One of the Best Gates

When it came to safety gates, we knew that we wanted something we could mount at the top of our stairs. We were also due with our second child at that time so I knew I wanted something I could open and close one-handed while carrying a baby. The downstairs contained a TV room and playroom, so I knew we would spend a fair amount of time working with the gate. Also appealing was that this was a strong, metal gate, but had no sharp edges.

We researched gates and actually found this one at a friend's house, so we were able to see it demonstrated for us. We liked the fact that it was moderately lightweight and the mounting mechanism was small, but sturdy so we didn't need to drill a ton of huge holes into our walls. The cream color also closely matched the color of our walls, so it was somewhat camouflaged. You could see it, but it was not overtly obvious that there was a safety gate attached to the wall. Since it is wall-mounted, it swings out of the way and stays against the wall until you move it and latch it. However, if it were not leveled and installed accurately, it might tend to swing out and be in the way.

The lock to the latch is definitely childproof, but not "adultproof". I found it very easy to unlatch it one-handed, which was a huge priority for us. Our daughter was just getting the hang of opening and closing it after age 4. On the other hand, our friend who introduced us to this gate had a child prodigy who did learn how to use it at age 3. However, she had two gates in main living areas, so her son was exposed to it more frequently.

Another aspect I liked is the clicking noise it makes when it latches. This assures me that I have properly locked it each time I and others use it. It is audible and distinct, making it easy to determine if it is locked. And because both the hinge side and the opposite latching/locking side are mounted to the wall, there is peace of mind that it cannot be pushed open.

Installation was moderately easy, but my husband did have to get out the level to make sure both sides were straight. It seems like he spent about 20 minutes on it once we had it out of the box. In the short term, we love this gate so much it was worth it to spend a little extra time on the installation. We also made sure that we placed the mountings on studs so we never experienced a problem with it pulling out of the wall. However, if it were not mounted to studs, with extended use it would be easy to see how it might start to pull out of drywall.

It is also adjustable and expandable, but you would need to measure before buying. There are also extensions available for purchase, and of course that is an extra expense. This is not a cheap gate, but it is definitely one that you will have for years because of the high quality materials used. We spent around $60 and thankfully did not need to purchase the extension.

We moved from the house where we originally installed it and found it was very easily removed as well. Another nice feature is that you can remove the metal gate itself if you temporarily want the gate gone for any reason.

This gate gave me a great deal of peace of mind knowing that no one would fall down our stairs. We felt it was excellent quality, but you do pay for it.