Model Benchmarks
Real-World Testing for Off-Grid Intelligence
We didn't just pick models from a leaderboard. We stress-tested them with survival scenarios, logic puzzles, and real hardware limits — the way you'll actually use them when the internet is gone.
📜 Introduction
A lot of thought, research, and development went into creating the OffGrid AI Toolkit. We pushed the technology to its limits, knowing this product might be used in survival or even life-or-death situations (please use responsibly and read our terms and conditions).
Creating a portable AI solution that runs entirely from a flash drive presented unique challenges (see How It Works). One critical decision was choosing which AI models would work best for real-world situations.
While there's a wide selection of open-source AI models with published benchmarks, they weren't tested on the questions that matter for survival and field use. So we created our own rigorous testing methodology.
Model selection was just the first step. A lot of other testing went into this beyond choosing the right models. For example, here's more about our Ready-Made Prompt testing and what went into that.
🥾 Why We Built Our Own Benchmarks
We didn't just test models on survival knowledge. We tested their ability to think. Every person, situation, and circumstance is unique. That's where survival books, PDFs, and videos fall short.
Our testing broke into two critical categories:
1. Survival & Emergency Knowledge
Examples:
- What are the best ways to purify water from a desert stream using minimal gear?
- Explain how to prioritize survival tasks if stranded in the wilderness with no supplies.
- What are the signs of dehydration and how should it be treated in the field?
2. Intelligence & Problem Solving
Examples:
- You have 3 boxes: one contains only apples, one only oranges, and one a mix. They are all mislabeled. You can reach into one box and take out one fruit. Which box should you pick to correctly re-label all three?
- You're in a room with two doors. One leads to certain death, the other to freedom. One guard always lies, the other always tells the truth. You may ask one question to one guard. What do you ask?
Key Finding: Our methodical tests revealed performance patterns that didn't match published benchmarks. The winner was very clear: Gemma models consistently outperformed all others for real-world applications.
💡 Why These Models Made the Cut
The Gemma3 Family: 27B, 12B, and 4B
After testing 15+ model families, Gemma3 models dominated both survival knowledge and problem-solving intelligence. They're not just regurgitating facts — they're thinking through scenarios.
- Gemma3-27B: Maximum intelligence for complex scenarios. The "strategist" model.
- Gemma3-12B: Perfect balance of capability and speed. The "planner" model.
- Gemma3-4B: Quick responses for basic queries. The "field guide" model.
MedGemma: Specialized Medical Intelligence
Fine-tuned on medical literature, MedGemma provides field-appropriate medical guidance while emphasizing when professional care is needed. Remember: This is educational only. Always seek proper medical attention when available.
Learn more about how these models perform in real scenarios on our Healthcare Professionals page.
🏕️ Survival AI Testing
We ran 300+ survival-focused prompts to see how each model handled real-world questions about water, shelter, signaling, navigation, and emergency response.
Results from 300+ Survival-Focused Prompts
| Rank | Model | Accuracy /10 | Reasoning /10 | Clarity /10 | Offline Fit /10 | Avg Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 🥇1 | Gemma3-27B | 9.95 | 9.9 | 9.85 | 9.92 | 9.91 | Most comprehensive, adaptable responses. |
| 🥈2 | Gemma3-12B | 9.9 | 9.8 | 9.82 | 9.8 | 9.83 | Nearly as accurate, faster, more concise. |
| 🥉3 | Gemma3-4B | 9.6 | 9.3 | 9.5 | 9.3 | 9.43 | Clear, to the point, beginner-friendly. |
| 4 | Deepseek-r1-14B | 9.1 | 9.0 | 9.8 | 8.74 | 9.16 | Good general knowledge, less adaptive. |
| 5 | Deepseek-r1-32B | 8.9 | 9.1 | 9.3 | 8.5 | 8.95 | Uneven performance, some errors. |
| 6 | Deepseek-r1-7B | 8.5 | 7.7 | 8.15 | 7.0 | 7.81 | Missed critical details. |
See these models in action with our Ready-Made Prompts designed for survival scenarios.
🧠 Intelligence Testing
Survival is about more than memorized facts. It's about thinking under pressure, keeping track of constraints, and not getting fooled by trick questions or edge cases.
Problem-Solving and Reasoning Performance
| Rank | Model | Accuracy /10 | Reasoning /10 | Clarity /10 | Offline Fit /10 | Avg Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 🥇1 | Gemma3-27B | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8.8 | Methodical, structured, rarely fooled. |
| 🥈2 | Gemma3-12B | 9 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 8.5 | Almost as strong, slightly denser wording. |
| 🥉3 | Gemma3-4B | 9 | 8 | 9 | 7 | 8.3 | Clear and concise, best for quick answers. |
Key Finding: Survival is about more than memorized facts. It's about thinking under pressure. Gemma3 models consistently demonstrated superior problem-solving and logical reasoning.
💻 Hardware Requirements
Note: First-run response times are slower as models load into memory. Subsequent queries run significantly faster once loaded.
| Model | First Run Response | After Loaded | RAM Required | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gemma3-4B | 30–90 seconds | 15–60 seconds | 8GB+ | Quick queries, basic tasks |
| Gemma3-12B | 2–3 minutes | 1–2 minutes | 16GB+ | Complex analysis, wider knowledge |
| Gemma3-27B | ~10 minutes | 4–5 minutes | 32GB+ | Maximum intelligence, deep thinking |
| MedGemma-4B | 30–90 seconds | 15–60 seconds | 8GB+ | Medical information, field health |
Disclaimer: Your times might differ but should be close to these. These were averages from hundreds of tests on dozens of computers.
For detailed performance expectations based on your hardware, see What to Expect.
🏆 Why Gemma Won (and Why It's All We Include)
Pros:
- Consistent high accuracy in reasoning and survival scenarios
- Step-by-step explanations with adaptable strategies
- Handles tricky or adversarial prompts without breaking
- Works fully offline across all model sizes
- Vision capabilities for analyzing images in the field
- Knowledge current through August 2024
- Optimized for USB drive deployment
The Reality:
- Sometimes verbose (but thorough is better than wrong)
- Requires patience for larger models
- Not as fast as cloud AI (but works anywhere)
- The 4B model, while quickest, is the smallest. Complex questions should be verified with one of the larger models.
For realistic expectations about performance, see What to Expect →
Transparent Approach
We made our testing framework available to show exactly how we evaluated these models. No black box. No marketing hype.
These are our actual Google Docs with testing framework and unedited results from all individual tests. This doesn't include our real-world field testing, which was done in actual and scripted survival situations.
View Model Benchmark Research Docs →Explore More
Dive deeper into how the OffGrid AI Toolkit was built and tested.
Our Testing Process · Prompt Testing · How It Works · Use Cases
Own the Only AI That Works Anywhere.
From deserts to data centers, intelligence that works anywhere — private, powerful, and off-grid.
Imagine never worrying about who's watching your searches. Never depending on an internet connection for critical information. Never paying monthly subscriptions to access your own data.
The OffGrid AI Toolkit isn't just a product — it's a declaration of independence. It's choosing self-reliance over dependency. Privacy over surveillance. Ownership over rental.