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Helinox Tactical Field Office Review: Great In Theory, Questionable in Practice

This itty-bitty workstation had everything I wanted … just in the wrong size.

helinox tactical field office Scott Seiver

By Hayley Helms

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Back in the spring of 2023, a new product launched that immediately piqued my interest: the Helinox Tactical Field Office. It was described as the ultimate outdoor workstation, and certainly looked the part. I spend as much of my time outdoors as I can, but there’s no getting around my eight-hour workday revolving around the need for a desk; until Helinox dropped this tactical answer to my dilemma, I had resigned myself to being trapped indoors for most of my workday.

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So, I decided to test this field station out firsthand — and see just how well working outdoors works with this rugged workspace.

The Helinox Tactical Field Office: What We Think

The Tactical Field Office is made from rugged materials that can hold their own in the wild, its aluminum frame is both lightweight and strong, and it has ample storage — but there’s no getting around the fact that for most of us, this thing is just too small to be useful.

I wanted Helinox’s outdoor workstation to work for me, but I couldn’t get comfortable with the 16-inch high set-up. I appreciated the thought, though — and if Helinox comes out with an adult-sized version instead of a fun-sized one, I’ll be sure to give it a try

Pros

  • Rugged and durable materials
  • Very light

Cons

  • Too small for most adults

The fabric doesn’t fade easily in the sunlight

helinox tactical field office
At less than five pounds, the Tactical Field Office is easy to move around — for instance, I moved mine to follow the shade of this giant pine.
Scott Seiver

I’ve had the Tactical Field Office set up for over three weeks, and the fabric is as deeply black as the day I unpacked it. Aside from a few pine needles coating it (we have a giant 100 year-old pine in the front yard) it looks brand new. The ballistic nylon —available in black or camo — is rugged and durable. Additionally, the aluminum frame is lightweight at under five pounds, and is easy to move around if you want to follow the shade (or find shelter from the elements).

It’s certainly “tactical” … but also tiny

helinox field office
The idea and organization of the outdoor desk is on track, but the size is too small. I could barely fit my Macbook and iPhone on the desk at the same time, let alone a notebook or drink.
Scott Seiver

The desk is really, really small. When looking at the photo on its product page, myself and two other editors I asked thought it looked to be 2-3 feet high. Nay — this thing measures in at 16 inches tall. I can’t even get my knees underneath it, so I’ve alternated between splaying them awkwardly or putting them to the side like I’m riding side-saddle. Either way — not ideal.

I’m only 5’4”, so I’m curious how taller folks are getting by using this. I’ve read the reviews on Helinox’s site, and so far no one else seems to be having an issue, but I have not found that working at this thing to be comfortable at all — which is a bummer, considering how cool it is in theory. The silver lining is that it is the perfect size for my nine-year-old son, who will be using it on many upcoming camping trips.

Set-up is confusing, even with instructions

For the life of me, I could not figure out how to get the desk to stand up on its own for the first 10 minutes of set-up. (For perspective, set-up shouldn’t even take more than two minutes if you know what to look for.)

After resigning myself to the sad fact that I would never get to work outside at my own personal tactical workstation due to my own ineptitude, I decided to Google how to set this thing up and see if someone smarter on the internet had discovered its secrets. That’s when I discovered the secret pocket that contains the table legs required to keep the desk upright. Once I found those, it was easy to snap them into place and get to work.

The overall design is thoughtful — it’s just the wrong size

I really liked the Tactical Field Office, and imagine I’d like it even more if I could sit at it comfortably. If Helinox comes out with an adult-sized version, I’m all in. Until then, I’m going to try and find a shorter chair, or a nice puffy cushion, that I can use with the existing dimensions. And like I said — if that doesn’t work, there’s a lucky-nine year-old that gets to snag this from me.

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