Brands

Canada-based Clek is a newcomer to the world of infant products, launching in 2012 with the Clek Foonf. They are a company based on the idea that car seats should employ the latest and greatest safety technologies from around the world, using innovative materials and car seat innovations from around the world. For that reason, Clek car seats are considered some of the safest in the world, with exceptional crash test results that far exceed current requirements and standards.

The Clek Foonf was an immediate hit, but it's also an extremely heavy car seat. In an effort to make a lighter, more affordable car seat, the company introduced the Clek Fllo.

Clek Fllo vs. Clek Foonf convertible car seat

The Foonf is Clek's original and most famous car seat, and the first car seat to use pioneering automotive safety features like honeycomb crumple zones, along with car seat safety technologies used in Europe, like mandatory anti-rebound bars. The Clek Fllo was launched a few years later, as a lighter alternative with a more approachable price tag.

Both car seats offer high-tech safety features, advanced fabrics, and a slim footprint, at just 17 inches wide. They are both backed by Clek's excellent warranty and recycling program, and all Clek carseats pass stricter European crash tests as well as the North American standards. They both fit children in the exact same height and weight ranges, which means the differences can be summed up in two categories:

Installation

The Clek Foonf has a European-style Rigid LATCH installation system, using steel connectors built into the seat, rather than the flexible belt systems of American LATCH systems. This makes the car seat more integrated with the vehicle, preventing rotation and more effectively channeling impact energy.

It also makes the car seat easier to install (although many parents find both of these car seats difficult to install, and it's a common complaint about Clek cars eats). The Clek Fllo has a traditional, flexible LATCH installation system.

Construction

The Foonf has an integrated base, that gives the car seat two rear-facing recline angles and one forward-facing recline angle. The Fllo has a flip-out foot that sets a single angle for the seat in both installation modes. The Foonf requires the anti-rebound bar in the rear-facing installation, while it is optional on the Fllo. This means that the Foonf, with its steel attachment system, reclining base, and mandatory anti-rebound bar, weighs a whopping 33 pounds (38 pounds with the anti-rebound bar installed), while the Fllo weighs 25 (or 28 with the optional bar installed).

Both car seats are tested at levels that exceed federal safety standards, and are considered to be among the very safest car seats available. By its very nature as a heavier car seat with steel attachments, the Foonf performs better on crash tests, but only by 5-10%, and the Fllo still performs very well on these tests.

Since both car seats are rated for children of the exact same size and weight, both are extremely safe, and both have very similar advantages and drawbacks, the Fllo, at 8 pounds lighter and offered at a more affordable price, seems like the natural choice.

Conclusion

Be warned, however, the belt-positioning feature is not labeled and difficult to use. There are no levels of built-in recline available. Instead, a printed/molded line is present on the restraint that must be leveled to the ground.

Despite having no adjustable recline and being heavier than other seas, the Clek Fllo has an overall rating of 8.1 because of its superior build and quality. Another factor in its favor is the Fllo’s Aluminum Honeycomb Safety System, constructed to reduce the forces transferred to a forward-facing child in a crash.