Data from university lab studies and industry field studies on hundreds of users has consistently shown that users feel that the Apex exosuit makes lifting easier.
The Apex not only provides an assistive torque about the back but also about the hips, which makes lifting easier. There is strong converging evidence from both academic and industry studies that the Apex reduces lifting effort.
For example, in one field study on logistics and retail workers, over 90% of the workers reported that the exosuit made lifting feel easier (Yandell 2020). In a separate peer-reviewed study involving Vanderbilt University and the U.S. Army, 100% of Soldiers reported that they were satisfied with the lifting assistance from the exosuit, and 90% reported that the exosuit increased their ability to perform their duties (Slaughter 2023). Furthermore, users were able to perform heavy lifting for 28-75% longer when wearing an exosuit because it made lifting easier and less tiring (Rodzak 2024).
In a peer-reviewed, third-party study by the University of Wyoming, participants completed a wide range of lifting and lowering tasks and reported that every task was mildly or moderately easier to perform while wearing the Apex (Gorsic 2021). In yet another independent experiment led by Clemson University, they found that the Apex increased users’ self-rated maximum acceptable load by 7% when performing repetitive lifting, indicating that the exosuit made lifting easier. Similarly, a Brock University study found that wearing a HeroWear Apex 2 exosuit during repetitive lifting warehouse tasks resulted in less perceived exertion and a 6% reduction in task completion time (Ratke 2025).
All these published studies are further corroborated by independently run and HeroWear-led industry field studies. For instance, an independent field study conducted by SAIF insurance company found that workers wearing the Apex reported a 29% reduction in overall perceived effort at work and a 32% reduction in effort required for the heaviest lifts (SAIF 2022). Similarly, aggregated data from HeroWear field study data on 154 regular users of the Apex revealed that workers reported an average of 22% reduction in effort for a typical lift and 30% reduction in effort required for their heaviest lifts (Zelik 2023).