Clek Fllo Review

The Clek company is headquartered in Canada. They work to produce products that are innovative and safe while remaining stylish. They offer infant, convertible, and booster safety seats.

Performance Comparison

Crash Test

The Fllo earned a crash test analysis score that is slightly above average for the group. All options in this review are considered safe and should meet federal guidelines. Our testing is somewhat hotter than the guidelines, and we expect some seats to fall below the average, so it is respectable that it came in above the average. It is the better of the two Clek options we tested in this metric.

The Fllo has a lower result for the HIC (head) sensor and an average result for the chest clip. These sensor results are the G-forces the crash test dummy sensors recorded, so lower is better (fewer).

Despite this average overall result, parents should also consider that installing the seat correctly can impact safety, and our difficulties with installation on this seat give us pause. There are seats in this review with better scores in both metrics.

Ease of Install - LATCH

This is one of the hardest seats to install using LATCH in this group. With so many troubles, our tester was very frustrated. The Fllo has push-style LATCH connectors with a line decal on one side and a lock-off. The recline adjustment is a foot style with one different level, and we suspect many cars will require a towel to get the right angle since the variation level is so limited. Adding towels is not ideal, given the seat length, making the process more cumbersome. The combined analysis of these results is a metric score that is better than the average in the test group. While it isn't a standout seat,

Once you have the towels and angle adjustment, the connectors thread under the seat. You have to remove the seat bottom entirely to keep it out of the way, and we wish it were hinged like those on the Britax ClickTight seats. This seat has Spanish instructions on one side, which could be the side you are looking at during installation, depending on your chosen vehicle space. While we like multiple languages being offered, putting different languages on different sides is not the best decision. We recommend keeping the handle nearby. The towels can block the LATCH anchors on the car, making installation more challenging than it would be without the towels.

The manual and the company website have contradicting instructions, with one saying to use one lock-off and the other saying to use both. This is a frustrating experience, and we think parents will be left wondering what to do, just like we did. We struggled to get the LATCH strap tight enough, but the lock-offs worked well to keep the seat secure on the strap. The whole experience would be easier if there were a tensioner or a lock-off that works as a tensioner. It passes the wiggle test, but we can feel the towels shifting and would prefer something tighter.

We struggled with this seat for so many small reasons that made using it frustrating. Overall, we suspect this will be the case no matter your vehicle. It was a standout negatively, thanks to the collection of little things we struggled with. The seat is long from front to back, and manipulating it was hard.

Forward-facing installation of the Fllo uses the belt pathway through the back of the seat, and the same flexible strap pushes LATCH connectors. There is red color coding to help you stay on the right track, but threading and pulling the strap was not intuitive. The installation angle is awkward and makes tightening the strap harder with spots of friction and drag in the pathway. Tightening troubles made getting a tight and stable car seat installation harder. The tightening trouble and final wiggle make it a seat we don't like as much as most of the competition.

Ease of Install - Belt

It did not fare much better using the vehicle belt, with one of the lowest scores in the group for this test metric.

There is a line decal for rear-facing installation to ensure the seat is level. There is no colo-coding on the pathway for the vehicle belt, but there is a belt lock-off. To initiate, you pull away the padding to get it out of the way. We used one to two towels (car dependent) to align the seat properly using the line decal. The manufacturer manual and their YouTube video for installation do not offer the same instructions, with one instructing you to use two lock-offs and the other saying only one.

Securing both is twice the work, so it would be nice to know if it is necessary or why the ambiguity exists. It is a longer-than-average seat in this review, and we suspect it will be hard to fit in some smaller cars or with taller front-seat passengers. The lock-offs are pretty good, but it felt like they might break because the design is flimsy plastic clamps, and we had difficulty getting the last bit of tightness we wanted.

It was hard to get the stability we wanted, and while it passed the wiggle test, we suspect some parents will be left wanting more. There is so much going on with the process, including the padding removal and replacement, crotch buckle threading, and more, that it feels completely overdone compared to much of the competition.

Thanks to the seat's low profile, it is pretty easy to uninstall. First, you disconnect the vehicle belt, pull the padding back to access the pathway, and unthread the belt before replacing the padding.

There is no level indicator for forward-facing installation, but you still have the flimsy clamp lock-offs to help you. Routing the belt is through the open back of the seat, which is easier if you angle the seat toward you while threading. There is some red color coding to help guide you, and the exposed bars make it easy to thread the belt. Again, the lock-off feels like a cheap, flimsy afterthought and could potentially break if not handled with care. Given the location, it is harder to tighten the belt in this position, and we struggled to get a tight fit and stable installation overall. The overall experience left us wishing it was easier and more stable.

Ease of Use

The Fllo is not that easy to use, and it earned a below-average result in this metric compared to the other options in our lineup.

Harness

The buckle on the Fllo is encased in a padded sheath, making it hard to get the strap prongs all the way in. The buckle sits relatively low, and given the limited adjustment span, we worry it could become challenging to use with bigger kids. The prongs cannot be retained in any way, and you will be searching for them under tiny tushies when your child sits down.

The Fllo harness tightens and loosens somewhat better than the average convertible seat we tested. The tightening mechanism is smooth and takes a little force, but it isn't a struggle or significantly challenging. The release mechanism isn't a button but is a pull tab instead, and while it took some getting used to since most seats are buttons, we thought it was more ergonomic.

The Fllo harness height adjustment is the dreaded rethread operation and a challenging one at that. It has five height levels and two positions for the crotch buckle. Rethreading is difficult and requires moving plastic components, and the spaces are small. Given that many higher-scoring, less expensive seats have the easy to non-rethread adjustment, it is a real bummer to have a seat in this price range cause so much trouble. Little ones will need to be out of the seat to make the changes, and some parents might even think it is easier to uninstall the seat from the car.

LATCH Storage

The LATCH storage on the Fllo is only so-so. The location is under the seat, and it took us some time to get the connectors and webbing in far enough to close the seat back up.

Cover

Cover removal on the Fllo is a major concern, given how messy little ones can be. Most of this cover is not removable, and given how messy children are, it feels like a huge concern. Whether you want to frequently launder the cover or just want the option should vomit happen, we hate that this option is only cleanable with a steam cleaner.

Comfort/Quality

The Fllo is not that comfortable and lacks in some aspects we look for concerning quality, and it earned a low score in this metric as a result.

The seating material feels like a rip-stop canvas and is not very smooth. It feels like a choice made for durability instead of comfort. It is rough but not irritating. We wish it was cooler and softer than it is and imagine longer durations with bare legs won't be fun.

The padding on this Clek made us feel that comfort was not the goal. It is unbelievably dense, almost like they forgot to put comfort foam over the impact foam. While it is probably fine at first, the unforgiving nature of the consistency might lead to the grumbling of older toddlers about discomfort. Our tester was definitely not a fan.

The manufacturer brags about it being built like a tank, and we get the toughness they are trying to evoke, but it left us feeling like we wouldn't want to sit in a tank with hard surfaces and little support. We kind of want to sit on a cloud or at least a soft grass. There is EPP foam in the tush and head areas, but that is about all for this seat.

The shell has a small lip on the bottom edge for gunk to collect, and we can see liquid messes dribbling in and moving about to places you can't reach with a sponge or towel. It feels less like a traditional shell and more like components placed over rigid bars. It has no cup holder to clean or search for, and while the price feels like it should have one, we haven't found most holders to be the right size for kids' cups anyway.

Weight/Size

The Fllo is somewhat heavier than the average convertible contender, but it is the most narrow in the group, so depending on your needs, it could be the right fit. With a weight of 26 lbs, where the average is 24.3, it could be somewhat heavy to carry for very long.

With a width of 16.9 inches, it is the most narrow option in the group, making it a favorite amongst parents who need to fit multiple people or seats in a single row. The average width of the convertible seats we tested is 18.6, so the difference between the Fllo and the average seat is significant when mere inches matter.

Should You Buy the Fllo?

We did not care for either Clek convertible seat as neither was easy to install or impressed during crash testing. The Fllo is really hard to install, with one of the lowest scores in this metric, and the cover is not totally removable, which means extra hassle for cleaning up messes (which will happen). While this Clek had a better crash test analysis score than the Clek Foonf, it was enough to impress testers, and the higher price makes it a deal breaker for us; considering the higher price, we don't think you are getting as much as you are paying for.

What Other Convertible Car Seat Should You Consider?

Our favorite convertible seat is the Graco 4Ever DLX. This is a great seat with a lower price than the Clek and a much better crash test analysis result than the competition in our tests. The 4Ever is easier to install than either Clek, and is one of the easier convertible seats to use. If budget is a concern, then the Graco SlimFit 3-in-1 is also one to consider with higher crash test analysis and cheaper price paired with a lighter weight. If you need a narrow seat, the Britax Poplar S is only 17 inches wide compared to the Fllo 16.9 inch width.

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