Baby Travel Gear: The Clek Oobr Booster Seat

**EDITED TO ADD** It has been brought to my attention that Bub is actually not old enough to be in this car seat. We’ll be shopping for an appropriate seat for him ASAP and will move our daughter into this one, as I still think it’s a great booster. Thanks for all the feedback.

We have always traveled with our car seat. And our convertible car seat of choice for travel was the Cosco Scenera – less than 10lbs and super easy to install and cart around. But it is only good for forward facing toddlers until 40lbs, and Bub hit that weight just before our road trip across Alberta. In a pinch, we thought about using our daughter’s spare booster, but even though he was technically big enough, I didn’t feel he was mentally ready. So I was delighted when the nice folks at Clek offered to send us one of their Oobr highback booster seats to try out.

The Oobr is big. And it is heavy. And I really wasn’t sure I wanted to lug it with us. But since we would be spending so much time in the car, I figured it was worth a shot. And I’m so glad we did!

Bub in his Oobr

Because the Oobr reclines, Bub snoozed pretty consistently during our driving legs, and he did so without the painful-looking head droop my daughter sometimes seems to experience in her booster. In order for it to properly (and safely) recline, it must be attached via the LATCH clips at the back, but that wasn’t a problem. During Bub’s road trip naps I was confident that he was comfy and safe – since the seat belt stayed where it should.

And the lugging of the Oobr really wasn’t that big of a deal. When we unloaded our car at the airport, we simply threw it on top of our suitcases on the luggage cart. Air Canada supplied us with the heavy-duty plastic bag, and we sealed it up with my daughter’s seat and sent it on its way via the oversize checked luggage. It has nary a scratch from either leg of our journey, but I am relieved that the airline had the bag – for future trips I might consider purchasing a car seat travel bag for checking it.

I’m delighted with the quality of the Oobr. It’s logged a lot of miles in the short time we’ve had it (and some vomit, sadly, during our post-road trip plague) and it cleans up nicely. It is not an inexpensive car seat, but it is probably the most solid highback booster I’ve seen. Considering how long your kid is in a booster seat these days, you definitely get your money’s worth.

As a company, I like what I’ve learned about Clek. I look forward to seeing what new products they’ll come out with in the future, and I would love to consult with them about designing a line of car seats and boosters that are not only safe but easy and convenient to travel with as well.

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