Clek Foonf Mini Review

Bella Vie had the privilege of meeting with Chris from Clek and learning all about the Foonf.  I have been excited about this seat for quite some time, but “meeting” it in person has put my excitement over the top.  It appeals to not only the baby gear junkie in me but the CPST and child passenger safety advocate in me is jumping up and down with excitement.

Meet the Foonf!

 

Foonf is a convertible seat suitable for children who are at least 14 lbs, 6 months and have good head control through school age.  The lowest harness setting is 10.5″ and the highest setting is 17.5″ meaning this seat will get most kids to booster maturity.  This seat will rear face to 45 lbs and forward face to 65 lbs.  The Foonf is fabulously narrow and does not take up much room front to back when rear facing, making it a great choice for many vehicles, even those without huge back seats.

 

 

Foonf rear facing in a 2002 Jeep Liberty next to a rear facing Combi Coccoro.  We could have fit 3 across without a problem.

 

 

Foonf rear facing and fully reclined.  All 3 recline positions may be used in rear facing mode.  The Foonf was lightly touching the front seat but was not braced against it.

 

 

Rear facing in the most upright position.

 

 

Here you can see how much space was between the Foonf and the front seat.  The seat was not all the way back but was at a comfortable setting for someone that is 5′ 8″-5′ 10″. I can see this seat fitting easily in tight back seats in rear facing mode.

The Foonf has an anti-rebound bar that is not required to be used in rear facing mode and it also allows rear facing tethering for rebound management.

I am very excited about rear facing mode because it will allow parents to keep even big kids rear facing to age 2 which is the age that experts agree is the bare minimum for safe forward facing.  The longer you can keep your child rear facing, the better.  Currently in North America, 45 lbs is the maximum rear facing weight available in a car seat.

 

Here is the Foonf in forward facing mode.  The Foonf features rigid LATCH which provides extra side impact protection as well as making LATCH installs very simple.  With this seat, Clek is introducing the REACT – Rapid Energy-Absorbing Crumple Technology.  REACT takes the forces of a crash and directs them in to an energy absorbing honeycomb cartridge in the base of the seat and away from your child.    Clek says that this reduces the forces transmitted to a forward facing child by 40%.

The seat features lockoffs for both forward facing and rear facing modes.  Forward facing lockoffs which are red can be seen here.  The rear facing belt path and lockoffs are below the seat cushion.  The cushion comes out completely to allow complete access to the belt path for easier installations.

The removable seat cushion has thick padding that looks comfortable.   The seat looks as though it might be hard but it is quite padded.  The cover is made from fabric treated with Crypton which provides permanent protection from stains, moisture, and bacteria.  Four solid colors will be available in addition to three Paul Frank designs.

For more information on the Foonf and to see cover designs, visit Clek’s website.  The Foonf is scheduled for release in July 2012 and is currently available to pre-order.  Thank you very much to Chris from Clek for the demonstration and for patiently answering all of our questions and special thanks to Baby’s 1st Furniture for hosting.

Comments

  1. jessica ciannello says

    when will the foonf be available for purchase???

  2. I want to share my Foonf disappointment. We just picked ours up and have an issue with it, which according to the rude people at Clek, is normal.

    As an aside, we prepaid for our Foonf and waited for nearly 6 months. Clek barely apologized for that. When we finally received seat – we set it up on our dining room floor. Clicked in the headrest (comes separate in the box) and discovered that it was “moving” – specifically on one side. It just wasn’t firm in place – as one would expect. Think of the headrest in your car; steel posts go into plastic circles in the upholstery; the circle(s) has/ have a little button that you need to press to adjust the height. Foonf is the same. On the side with the button – it locked in firm, while on the other side (circle/ no button) there is about .5 to 1 cm movement when you pull on it. It just didn’t seem right to us.

    We looked through the manual to see if there are any tips/ troubleshooting notes. Nothing helpful. We then called Clek the following morning. The customer service was sub par. The rep was rude, short, and condescending. She explained that the headrest had a “master and slave” mechanism (her exact words) – where only the master (the one side) locks in – and the slave side is only guided and held in place by the master. Therefore – movement is normal. The Clek rep said “it’s not going to go anywhere” and “it was tested”. The slave side has notches – but they’re not as deep as on the master side – and don’t click in.

    Interesting – and disappointing at the same time. I expected more.

    We called our store too – they’re holding another seat for us. They don’t have one on display so we couldn’t compare. We then called another store that we knew had a Foonf on display – they were the most helpful and told us that they wondered about the same thing when setting up the seat. They too were told it was normal. The salesperson told us that it had something to do with the crumbling technology.

    I’m disappointed; with the service and with the seat; with the lack of assurance… And yes – it bothers me that the post is not firmly in. To me, it makes it seem less safe.

  3. You state that the foonf can be reclined to all 3 positions when rear faced, everywhere else I’m reading only 2 positions can be used and not the upright most position. Are you sure this is correct?

  4. Actually, only position 2 and 3 can be used rear facing.