Clek Foonf Review

Safest Convertible Car Seat | Nice-Looking | Extended Rear-Facing (50lbs) | Supports Three Across

Clek says it best: “we makes tanks, not recliners.” The Clek Foonf is the safest convertible car seat on the market today, with all the important safety bells and whistles. Their seats look really nice too, and they are reasonably comfortable (though not as cushy as the Nuna Rava or the Peg Perego Primo Viaggio). The Foonf has a narrow profile, allowing for a three-across fit (three car seats in one back seat row), but on the downside, this car seat is extremely heavy, somewhat complicated to install, and somewhat complicated to adjust as baby grows.

Things We Love

Insanely Safe + Anti-Rebound Bar: The Clek Foonf has all the bells and whistles when it comes to safety, including an anti-rebound bar, side impact protection, energy absorbing EPP foam, and a steel/magnesium frame. Additionally, Clek designed the REACT safety system (Rigid-Latch Energy Absorbing Crumple Technology), which is very similar to vehicle crumple zone technology and protects kids who are old/large enough to be forward-facing.
Good Looks: The Clek Foonf is a nice-looking convertible car seat that looks best in Shadow, Ink, Thunder, and Slate.
Rear-Facing Until 50 Pounds: The Foonf comfortably supports rear-facing until a whopping 50lbs, which is around year four of a child’s life. The fact is, the longer a child can rear-face, the safer they’ll be in the event of a collision. Even once a toddler/small child’s legs are scrunched up against the back seat, it is still significantly safer to ride rear-facing than forward-facing. (Cue to 1:30 in this kind of disturbing video to learn more.)
Easy Recline: The Foonf features 3-position recline with the push of a button on its attached base.
Supports Three Across: At only 17 inches wide, the Clek Foonf allows you to install three car seats in your car’s back row.
Newborn Compatible: The Clek Foonf is suitable for babies five pounds and up using the infant insert (officially called the “Infant-Thingy”), which is sold separately for $69.99.

Things We Don't Love As Much

Rethread Harness: The harness must be rethreaded as your baby grows. This is kind of a pain, but thankfully, not something you have to do very often.
Heavy: At 32 pounds (or a whopping 36 pounds with the anti-rebound bar), the Foonf is not a car seat you want to be moving from car to car with any sort of frequency. Most people rarely move their convertible car seats from car to car, so weight is really not much of an issue.
So/So Install: The Clek Foonf install is neither overly complicated nor ridiculously simple. It can be installed with either LATCH or a seat belt. The part that’s not so great is that you have to remove the seat pad and unthread the crotch strap to access the LATCH/belt lock offs. The lock offs themselves are a little bit annoying to operate, but like anything, are something you’ll get the hang of with enough practice.
“We Make Tanks, Not Recliners”: A famous Clek quote, this is the truth. Clek seats are insanely safe, built to withstand some pretty crazy crash scenarios, but they are not plush. There are no cup holders, and while the seat is both nice-looking and functional, it is not overly soft or cozy.
Confusing Newborn “Infant-Thingy” Insert: Installing and using the infant insert is not terribly straightforward. You must remove the car seat’s main headrest and one rule that is typically a big one in car seat land– that the shoulder harness should never be above the child’s shoulders, only at or below them– is deemed and proven to be safe, acceptable, and the only way to do it with the Foonf infant insert. Clek has tested it.