Clek Oobr Review – Is This the Safest Booster Seat Out There?

clek oobr review

If you’re looking for a safe booster seat for your child, our Clek Oobr review may be able to help.

When it comes to car seats, parents aren’t willing to compromise on safety. If the worst should happen and you experience a collision, a decent car seat can make a huge difference. But what happens when your child gets a little older – and is therefore too big for an infant car seat?

A booster seat is what you want, and a convertible booster seat that grows with your child is even better, as they tend to be a good value for money. The Oobr, by Clek, is a good option here – but is it worth it? We’ll take a look at what the Oobr is, before looking into each feature, its pros and cons, and specifications, so you can decide if it’s the right booster seat for your family.

Clek Oobr Booster Seat: What Do We Think?

The Clek Oobr is definitely one of the best booster car seats when it comes to safety, which is always the number one priority. The Clek Oobr exceeds all safety standards for booster seats in North America and their company is dedicated to improving their technology by the day. You can't go wrong with this one...

Buy Now
We earn a commission if you click this link and make a purchase at no additional cost to you.

What is the Clek Oobr?

The Clek Oobr is a booster seat with two modes: high back (for younger children) or backless (for older children). It can be easily converted as your child grows, with an adjustable headrest for taller kids. Designed to be used from the age of four, it’s an excellent choice when it comes to keeping your child safe in your vehicle. That’s because Clek, a Canadian company, is hyper-focused on safety.

Taking inspiration from European safety standards, they have engineered their car seats to be as safe as possible, with advanced safety features, adhering to best practices in North America. Check out another great one from them – the Clek Foonf.

They’re also a good company to buy from in terms of giving back – they support kid-focused organizations, giving their employees paid time off to volunteer with a charity of their choice. Plus, they have a recycling program for their old car seats – so there’s no need to send them to landfills.

The Oobr comes in a variety of colors and patterns and fits in a wide range of cars.

It uses the LATCH system to attach to your vehicle’s seat anchors. If your vehicle doesn’t have these, however, it can still be used with your seat belts. The great thing about the Oobr is that it’s also designed to be easy to spot-clean. This is good, as you can’t remove the cover to be washed separately.

Here’s a quick bullet-point list of what you can expect from the Oobr:

  • High-back booster that can be converted to a backless booster
  • For children at a minimum age of 4
  • Strong frame designed to be as impact resistant as possible
  • Stain-resistant materials used
  • Padded removable cushion and padded adjustable headrest
  • Includes cup holder for your child’s drink
  • Can be reclined if your child would like a nap

Let’s take a look at all of these features in more detail.

Design and Comfort

The Clek Oobr looks like a pretty standard car seat in terms of shape. It doesn’t have a particularly modern or stylish look to it, but for obvious reasons, the frame is shaped to be as safe as possible.

The Oobr comes in a variety of colors and patterns. You can choose from the following materials for the cover:

  • Jersey Knit – this is designed to be like a soft pair of pajamas, so it’s very comfortable.
  • C-Zero Plus Performance – This is Greengard Gold certified (meaning it meets rigorous standards for chemical emissions) and provides a bit of resistance to bacteria and water-based stains. If you want an easy-to-clean option, this might be the one to go for.
  • Premium C-Zero Plus – this is designed to be smooth (they describe it as ‘like a freshly pressed suit’).
  • Mammoth Collection – made using 100% Merino wool (which is ethically sourced), with no flame retardants. This is a great natural, biodegradable option.

It’s designed to be comfortable, too. It has a reclining seatback which helps to keep your child comfortable if you want them to have a nap. It’s designed to recline whilst keeping your child completely safe, and it can be reclined easily just by pulling a handle.

The headrest is adjustable as your child grows, and it has padded side bolters so they can rest comfortably. The removable seat cushion can be hand-washed, too, which is a real bonus when your child gets to the potty-training stage.

Reviewers have pointed out it’s not the most comfortable seat for taller kids – once the headrest is fully elevated, it doesn’t leave a huge amount of cushioning in the right place for the upper back of a taller child, and the depth of the seat isn’t quite enough for kids with longer legs.

It has a removable cup holder that can go through the dishwasher to be cleaned. It can also be recycled using Clek’s recycling program when it reaches the end of use.

Clek Oobr Booster Seat: What Do We Think?

The Clek Oobr is definitely one of the best booster car seats when it comes to safety, which is always the number one priority. The Clek Oobr exceeds all safety standards for booster seats in North America and their company is dedicated to improving their technology by the day. You can't go wrong with this one...

Buy Now
We earn a commission if you click this link and make a purchase at no additional cost to you.

Safety Features of the Clek Oobr

As with any car seat, the main focus here is on safety, and the Oobr is excellent in that regard. It has what it calls an ‘Elemental Safety System’. This consists of five safety elements.

The first is the seat frame. Made from magnesium, its shape is designed to contain the torso during a side-impact collision and to protect against vehicle intrusion.

They also have a structural headrest with deep side wings. This means that the headrest (connected to the mainframe using steel rods) reduces twisting movements, improving head protection in a collision.

There is an energy-absorbing foam layer. This means that fewer forces will be directly transferred to the child in the case of a collision. The belt guides help to position the seat belt safely over your child’s shoulders and hips, and the rigid-LATCH system locks the booster seat part of the car seat into place securely.

The whole seat raises your child around 4 inches to improve the fit of the seat belt around their shoulder. The booster seat locks into place with an audible clicking sound, too. This helps you to be totally sure that it is attached correctly.

It meets all Canadian Motor Vehicle Safety Standards as well as Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards. It has a 9-year expiration. You couldn’t really ask for more in terms of safety features – it is a great choice from that perspective.

Ease of Use

The question is, how easy is it to install in your car? It’s a fairly heavy car seat. This is fine if you plan to keep it in your car, but if you have to switch it between vehicles often, you might find it to be a bit of a pain. The weight is down to the frame materials, which are designed to be safe and sturdy, but it does mean it’s not the easiest to move around.

It arrives in separate pieces and must be attached together if you want to use it as a high-backed booster. This involves tilting the back portion away from the base and snapping the bottom portion into place one side at a time.

To convert it back, it’s pretty simple – you pull a small strap on the left of the back of the seat to release it. The headrest is pretty straightforward to adjust, too – just push a button at the bottom and pull it up into position. If your vehicle has anchors, it could work really well with the Oobr. It has lower anchors to secure it into place, steadying it to make it easier for children to climb in and out without accidentally dislodging it.

Attaching the anchors involves pulling a handle on the front of the seat, lowering the anchor connectors. You can then push the connectors to the lower anchors in your vehicle. (If you have the option of doing this, you should keep the anchors connected at all times even if your child isn’t currently using it – this prevents it from becoming a projectile in the case of a collision).

If your vehicle doesn’t have lower anchors, you can ignore the anchors on the Oobr, and instead thread the seat belt through the belt guides.

This is the tricky, fiddly part that some parents have had issues with. It can be quite hard to pull the seat belt through the guides, and some parents found it got stuck at times when trying to install it.

This is another reason you might want to leave it in place in your vehicle once it is correctly installed. It can also be tricky to buckle for kids who want to do it themselves, which is a bit of a shame.

Reviews and Awards

The Oobr has been rated a ‘Best Bet’ for ten consecutive years by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (high back mode only).

Reviews are very positive. Parents praise the Oobr for comfort and safety, as well as the stain-resistant option for seat materials. It’s not the most portable car seat, as we’ve mentioned, so it’s not great to take with you as carry-on or check-in luggage if you want to take it on vacation. However, many parents commend the durability and safety of this car seat.

Clek Oobr Pros and Cons

Pros

  • Designed to be as safe as possible using great quality materials
  • Voted ‘Best Bet’ by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety for ten consecutive years
  • Comes in a variety of fabric types and colors
  • Drink attachment can be washed in a dishwasher
  • The reclining function is easy to use
  • Pretty comfortable for most kids

Cons

  • Not that easy to install
  • Heavy – so not easy to switch from one vehicle to another
  • Not the most comfortable for taller kids
  • Some kids may struggle to buckle it themselves

Specifications

Here are the basic things you need to know about the Oobr:

  • Height Range: 38-57in
  • Weight Range: 40-100lb
  • Minimum Age: 4+ Years
  • Weight: 20lbs
  • Size: 16 x 17 x 28in (Fullback Mode)

FAQs

Question: Can I use the Oobr on an airplane?

Answer: No – it’s not approved for use on an aircraft (like all booster seats). This is because airplanes have lap belts as opposed to shoulder and lap belts, so it can’t be attached safely.

Question: Can I buy accessories for the Oobr?

Answer: Yes, you can buy the following:
Fabric Cleaning Kit – this includes Crypton Cleaning Fluid and works well on any water-cleanable fabrics (including the Mammoth fabric we mentioned earlier). It removes grease, grass, crayons, and more. It doesn’t contain any bleach or harsh chemicals.
Mat-Thingy – this is a non-slip car seat protector designed to be used with Clek car seats and booster seats. It protects the seat of your car from compression damage, spills, and mess.
Weelee – this is a universal car-seat travel bag which enables you to transport car seats without having to lift them. It has two wheels, a telescoping handle, padding, and a luggage ID tag. It also folds flat for storage when not in use.
Drink-Thingy – this is the same cup holder that comes with the Oobr, so if yours breaks or gets lost, you can get a replacement.

Question: Has there ever been any recalls for the Oobr?

Answer: There have been no recalls for the Clek Oobr.

Question: Where can I find the expiration date for my car seat?

Answer: You can find it on the base of the car seat – this is usually the case for most car seats. You can also find the date of manufacture and serial number there.

Question: Can I use the Oobr with inflatable car seats?

Answer: According to Clek’s customer support, they have completed testing and approved the use of the Oobr with Ford inflatable belt technology, but not the inflatable belts found in Mercedes vehicles.

Question: Can I keep using the Oobr even if my child’s head is higher than the headrest?

Answer: Yes, but the tops of the child’s ears must be below the top of the seat’s headrest – any taller and your child will be too large to use the booster seat in fullback mode.

Question: How can I tell if my child is in the right position in the Oobr?

Answer: Clek have a visual guide to checking your child’s position here. If you are worried, you can go to a child passenger safety technician in your area to have them check the installation for you – click here to search for a technician close to you.

Question: Are the covers removable?

Answer: No, the car seat covers are not removable. The seat cushion is removable and can be hand washed.

Conclusion

Is the Oobr the safest booster seat out there? That’s a hard question to answer for sure. Absolutely, it is one of the safest options out there – it exceeds all safety standards for booster seats in North America, and you can tell that the company is dedicated to improving car seat technology. In terms of safety, you can’t really go wrong here – it should give you the peace of mind you need.

However, there are some drawbacks to the Oobr. The weight and difficulty of the installation may put some people off, especially if you’re having to swap the booster seats between cars. If you have to lend your booster seat to relatives or friends who want to drive your child around, you may well be put off by this. You may also be keen to look elsewhere if you have a very tall child, as there may be more comfortable options out there (like the Graco Turbobooster we mentioned above – that’s a great choice for tall kids).

The Oobr is best suited to families who want to keep their booster seats attached most of the time, to avoid the hassle of taking it in and out again. With stain-resistant fabrics, the detachable cup holder, and reclining function, it’s a great, and very safe, booster seat. Plus, you can recycle it once it reaches its expiration date, which is a great bonus.

Clek Oobr Booster Seat: What Do We Think?

The Clek Oobr is definitely one of the best booster car seats when it comes to safety, which is always the number one priority. The Clek Oobr exceeds all safety standards for booster seats in North America and their company is dedicated to improving their technology by the day. You can't go wrong with this one...

Buy Now
We earn a commission if you click this link and make a purchase at no additional cost to you.

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *