Customer Reviews

Evenflo Expansion Swing Gate

5 star:		(25)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This gate serves its purpose for large openings, but the spring latch is very difficult to use. I have pinched my fingers on it many times. It is also difficult to close because you have to fit a small piece into an eyehook to secure the bottom of the gate. If you miss this, the bottom of the gate will move quite a bit if pushed. Overall, it will work if you do not go in an out of it too much, but is not good for high traffic areas.

This gate served it's purpose while it lasted, so I can not bring myself to rate it a 1. However there are a few things one should know before purchasing it. First, it is difficult to open and close. The latch does pinch and is often a pain to line up. We found it much easier to just step over the thing. Second, on the opening side there is one pinchable latch at the top and the bottom rests in a little hook of which my son was able to manipulate with little problem to push up just enough to pop the bottom out and crawl through it. Third and most importantly, it is a nightmare for climbing toddlers. The criss-cross design allows for easy climbing and just last week my 19 month old scaled it only to land head first on the other side. So that is definitely something parents will want to consider before purchasing this baby gate. For this reason alone I would dissuade parents from buying this particular design.

4 stars instead of 5 because I think this gate is ideal for pets (5 stars), but I believe it would have serious limitations for use with toddlers (3 stars). Frankly, I'd invest more bucks and get a more secure gate if this was being purchased to protect a child. That said, this gate was very quick to install, and we found that the latching mechanism was easy to work. Once unlatched, the super lightweight gate lifts up and out of eye hooks and swings open. Seems like an adventurous kid could climb this gate, but to keep our dogs from using the living room as their own private crash pad... it's been perfect. I love how this gate expands to accommodate a wide range of doorway sizes. So if you're looking for a cheap, versatile gate to restrict pet access, this is a terrific one.

One year later, I'd like to add to my review:

We just bought a second one of these gates to block access to another room. If you're using these for pets, and therefore a toddler's safety is NOT a factor, you can use a screwdriver to wedge the latch into a permanently open position. This way you can lift the gate up and out of the top eye hook without having to fuss with the latch each time. Makes for an ultra easy gate to live with. But please, I'm only suggesting this for PET usage. In NO WAY should anyone fiddle with the latch if they're using this for a child.

I have 3 of these gate in my house. I like that they open from either side and swing either way. They expand to faily wide yet compress when not in use. It was extremely easy to install - great for places that will not accommodate the tension kind.

We have wide opening about 4.5 feet wide and bought the Graco Expansion Swing Gate as the only decent option for a wide opening.

Pro:

-Really easy install (I did it with only a tape measure and pencil)

-Effective* (see negatives for more detail)

-Covers a wide opening* (see negatives for more detail)

Con:

-Make sure that you close the gate properly... the bottom latch is easy to miss

-The "locking latch" is very small, not an issue for us, but I can see others having trouble

-The wider applications open up gaps in the gate that can be used to climb over it

-No options to consider to let our cats pass

Bottom line: Not a substitute for supervision. We think you should carefully weigh pros and cons of any gate before making a purchase, and consider more than one style in your home (like we did) to custom taylor your solutions to each situation.

I bought this to replace another brand improperly installed and difficult to operate by my 4 year old and our 88yr old grandfather who lives with us. This model is not much more easy for them to operate, fact the 88yr old (has parkinson's) cant really do it and the metal used for the latches are weaker. It claims to be a "swinging" gate but the bottom metal latch bends when swung, I fear after enough swings it will eventually break. The top latch is of decent design but when coupled with the bottom part it becomes more difficult. The plastic cover on the top also makes it tougher to expand and contract than a normal expansion gate. One redeeming quality is that it expands to 60" without the need of extensions.

The gate is an excellent design. The locking clasp on both sides works just fine, you'd have to be pretty lame to have trouble working them. It's sturdy and looks nice and i was able to install it in about 3 minutes. Very easy and the shipping was quite fast. Only problem I have is my opening is 60 inches and the gate fit just fine. BUT- my toy poodle jumped right through the holes and that was the reason for the gate -to keep her in the kitchen. SO- i guess i will have to fill the holes with slats or tie rags or stretch bungie cords across to keep her in. AAHHHH------

I have this gate installed to keep my 11 month old daughter at bay. We installed it in a weird diagonal opening and it works great! We weren't able to screw directly into a stud (as recommended in the instructions) but we used dry wall anchors and they are holding just fine. I would suggest this product to anyone! I am considering another one for another opening we would like to close off. I hope this was helpful!

Use this at the top of stairs. There may be an easier gate out there for if your hands are full but I can usually easily do this one with one hand. Sometimes lining up the top and bottom to latch is a little tricky in the dark but otherwise ours is great. I love being able to use the expansion feature to make it small and out of the way to carry big stuff through. When you mount this gate it is probably going to make a big difference if you don't line the hardware up right whether or not it is easy to latch. Our hardware lines up great. I have also heard parents say their kids have tried to climb on these gates because of the holes. Mine have not (2 year old & 10 month olds) but it could happen and be dangerous.

I was having a terrible time finding a baby gate that would stretch enough to cover our large wall to wall opening. This one was the only one I could find that did it! My husband installed in relatively fast & it works great. Taller people may be able to step over it, but I'm a shortie (5'0) so I have to use the latch. Unfortunately, the latch is kind of difficult to use. You have to press hard & be careful not to pinch yourself. So far I'm very pleased with this purchase!