Founded after inventor Reid Robinson endured 13 right-leg surgeries, the Calgary company is scaling a wearable, hands-free crutch alternative designed to preserve mobility and reduce the broader disruption and cost of lower-leg recovery.
-- Robinson Exotech Corp., the Calgary company behind the XLEG wearable hands-free crutch alternative, has been named the winner of the Calgary Spring 2026 Startup TNT Investment Summit.
The significant investment resulting from the summit is facilitating Robinson Exotech’s transition toward high-volume manufacturing, helping the company make XLEG more widely available to customers throughout Canada and the United States.
XLEG was created by founder Reid Robinson following a serious 2015 car accident and a lengthy recovery that included 13 surgeries on his right leg. Despite having completed a half Ironman before the accident, Robinson found conventional crutches physically exhausting and poorly suited to everyday life.
Simple activities such as carrying a cup of coffee, climbing stairs, keeping pace with friends or returning to work became difficult. That experience led Robinson to begin building prototypes for a different kind of mobility device in his Calgary workshop.
“After my accident, I learned that the real cost of an injury extends far beyond the price of a mobility device,” said Robinson. “It includes the work you miss, the help you need and the parts of your life you are forced to put on hold. I created XLEG because I believed recovery should protect more than the injured limb—it should also protect a person’s independence.”
A Wearable Alternative to Traditional Crutches
Designed for eligible adults who need to remain non-weight-bearing or partially weightbearing following certain foot, ankle or lower-leg injuries, XLEG transfers weight away from the injured lower leg and across the thigh.
XLEG is a wearable, hands-free alternative that provides full range of motion in the injured leg. Its articulated design allows wearers to maintain a natural gait, remain fully mobile and perform daily activities that can be challenging with conventional crutches or knee scooters.
Traditional crutches require users to support and move themselves with their upper body, while fixed-leg crutch alternatives restrict movement of the injured leg. XLEG is designed to allow the hip and knee to move throughout the walking cycle, enabling the wearer to remain active while continuing to protect the injured lower leg from weight-bearing.
“Based on my own experience, customer feedback and the consistent observations of the medical professionals and clinicians who have assessed XLEG, I am confident that it reduces muscle atrophy, lessens physiotherapy needs after weight-bearing resumes and requires significantly less energy to use than crutches,” said Robinson.
“We are not presenting these observations as scientifically validated medical claims at this stage,” Robinson continued. “The purpose of the studies is to quantify and prove in a controlled environment what users, clinicians and medical professionals have already witnessed in practice.”
Clinical research is underway in the United States, with additional studies expected to begin in Chile and Canada. The research will assess XLEG’s medical and functional advantages over traditional crutches and other crutch alternatives, including natural gait, energy expenditure, muscle atrophy and physiotherapy requirements following the return to weightbearing.
The device is custom-fitted and designed, engineered and assembled in Calgary. It is currently available directly to customers in Canada and the United States.
Addressing the Overall Cost of Injury
Robinson Exotech believes that the cost of an injury should be evaluated more broadly than the initial price of a mobility aid.
Time away from work, reduced independence, caregiver assistance, transportation challenges, physical deconditioning and rehabilitation can all add to the personal and economic burden of recovery. There can also be a mental and emotional cost when an injury prevents someone from working, caring for their family or participating in everyday life.
By helping suitable users remain active, mobile and engaged in daily activities, Robinson Exotech believes XLEG can reduce the physical, mental and financial burden associated with injury and recovery.
“Our goal is not simply to replace crutches,” said Robinson. “It is to reduce the overall cost and disruption of an injury by helping people preserve their mobility, independence and ability to participate in their lives while they recover.”
U.S. Customers Report Greater Independence
Customer experiences illustrate the practical role hands-free mobility can play during recovery.
“I am a physician and this has been a life changer compared to using traditional crutches. I am back to work,” wrote Edwin O., an XLEG customer in Champaign, Illinois.
Other U.S. customers have described using XLEG to perform daily activities independently, navigate stairs, enter and exit vehicles, travel and participate in important family occasions while following their non-weight-bearing instructions.
Individual experiences vary, and the company recommends that prospective users consult their healthcare provider to determine whether the device is appropriate for their condition, strength, balance and recovery plan.
Investment Creates a Path to Scale
Startup TNT’s Investment Summits bring entrepreneurs together with new and experienced angel investors for an eight-week process that includes pitch events, investor meetings and detailed due diligence. Calgary investors selected Robinson Exotech as the winner of the Spring 2026 summit.
“Winning the Startup TNT Investment Summit is an important turning point for Robinson Exotech,” said Robinson. “The investment gives us the ability to move toward higher-volume manufacturing and introduce more people to an alternative they may not know exists. Our goal is for anyone researching crutches, knee scooters or hands-free mobility after an injury to find XLEG and understand all of their options.”
The investment comes as Robinson Exotech works to expand awareness of XLEG among patients, healthcare professionals and mobility-equipment stakeholders across North America.
“Recovery should not require people to disappear from their work, their families or the activities that give their lives meaning,” Robinson added. “We want to change what people expect from a mobility device and help reduce the overall disruption associated with injury.”
About Robinson Exotech Corp.
Robinson Exotech Corp. is a Calgary-based mobility technology company and the developer of XLEG, a wearable, hands-free alternative to conventional crutches.
Created following founder Reid Robinson’s personal experience with serious injury and repeated surgeries, XLEG is designed to help eligible adults maintain mobility and independence while protecting an injured foot, ankle or lower leg from weight-bearing.
The custom-fitted device provides movement through the hip and knee while leaving both hands available for daily activities. XLEG serves customers in Canada and the United States.
For more information, visit www.xleg.ca.
Contact Info:
Name: Reid Robinson
Email: Send Email
Organization: Robinson Exotech Corp.
Phone: 1-844-843-9534
Website: https://www.xleg.ca/
Release ID: 89203990
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