it, if the business of a team and the league could support that kind of valuation. And now you have three teams, three ownership groups, paying that $250 million. There were more than 10 bidders, if I remember correctly. Why did you think that that kind of expansion fee was worth it? And why do you think valuations have risen so much? I won't confirm the fee, but what I will say is, from our chairman, Dan, throughout the entire organization, we have a firm belief that money and numbers, they don't lead, they follow in situations like this. And we look at being the 16th team as being very much still an early mover. When you look at minority stakes that have been reported, that have been sold, whether it's for the Liberty, whether it's for the Seattle Storm in the last couple of months, we think this is an early-mover type of situation, and one that we're fully embracing. Advertisement Once again, it wasn't driven by the money and the numbers. It was driven by the impact we can make in our community, also the trajectory of the game. I mentioned the viewership earlier, but if you look at all the major key performance indicators across the league: attendance, viewership, merchandise, sales — everything is on this rocket ship type of trajectory. So for us, it was about how fast can we get involved and how quickly can we build a platform that inspires the next generation of young girls and young women across the entire state of Ohio and throughout our region? It also is another dimension. We own a local sports network in Rock Entertainment Sports Network. It's another dimension for us to be able to host on there as well. It's a key component and a key asset of this portfolio and this broader platform that we've been building for quite some time now, and it's the perfect complement. So when you have those types of dynamics, you do your diligence, you make sure you're being responsible with the financial resources that you're deploying. But we are firm believers that the best days of this league are in front of us. … If this thing gets to 25, 30 teams, which we think it will, that is all green field opportunity in regards to expansion of regular-season games, expansion of playoff games, expansion of media rights. What you're seeing right now is the fundamental and foundational return of the WNBA, and it's going to be a foundation that's going to launch it to new heights, sustainable heights. I know there's some owners out there that are aspiring for billion-dollar valuations over a period of time, we fully support that. But once again, for us, it's not about the money and the numbers, it's about the impact that we can create, and we think that impact will lead to much higher trajectories of valuation as we go forward. I was going to ask if you think a billion-dollar valuation for a WNBA team might be possible in the future, but maybe I'm setting my sights too low. Look, anytime you have viewership that is hitting these levels, anytime you have attendance that is hitting these levels, and you have a very finite amount of assets, this becomes a scarcity investment at the end of the day. When you have that type of scarcity and that type of stickiness and that type of growth, great things can happen. Advertisement This article originally appeared in The Athletic. WNBA, Sports Business 2025 The Athletic Media Company
Yahoo
29 minutes ago
- Yahoo
'I like being gross': Joey Chestnut on the pain and weird joy of hot dog eating contests
Competitive eater Joey Chestnut is making his triumphant return to Coney Island this Fourth of July for the Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest, a year after he was banned for having a sponsorship deal with Impossible Foods. As told to Yahoo's Meredith Begley, the 41-year-old Major League Eating champion — on the brink of his 20th Nathan's appearance — opens up about training, recovery and overordering at restaurants. I remember when [Takeru] Kobayashi won in 2001. I was at home at my parents' house, and my little brother said, 'You could eat 50 hot dogs.' And I was like, Yeah, but I don't think I want to. I was always the biggest eater in the family. It was something I was self-conscious about. My mom would get mad at me if I ate really fast and didn't leave any for anybody else. In college, my friends signed me up for my first contest. It was lobster. My whole life, I had been self-conscious about eating fast in front of people, and then [here] people are cheering you on. I loved every bit of it. I started a little late this year, in mid-May. I hadn't eaten a Nathan's hot dog in more than a year, so it took me a little bit of time to get back in the saddle. The natural casing is a little more work on the jaws. For practices, I stop eating for about a day and a half — almost no solid food. I make sure I go in empty and loose. I do a bunch of burping and stretching exercises to make sure my whole core is ready. Before Nathan's, I like to do eight or nine [practices]. It gets more and more intense toward the end. Some practices take longer to recover from, especially if I'm doing it outside and it's hot. Warm water is definitely important, but you don't want it too warm if it's hot outside. The warm water gets into the bun and helps your muscles in your throat and stomach relax. You just want to keep everything going down. But really, it's just eating. Sometimes I find myself overthinking it. There's not that many steps: Put it in my mouth, chew it, swallow it, breathe. The breathing is one thing that a lot of people forget to do. They end up holding their breath and then get winded. Some people overstuff their mouth. They just got to remember to swallow. So if I overcomplicate it [or] worry about the cups of water ... all those things help a little bit, but the real basics are breathe, eat, chew and swallow. I go in knowing that I have to be comfortable being uncomfortable. If I feel full, I'm not really full. If I feel tired, everybody goes through it. The whole thing about competitive eating is going against these feelings. I go in knowing that three hours after the contest, I'm going to be super-bloated and miserable. It's like [how] some people like running a marathon, even though they look absolutely miserable. I could never do that. But being bloated, it's uncomfortable but I enjoy it — especially after I win and I'm sweaty. I like being gross. It's so weird. My biggest worry is if it's super-hot outside and I'm dehydrated. Then my body just is not cooperating. Walks and sleep. Sleep is the most important. That night, I'll try to eat salad or yogurt. Then the next day, even though I'm not hungry, I'm trying to eat fiber: cucumber, simple salads, lemon water. Lots of liquid. I try to stay away from carbs or sugar. I'm usually back on the hot dog wagon in, like, four or five days. I eat a lot of salad. I'm an iceberg and romaine lettuce person. Arugula and spring mix — you can't poke those two with your fork. I get cravings for good seafood a lot. My body digests seafood so well. Roasted radishes are really, really good. They're almost like potatoes, but they're very low-carb. [But] cooking stresses me out. I really love to eat. If it's a weekend and I've been eating clean all week, I'm due to order four entrées. I pretend like, 'Oh, we're going to try this and take it home.' The thing about competitive eating is everybody can kind of relate to it. Everybody has a food that they love, and everybody has stories about food where they feel like they dominated it. I kind of like it when people tell me that they can eat. It's like I'm not the weirdo. I think I'm always going to be a competitive eater. As long as my organs are working and I get my blood work done, I'm going to keep doing it. But I'll be fine when the day comes and I'm not competing on the Fourth of July. But if I'm able to, I might as well, because I love it.
