Summer Infant Sure and Secure Extra Tall Walk-Thru Gate, White - Babyphone Discounters

By 

K. Jordan –

  

After trying 3 different gates (that all had high ratings on Amazon), this is my second favorite. I turned my home into my own version of a baby gate showroom to figure out which one I wanted, so here’s my take on three different gates.

I think they are all pretty good gates, it just depends on your situation and what features you’re looking for. The key features that ended up making a difference to me were 1) the width of the gate opening and 2) the latch mechanism

Summer Infant – Sure & Secure Extra Tall Gate
———————————————
cost $60 & extensions included / gate is 36″ Tall / fits 28″-48″ doorway width / 2″ bar to step over / gate opening 19″

- This is the one that I wanted to like because I thought it was the best deal.
- The gate opening is about 19″ – which I thought was ok, but hubby wanted wider.
- The latch mechanism is really easy to operate and I thought kids could figure it out easily, but because the gate is so tall, they would probably have a hard time reaching it.
- It does come with its own extensions in 5″ and 10″ so it more easily fits the wider doorways.
- However, depending on the width of your doorway, this one may or may not fit as well. For example, I had a lot of doorways that are about 33″ and this gate didn’t end up fitting well in them because the gate without any extensions was too small and the posts had to be extended so far it didn’t seem stable. And the 5″ extension was too big to add. (vs. the kidco gate’s extensions add 2.75″ as needed).
- It’s by far the tallest and I liked that since my daughter has been in the 95% so far. I also just like the way the taller gate looks.
- It does have the highest bar across the bottom to step over – 2″.
- If it fits well in your doorway it is probably the best value for the money.

Kidco Center Gateway:
———————
cost $85 & extensions $24 / gate is 29.5″ Tall / fits 29.25″ to 37.5″ doorway width / 1″ bar to step over / gate opening 22″

- Has the widest gate opening (the space you walk thru, not the doorway that it fits into) of any of them – about 22″. (This certainly won points from my 6’2″ husband who was pretty irritated when walking thru some of the others). I was surprised after reading so many reviews on all these gates that there wasn’t more mention of this feature.
- This one also had the most secure latch feature. You have to push a button to lift the handle and lift the gate over a little ledge to open it and walk thru. I figure this will absolutely be the hardest one for my little one to figure out.
- This gate has the most adjustable widths and therefore would probably be the strongest in most door widths. The gate has about 2.75″ pieces on the ends that you can use or not with the optional extensions (more 2.75″ spindles as additions – 2 per box) to provide the most width flexibility. Because all the gates become “weaker” if the posts are extended too much, this one seems the sturdiest in my doorways. (ie. if the gate says it fits up to 37″ and your door opening is 36.5″, it won’t seem as sturdy as if the doorway was 34″).
- It doesn’t have its brand name printed on it anywhere (a plus in my book) so it’s totally white.
- It has the lowest bar across the floor that you have to step over at only 1″ high (seems less of a tripping risk).
- This is the one that has the highest rating from Consumer Reports. (Child safety gates 8/04)
- Unfortunately, it also is the most expensive of the bunch at about $85 + any extensions you need.
- I do have to say that this one had the most confusing directions, but you can still figure it out ok – none of them took longer than 10 minutes to set up.
- It’s the shortest gate and I wish it was a little taller.
- All in all, if you can afford the price of this one, it’s definitely worth it!

First Years – Hands-Free Gate
—————————–
cost $50 & extensions $15 / gate is 32″ Tall / fits 29″-34″ doorway width / 1.5″ bar to step over / gate opening 17″

- My gripe with this gate was primarily because the gate opening is only 17″ wide! I’m 5’8″ and I felt like I was going to have to really pay attention walking through it so I wouldn’t end up bumping it every time. However…
- The hands-free step pedal is pretty cool and worked pretty easily. I wouldn’t worry about a little kid figuring it out and having enough weight to be able to push it down to open it. For me it just wasn’t cool enough to overcome my issue with the gate opening width.
- Good height to the gate.
- It was very sturdy in my doorway.
- This one did have a little ramp feature for the bar that goes across the floor that helps minimize the tripping factor.
- Fits only up to 34″ doorways so has the best…

Read more

Help other customers find the most helpful reviews 

Was this review helpful to you? 

|

 Comments (6)

By 

Brian Fuchs (Thousand Oaks, CA USA) –

  

At one time, we were using both a Hands Free gate (upstairs) and this prouct (downstairs). Both door openings were equally wide. Both products were equally easy to install. We ended up returning this one, and buying a second Hands Free. Here’s the comparison:

Extra Tall Gate:
1) Comes with extensions (built into price). Don’t be fooled by any of these products – you will ALWAYS need at least one extension.
2) Self-closing, BUT it is very easy to get the gate out of alignment. When this happens, it won’t always self-close in one direction.
3) Although latch is very simple, it DOES require one hand to open it. Picture yourself carrying a 20 lb child in one arm, and a jug of formula in the opther, and consider how you will open the gate.
4) Because these gates use compression (instead of drilling into walls) they have a bar across the bottom. The bar on this gate is thicker, and more of a tripping hazard. Hands-free has a ramp.
5) The gate misaligns EASILY, even when securely pressed between walls or door openings. This is because when it swings shut, it usually slams. Enough of this and it always knocks the assembly out of alignment. By ‘alignment’ I mean all four pads that contact the wall must be in a perfect plane. Misalignment means one of the pads (usually the top ones) slipped.
6) When the gate slams shut, it makes noise. Therefore, you always need to close it gently — or worse, sometimes leave it ‘closed, but not latched’ — so as to not wake sleeping babies. The danger in this is that other people may think the gate is latched and safe. Mom might have left it unlatched to not wake the baby; dad later thinks it’s closed and locked because it’s self-closing… Not good.
7) Yeah, it’s tall… Extra-tall even… In fact, it’s about 4″ taller than most gates. Are they implying that most gates are unsafe since they are shorter?

Hands-free
1) You will NEED to buy at least one extension. No one in America has doors narrow enough to fit the gate alone… A gate + 1 extension equals the price of the Tall Gate.
2) NOT self-closing. This might sound bad, but if the parents leave the gate wide open when the kids are sleeping, it is obvious to all that it is open.
3) Bar at bottom has an anti-tripping ramp.
4) Truly hands-free! I can carry my twins – opening is extremely simple with your foot.
5) These just don’t seem to ever get out of alignment. Remember, the gate is never slamming shut, so there is no force to misalign it.

The Hands-Free gate just has too many things going for it. Check out the super long list of 5-star reviews. The only 1-star reviews complain about a poorly designed foot pedal for the latch. The models that are being sold now have fixed that problem.

While there is nothing truly wrong with this gate (assuming no one leaves it unlocked), the Hands-free is simply much better.

Help other customers find the most helpful reviews 

Was this review helpful to you? 

|

 Comments (2)

By 

M. L. Mayo (Ft Campbell, KY) –

  

Wonderfull gate! It swings in both directions. It is extra tall. You dont have to mount it on to your walls. It comes with two extensions and I have used it with both extensions on it and it dosent give at all. Our house has odd openings and I can fit this anywhere. I still have a plastic gate in my kitchen and just came online to order a second one of these to replace that.

Good news for parents of curious toddlers. The way to open it is a button on the top of the gate (since this is an extra tall gate you’d have to be the parent of a future nba player to get to it). Even if you have a super tall todler, you have to push the button over and lift the swing gate to open it… it is very easy for “most” adults, however visitors will have problems with it!!!

Also if you need extensions for a gate, you need to check the price of extensions… I needed both extensions and by the time I added them onto other gates I would have paid $80.00 or more. That is the reason I chose this one.

Help other customers find the most helpful reviews 

Was this review helpful to you? 

|

 Comment