Summer Infant Multi-Use Deco Extra Tall Walk-Thru Gate.
Usually about $65. The Summer Infant gate is basically
tied with the #1 North States gate, so deciding whether to make it #1 or #2 was
difficult. The gates differ in two primary ways.
First, the Summer Infant gate is 34" tall (36"
tall at the peak) while the North States gate is only 29" tall. It is
difficult to know whether this is a pro or con. On the plus side, parents don't
need to reach down so far to open the gate, and they don't need to worry about
climbing as much. On the negative side, in our testing we realized that a lot
of men and taller women like to simply step over the gate sometimes, especially
when their hands are full or they're in a hurry. You will be hard pressed to
step over the Summer Infant gate, so that's a definite down-side of its tallness.
Second, the Summer Infant gate swings shut and locks
automatically, which is super helpful - no more turning around and pushing it
shut.
However, this also means that it uses a stop bracket
(which is reversible to change swing direction), which sometimes snags your
pants leg as you pass through. Couple that with the narrow opening (about
17" wide opening), and it can be a pain sometimes. The North States gate
swings both ways for convenience, but doesn't auto-close like this one. Also,
the Summer Infant gate is tension-mounted (even with the hardware kit, it's
still tension-mounted) and very sensitive to the amount of tension you set
during installation; if you over-tension, it will squeeze the opening too
narrow and the gate won't shut; this isn't specific to this gate, however, so
if you find your gate isn't closing properly always check tension first. So
there are some pros and cons for each, and you'll need to make an informed
decision for your particular situation. Overall, however, you're getting one of
the best gates currenty on the baby market, regardless of whether you choose
the Summer Infant or North States Supergate. Note that the Summer Infant gate
markets itself (on Amazon and on its own website) as good for use in doorways
or at the top of bottom of stairs. They do this by allowing you to choose
whether you're using a tension-fit (doorways) or mounted (stairs) option, while
making sure you change gate swing direction so it doesn't open over the stairs.
In our opinion, however, because the gate has a bar across the bottom that may
pose a tripping hazard, we do not recommend installing it at the top of stairs.
In fact, a parent emailed us and let us know that the instruction manual for
the Deco actually says "to prevent falls, never use at top of
stairs." In our testing, the widest doorway we could fit the gate into was
48" using the included extensions.
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