The grid goes down
When power and cell service fail, every app you rely on fails with them. The knowledge you need most becomes unreachable exactly when you need it.
Heirloom
The survival answer engine that works when nothing else does.
> No internet. No signal. No subscription. A rugged device with a curated library of military field manuals and FEMA guides — that you can ask.
Concept rendering — production industrial design in progress. Sealed field case, solar lid, built-in screen and keyboard; same chassis across all three models.
Answers sourced from:
U.S. Army Field ManualsFEMAEPADHS
— public documents, curated and cited on every answer.
01 Join the waitlist
One question (optional): what would you actually use?
No spam — a short update when there's something real. First access when reservations open.
Why this exists
Cloud AI needs a signal
ChatGPT and every assistant like it live in a data center. No connection, no answers — they are fair-weather tools.
Offline AI makes things up
The AI models that do run offline will confidently invent answers. In an emergency, a made-up answer is worse than no answer.
Real photography, public domain — no stock-photo actors pretending to survive anything.
Ask it something
These are real, unedited answers from a working unit — generated fully offline on the device, every step cited to its source document.
how do i purify water using bleach
- Use regular, unscented chlorine bleach from your medicine cabinet or emergency supply kit EPA · Emergency Water Disinfection
- If the water is cloudy, let it settle and filter through a clean cloth, paper towel, or coffee filter.
- Add 8 drops of 6% bleach or 6 drops of 8.25% bleach to each gallon of water EPA · Emergency Water Disinfection
- Double the amount if the water is cloudy, colored, or very cold.
- Stir and let stand for 30 minutes.
- The water should have a slight chlorine odor; if not, repeat the dosage and let it stand for another 15 minutes before use EPA · Emergency Water Disinfection
how do i splint a broken forearm
- Prepare cravats for securing.
- Shape the formable splint into a C curve conforming to your forearm's shape.
- Place the broken forearm inside the splint with hand in natural position on rolled end.
- Tie one cravat above and another below the fracture site.
- Cut tails of cravats short to prevent entanglement when moving yourself or others.
- Sling and swathe the injured extremity if needed; follow specific instructions from Task 081-833-0265.
sources: TC 4-02.1 · First Aid STP 8-68W13 · Combat Medic
FM 4-25.11 — the library's improvised-splint figure
Both answers above were generated on the device by the answer engine, exactly as shown. Illustrations from the source manuals ride along in the library — 600+ captioned field figures.
How it works
STEP 01
You ask
Type your question in plain words. "My friend's leg is broken" works as well as field-manual vocabulary.
STEP 02
It searches its library
The device searches its curated collection of military field manuals and government emergency guides — entirely on the hardware in your hands.
STEP 03
Cited answer — or honest refusal
Every claim is tied to the manual it came from. If the library doesn't cover your question, it says so. "I don't know" is a feature.
The rules it can't break
It never guesses
If the answer isn't in its library, it says so — it will never invent one. Enforced by a confidence gate in code, not a polite request to the AI.
It never improvises medicine
Medication answers come only word-for-word from current, verified drug labels — never generated by the AI. If it can't verify, it refuses. Checked by automated safety tests every night.
It works with zero signal
The AI, the library, the search — all of it runs on the device in your hand. Unplug the router, pull the SIM. It doesn't notice.
We publish our test results
Every claim above is measured, and the receipts will be public. If a survival gadget won't show you its testing, ask why.
What's in the library
Field medicineWater purificationShelter · fire · navigation
Emergency sanitationRadio & field commsPet & working-dog first aidDisaster preparedness
Real pages from the manuals on the device. Every answer cites the document it came from — you can always check its work.
Three models, one rugged design
Scout
$1,900
starting from
- Ask by typing — full answer engine
- Complete offline library + illustrations
- Cited answers, honest refusals
- Rugged, sealed, no radios
Ranger
$3,200
starting from
- Everything in Scout
- Hands-free voice — ask out loud, hear the answer
- Built for gloves-on, eyes-up situations
Sentinel
$7,500
starting from
- Everything in Ranger
- A camera that sees what you see — show it, don't describe it
- Full field-sensor kit
Final prices get published before we take a single dollar. Waitlist members see the real numbers first, and get first access when reservations open.
The honest part
We're building the device now. This is field-grade equipment built to be kept for decades — it isn't cheap, and we won't pretend otherwise.
We won't take full payment until units are ready to ship, and we won't promise a ship date we haven't already hit internally. Join the waitlist and you'll get the real numbers as they firm up.
We built Heirloom because we couldn't buy it. We wanted one piece of gear to hand our families that still answers the hard questions when everything else is dark — and that would rather say "I don't know" than make something up. That's the bar we hold every build to: good enough for our own shelves first.
— Keith & Zach, founders
Questions we'd ask too
When does it ship?
We don't have a date to promise yet, and we won't invent one. The software runs on real hardware today — the answers above came from it. When we commit to a date publicly, it will be one we've already hit internally. Waitlist members hear it first.
Why a device instead of a phone app?
Your phone is the first thing to die in an emergency — battery, signal, infrastructure. A dedicated unit is sealed, hardened, has no radios to fail or track you, and its battery does one job. Owning the hardware end-to-end is also what makes our safety guarantees enforceable. (The waitlist form asks whether you'd want an app anyway — we genuinely want the answer.)
What does it refuse to answer?
Anything its library doesn't cover — it tells you instead of guessing. It categorically refuses to identify mushrooms or plants for eating from a description, and it will not improvise medication guidance: verified word-for-word label answers, or a refusal.
Does it need updates or a subscription?
No subscription, ever, for the core function. The device works forever without us — that's the point. We plan to offer library updates you can load offline, but the unit never depends on them.
Is it a medical device?
No. Heirloom is a reference library — educational first-aid and preparedness information from published government sources. It is not a substitute for professional medical care.
Can I see the safety testing?
Yes — that's a commitment. Every safety claim on this page is measured by automated tests that run nightly, and the results will be published where anyone can read them before we take an order.
02 Get in line
One short update when there's something real. Real prices before we take a dollar. First access when reservations open.
Join the waitlist