This 7 year old normally rides in the Clek Oobr
My daughter rode in a harnessed car seat until right around her seventh birthday. Once she’d outgrown all of her harnessed seats by height, the best option for her became a high-backed booster.
CSFTL Quick Stats
- Weight range: 40-120 pounds
- Height range: 40-57 inches tall
- Expiration: 9 years
Features
- Rigid lower anchor connectors
- No numb bum comfort cube design
- Metal substructure
- Crypton fabrics provide stain, moisture and bacteria resistance
Measurements
- Internal width: 13 inches
- Seat pan depth: 13 inches
Carpooling Essentials
- Easy to set up without (very much or any) adult assistance. Setting up the RIGID Latch requires a little extra assistance but carpoolers who just set the booster on the vehicle seat had few issues.
- Easy to carry
- Consistent belt fit
I researched many, many booster options and the Clek Oobr was a great choice for her. She loves how comfortable it is and we love how the headrest keeps her head (and thus, her seat belt) in the proper location, even when she’s asleep. She learned how to buckle herself in, then sit properly for the entire trip. For everyday use, a high back booster is the right choice for her since it’s got the back and side wings to remind her to stay put. However, at 22 pounds, the Oobr is kind of heavy and not ideal for carpooling. So we needed another option for those unexpected trips with friends or for when we travel.
Clek Olli on the go!
That’s where the Olli comes in. Weighing in at just 5 pounds, it features the Comfort-cube, which is composed of:
– Metal Substructure provides stability to keep your child in a comfortable and safe position
– Expanded polypropylene base delivers energy-absorbing capability to reduce the impact of those big bumps in the road
– Molded polyurethane foam pad maintains its comfy shape for years of cushy feel
For the full dimensions of this seat, check out Clek’s website.
All of the features of the Olli translate to my daughter saying “it’s really, really comfy!” even after long rides. The included cup holder also makes her happy — in her case, it’s better suited for holding little flowers than cups. Also available for the Olli is the strap-thingy, which clicks into the rigid LATCH connectors when the seat isn’t in use and lets her carry it like a purse. This also pleases her.
From the driver’s seat, I am pleased with the belt fit — in my car’s second row, the shoulder belt lays nicely across the middle of her shoulder and the lap belt is positioned across the top of her thighs.
Clek Foonf and Olli, together at last
Plus, it matches her little sister’s Clek Foonf. Her little sister is 4 years, 2 months old, and still well within the rear-facing height and weight limits of the Foonf. CSFTL reviewed the Foonf last fall.
The belt fit and the portability of the Olli make it an excellent choice for travel. We’ve carried the Olli onto the plane — it stores in the overhead compartment while we’re on board. Once we arrived, we just plopped (her word) the Olli onto the seat of my rental car, clicked in the rigid LATCH, and we were ready to go.
 The Olli is a great place for a sing along. |  It’s also a great place to roll your eyes at your Mom. |
To install the Olli, you can either just plop it onto the seat and not use the rigid LATCH, or you can click the LATCH connectors into place. They release via the world’s cutest little strap.
Click the rigid LATCH connectors into place on the Clek Olli
To remove the Olli, just pull this cute release strap to release the LATCH connectors
The only challenge in travelling with the Olli was when my daughter carried the Olli using the strap-thingy down the aisle of the plane. The Olli flopped around and scared some of our fellow travelers. Now we know and she carries it down the plane’s aisle by the a handle instead or she hands it to a grownup.
Check out this large gap created between the seat bight and the Clek Olli
For seating positions that have lower LATCH anchors, the Olli provides a consistently good belt fit for my daughter. In some seating positions in some cars without lower LATCH anchors, the Olli doesn’t sit flush with the back of the seat. For example, in the third row of Mazda 5, which has some interesting seat belt geometry that challenges booster fit and car seat installations alike. The gap this creates can put the seat belt kind of far forward for a good belt fit on my kiddo.
Clek Olli, Mazda 5 third row
We asked the manufacturer about this gap and they said “We instruct to tuck them in to the vehicle seat bight, but in cases where the (seat) bight is raised or it’s not possible to do that, it’s fine to have them positioned the way you describe – provided that there is still a good seat belt fit on the child.”
We weren’t entirely comfortable with this gap in this seating location for this particular model. This wasn’t surprising since the Mazda 5’s third row is pretty tough to fit for booster riders.
Pros
Ready to go with the Clek Olli!
- The Olli is lightweight enough that a second-grader can carry it herself
- Comfort-cube keeps her bum from getting numb
- Strap-thingy allows her to carry it herself
- Great belt fit in most seating positions
- Also comfortable for sitting on the front porch
- You can switch out the jacket
Cons
- Armrests are a little unwieldy when carrying the Olli down the aisle of the plane. We had better luck with the grownup carrying the seat than the kiddo.
- It doesn’t work well in every seating position.
- Seats without lower LATCH anchors can create a gap between the back of the Olli and the car’s seat in some cars
Clek Olli- Tommy, is 8 years old, 80 pounds and 4 feet 9 inches tall.
At CSFTL, we appreciate that the minimum age for the Olli is 4, but that Clek encourages older children to use it, “Olli is an award-winning belt-positioning backless booster. It says to your 6-12 year old that it’s still cool to be safe in the car.”
My daughter couldn’t agree more!
Here’s our Huggable Images doll, Tommy, displaying how the Olli is a good fit for him as well. He’s designed to simulate an 8 year old modelwho weighs 80 pounds and is 4 feet, 9 inches tall.
Clek Ozzi, sibling seat to the Olli.
Clek also offers the Ozzi, which is a more basic, lower-priced version of the Olli. It only comes in black, does not have padded armrests, and does not include a strap-thingy, drink thingy, Crypton fabric, or the front release strap for the LATCH anchors. It does have the Rigid LATCH we love, as well as the comfort cube design.
This model is 8.5 yrs, 100pounds, 50 inches tall. He also fits nicely in the Olli!
Clek was generous enough to provide the Olli used in this review, CSFTL was not otherwise compensated. Opinions, as always, are ours alone.
