Scout
ThinkPad T480 or T490
Everyday carry. It's a regular ThinkPad, not a rugged one.
- Memory
- 16 GB
- Wilson
- Small
A survival laptop that still has answers when the internet is gone
Every Apocalaptop comes loaded with an offline library, street maps of your area and Wilson, an AI that runs on the laptop itself. Ask it how to make creek water safe or how to splint a broken arm, and it answers from the books on board.
See the five laptopsOrders open soon. Each laptop is built after it's ordered and ships in 2 to 3 weeks.
Manhattan in the Hurricane Sandy blackout, October 2012. Photo by David Shankbone.
Built for the days the grid is down
A hurricane, an ice storm or something worse takes out the power. Phones die within a day or two, and cell towers go quiet once their backup power runs out. Search engines and chatbots need the internet, so they go down with it. Everything on an Apocalaptop is already on the laptop, and it keeps working as long as you can keep it charged.
Wilson, the AI that lives on the laptop
Wilson runs on the laptop's own processor and memory, so it keeps working with the Wi-Fi off and the cell towers down. You don't sign in to anything, and nothing you type leaves the machine.
“The water's off. How do I make creek water safe to drink?”
Boil it. If it's cloudy, let it settle or strain it through a clean cloth or coffee filter first. Then bring it to a rolling boil for 1 minute, or 3 minutes if you're above 6,500 feet. Let it cool and keep it in clean containers with tight lids.
Each answer comes from the books on board and tells you which one it used. When the library doesn't cover something, Wilson says so instead of guessing. It also reads your notes, supply list and map pins, so "how much water do we have?" gets your real count.
It isn't a doctor. Medical answers end with a reminder to get real care when you can.
A whole library, already on board
All of this is on the laptop the day it arrives. Wilson reads it, and so can you.
- Wikipedia in English, with pictures
- WikiMed medical encyclopedia
- Wikivoyage, Wiktionary and Wikibooks
- Stack Exchange answers on DIY, gardening, the outdoors, electronics, ham radio and cooking
- Appropedia guides to water, sanitation and low-tech builds
- OpenStax textbooks: biology, chemistry, physics and anatomy
- US Army field manuals cleared for public release
- FEMA, CDC, Ready.gov and USDA guides, canning included
- Classic farming, medicine and craft books from the public domain
- The Bible, King James and World English
Maps that work with no signal
Street maps of your region from OpenStreetMap, stored on the laptop, so they open with no cell service and no Wi-Fi.
Drop pins for water, meeting spots and caches. The pins stay on the laptop, and Wilson can read them when you ask where the nearest water is.
Radio, notes and the rest of the kit
Notes, a supply list and map pins are in the app now. Being tested on the laptops: calculators for water, rations, solar and fuel, checklists for a go bag and a first aid kit, a radio log and frequency book, a family emergency plan card, one switch that turns off Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, and push-to-talk voice so you can ask out loud.
It also comes with LibreOffice for documents, VLC for video and music, KeePassXC for passwords, CHIRP to program handheld radios, and fldigi and JS8Call to send text over ham radio.
Pick your laptop
Five builds, from a ThinkPad you'd carry every day up to a deck in a hard case. Every one ships loaded, set up and tested with the network cut. More memory means a bigger, smarter Wilson. Prices go up here before orders open.
Ranger
Toughbook CF-31 (MK4 or newer) or Dell Latitude 5414 Rugged
Fully rugged, made for the field.
- Memory
- 16 GB
- Wilson
- Small
Bunker
Dell Pro Rugged 14
Twice the Ranger's memory, so it runs a much bigger Wilson.
- Memory
- 32 GB
- Wilson
- Medium to large
Fortress
Toughbook 33 MK4
A rugged 2-in-1 with our biggest Wilson.
- Memory
- 64 GB
- Wilson
- Our largest
Ark
Our own hard-case deck
The whole setup in a hard case that latches shut. It's a custom build, so it ships later than the others.
- Memory
- 32 GB
- Wilson
- Medium to large
Product photos are from Lenovo, Panasonic, Dell and Pelican. The Ark photo shows the Pelican 1495 case we build it into.
How ordering will work
Orders aren't open yet. Once they are, you pick a laptop and we build yours after you order. We don't keep a shelf of them.
We load the library, maps and Wilson, then cut it off from the network and test every piece offline. It ships within 2 to 3 weeks. If we can't make that, we'll tell you and offer a full refund. The Ark takes longer because the case is custom.
Already have a laptop?
You'll be able to get the whole setup as a download for a laptop you already own, or on a drive that's ready to plug in with nothing to download.
A yearly refresh sends a fresh copy of the library and maps once a year. App updates stay free. These get prices when the laptops do.
Questions
Does it need the internet?
No. Wilson, the library and the maps all work with the Wi-Fi off and no cell signal. You don't need an account for any of it.
Can I trust Wilson's answers?
Check the page it cites, the same as you would with any book. Wilson answers from the library and says when the library doesn't cover something. It isn't a doctor, a lawyer or an engineer.
Are the laptops new or refurbished?
Some models, like the ThinkPad T480 and the Toughbook CF-31, are only sold refurbished now. Each listing will say new or refurbished when orders open, and every laptop is tested before it ships.
Is it EMP-proof?
We don't claim that, and we won't until a lab test backs it up.
Can I add more to it?
Yes. During setup, while you're still online, Wilson can fetch free extras straight from the people who make them, like full school courses and repair guides. You see who made each one, its license and its size, and nothing downloads without your OK. These extras aren't part of what you buy.
When can I order, and what will it cost?
Not yet. Prices and ordering will show up on this page first. There's no shop or sign-up list right now.
Does this site track me?
No. There are no cookies, trackers or scripts on it.
Get one before you need it
Orders open soon. Prices and ordering will show up on this page first.
See the five laptopsOperation Crossroads, Bikini Atoll, 1946. US Department of Defense photo.