Belt fit check please: 2012 Odyssey, Clek Olli, center middle (plus one) seat

baj

New member
I am hoping to have my 10 year old in the middle middle seat of our 2012 Odyssey in a Clek Olli (which is narrow enough to allow the left and right seat to slide forward and which installs nicely with rigid LATCH). I'm not sure about the belt fit, though. Is this ok? I'm sure I saw a thread about this in the past but I've searched and cant' find it. Thanks for any advice.

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ketchupqueen

CPST and ketchup snob
Staff member
I don't love it. I find that belt doesn't fit great even on adults. (But it's better on belt-only riders than booster riders) I tend to put a belt-only rider or a high back booster rider there, or use a backless with a shoulder strap adjuster.
 

baj

New member
Thanks. I'm not sure what to do. Is the fit unacceptable? If not, are there any seats that install well in this position that are good for approximately 4-foot-tall kids (our younger ones, not pictured)? (Preferably narrow enough to allow the captain's chairs to slide?)

For the past few years we've had our oldest (pictured) in a Britax Frontier in a captain's chair (first in harness mode and then recently in booster mode), our middle child in a Frontier in harness mode, and our youngest (who is almost as tall as #2) in a Foonf front-facing in the middle seat. A great setup: the Foonf is narrow enough to allow the captain's chairs to slide forward and installs beautifully in the middle, so if we put the Frontier(s) in the third row we can conveniently carry 4 adults and 3 kids (when relatives are visiting, etc.). The trouble is our youngest is outgrowing the Foonf. I thought the Ollie was going to let us preserve these benefits, and I'm sure there was a thread here (with pictures, so somebody had actually tried it) saying that it worked in this position but I can't find it now.

So the plan was to have our oldest in the Ollie in the middle, and then the two younger in the outboard seats in the Frontiers. This lets us keep everybody in the second row (for cargo space and nobody likes to be in the wayback).

As our oldest is already too tall for a Frontier in harness mode I don't think there are a lot high-back boosters (besides the Frontier) that will fit her. And I'm not a fan of the way the Frontier installs in the middle seat anyway. The rigid LATCH on the Clek seats really helps here, and the Britax versa-tether is terrible in this narrow seat.

Ugh.

Edit: I found the thread: https://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?281876-Booster-for-center-of-Odyssey-with-Latch
It has a picture of the Olli installed and a statement that the fit is good, but no picture of a the kid in the seat that I thought I remembered.
 

lgenne

New member
A Harmony Defender works great there, and lasts way longer than the Foonf. You could keep your youngest harnessed in the same position.

I believe the Maxi Cosi Rodifix also works well (but someone correct me if that’s not true, please!) It might work for your middle kid.
 

ketchupqueen

CPST and ketchup snob
Staff member
The Rodifix does work but may not let the seat next to it fold, and it's short enough this child probably wouldn't fit.

I would not use this seating position for this child if it were my child because of the seatbelt being so far from the shoulder. Once the child 5-steps without a booster, she won't be as high and the belt will likely contact the body better.

A harnessed seat is definitely an option here. So is a narrower backless booster with a shoulder belt adjuster, if that works for this child (like a Bubblebum or Harmony booster.)
 

baj

New member
Thanks Ketchupqueen -- following your advice and not using the Olli in this position. For now we are using our existing configuration (youngest in Foonf in center). In the future we will put the oldest (pictured here) on one side in a Frontier in booster mode, the youngest on the other side in a Frontier in harness mode, and the middle child in the middle seat in something like a Rodifix. I just need to research the Rodifix-like options to see what would work best. Thanks again!
 

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