Clek previews the Foonf

Behind closed doors, Clek was offering retailers and media at the ABC Show a sneak peek of their upcoming convertible car seat, the Foonf.

In short, this seat is amazing. It is a game changer. It is also going to be expensive (starting at $450). But the technology that’s inside the Foonf well justifies the cost.

I wasn’t allowed to take any pictures of the Foonf, and I’m not sure I’ll really be able to do the design justice with words alone. The profile of this seat looks dramatically different than other convertible seats. It’s so clean and sleek. The seat fabric is the same Cryptonite fabric Clek uses on the Oobr booster seat. The seat itself is narrower even than the Radian car seats, but the inside dimensions are an inch wider than the Britax Advocate.

The innards of the seat are the real innovation, though. The Foonf uses the same sort of magnesium frame as the Oobr. Magnesium is a metal that is both lightweight and strong. It will be one of the only seats in the US to use rigid LATCH connectors for the forward-facing installation (rigid LATCH is the easiest, most foolproof way to install a car seat, bar none). There are built-in lockoffs for both rear- and forward-facing installation. Deep in the belly of the seat lies a patented energy absorption system that is designed to slow down the seat dramatically in a crash.

Because the Foonf isn’t ready to launch yet, some thing are still up in the air. Weight and height limits are not finalized yet, but we were told the rear-facing limit will likely be 40 pounds while the forward-facing limit should be around 65 pounds.

For rear-facing installation the Foonf will use flexible LATCH connectors and a snap-in anti-rebound bar.

The Foonf will not be recommended for newborn babies. The minimum age will be 6 months and 15 pounds (the baby needs to be able to hold her head upright).

We will keep sharing information as it becomes available. We expect to begin taking pre-orders for the Foonf before the end of the year.

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