Customer Reviews

The First Years Simple & Secure Stair Gate

5 star:		(62)
4 star:		(23)
3 star:		(23)
2 star:		(28)
1 star:		(46)

 

 

We are the parents of twin eight month old boys. About a month ago they began crawling and pulling themselves up on the furniture. We have a steep staircase off our kitchen and I knew we would have to gate it off. I am not a very handy person and although I wanted a secure gate I did not want one that was difficult to install. I read all the gate reviews on Amazon and I was drawn to this one as it comes with templates for installing the hinges and latch. I am glad I ordered this gate as it lives up to its name--Simple and Secure. I had the gate installed perfectly in less than 30 minutes. It is very strong and blends well with our decor. We have a 42" stairwell and the gate fit without the need for any extensions or extra parts. Unlike some other reviewers, I did not find the closing "click" too loud or bothersome. In fact, it is reassuring to know that the gate is securly locked behind you. I would definitely recommend this product to any family having infants or toddlers.

The width (29-44 approx), versatility in installation, and simplicity of this gate justify a 5 star rating from me.

The ability to adjust top and bottom rails of the hinge side to different widths to accomodate molding or other uneven surfaces is a huge plus. I have thick molding and needed something with the freedom to adjust. This alone makes it a perfect fit for our 80 year old house and its stairway.

This gate comes with a template, nice touch, as long as you have even and level wall surfaces to deal with. I don't! But after putting it together once, and then taking it apart again to make the adjustments I felt it needed, I was able to install this gate in our difficult stairway. The instructions recommend installing into wood or studs, and due to the plaster used on my walls and inability to find a stud inline with the other side of the gate, I have actually installed it at a slight angle without compromising the safety of the gate.

Great quality product, several ways you can install to accomodate your needs. Instructions are complete and pictures detail very well. The gate can be opened with one hand, but utilizes a push-in-and-turn dial, similar to a child-safe medicine bottle.

This is the first online review that I have ever written. I write because I hope that someone out there will learn from my experience and save money that I have lost on this product.

NOTE: Most of the reviews that I have seen on this product are from people who are happy with this product right out of the box. This is a different perspective. I have been dealing with this company and this product for OVER A YEAR and I am truly disappointed.

Like all of you, my wife and I chose this product because we felt that it would securely keep our two wonderful sons away from our stairway. We were also interested in it because it was metal (dog proof!). For these reasons, we ended up purchasing THREE of these gates for our home.

Initially, I was disappointed a bit with the installation of the product. The screws that came with the hardware kit were too short for really secure installation, in my opinion. I ended up using some longer, stouter decking screws. Otherwise I really don't think the things would have stayed on the wall. After installation, however, the gates performed well for a time.

Less than a year after purchase, however, the knobs on two of the gates froze. This rendered them completely useless. We had to remove the gates from our stairway just so that we could go to bed at night and then, of course, our stairs were left accessible to our toddlers. I contacted The First Years, and they agreed to replace these two gates with two new gates of the same variety. The only hitch was that I had to send them my broken gates first - which left my stairs exposed for an even longer period (I have noticed at least one other reviewer mentioning this customer service issue).

I received the new gates without a problem. It is now less than a year later. Within 4 weeks of each other, ALL THREE of my gates have failed in the same fashion. Let me be clear. I have now had the opportunity to use FIVE of these gates. ALL OF THEM HAVE FAILED IN THE EXACT SAME FASHION. They were obtained at different times and from different locations. This leads me to believe that there is a REAL DEFECT IN THIS PRODUCT.

I have spoken with customer service about this problem. Their corporate line is that the warranty is not valid more than 12 months from PURCHASE. It matters not at all to them that they sent me brand new gates less than 12 months ago. They hang their hats on the fact that my original purchase was over 12 months ago.

After pointing out to their supervisor several times that this warranty policy made no sense at all, the best she was willing to do is send me two different gates that are LESS EXPENSIVE, LESS SECURE, NOT SUITABLE FOR STAIR USE, AND ULTIMATELY UNFIT FOR MY FAMILY'S NEEDS.

Bottom Line: We have now spent an additional $200 on new gates from a new company (Kidco - like them so far). Please learn from our experience and save yourselves some money and frustration.

This gate is a godsend. We just moved from a one-level home to a hi-ranch with our 1 year old daughter and our rickety wood trip-over-it tension gate. I read all the reviews on BRU.com looking for a sturdy gate for the top of the stairs. I wasn't as concerned with ease of installation, as safety was my main concern. We have wrought iron railings all around the upper level and stairs, so we ran into problems finding a gate.

The instructions say you cannot install it onto metal railings, and the template wouldn't fit our metal railing anyway, so we went to BRU to return the gate. (Our gate needed to be installed between a wall and a metal railing at the top of stairs.) Then the rep at BRU said we could purchase the wood attachment kit for 19.99 to attach it to the metal. This looked like it would work fine.

My husband is a home depot man - he studied the kit and decided he could rig it himself for less. He purchased a strip of nicely finished strong oak, proably 2"wide by 3/4" thick and some lag bolts/nuts all for under $10 - all much stronger than those in the kit. He cut the wood length appropriately, pre-drilled the metal rail, and secured the wood to the metal with the appropriate length lag bolts and nuts. He then proceeded with the instructions to install the gate as usual, into the wood and the wall - the template then fit perfectly. Although the extra work added about an 45 mins to the project, the end result is wonderful.

The knob is not difficult at all, but does takes a few days to get used to. Believe me, you can be sure no baby genius can perform the push-turn-pull sequence required to open the lock which is what is important. We are now pros at opening the gate easily with one hand but she is still baffled.

The metal on the gate is much stronger than a few others we considered, and there are no horizontal pieces for little feet to get hold of and get a boost. The railings are nicely spaced and you have the extra width if you need it. I was afraid we made a bad decision buying a 2-level home with a toddler, but now I feel secure knowing my daughter is safe. (Although of course you should never leave your little one unattended with any stairs, gated or not.)

Good luck and enjoy this gate. It really is simple and secure.

I have been meaning to review this gate since I have been using it for a little over a year. Well, I now have good reason to write a review as the locking mechanism has become non-functional. I opened it up (no easy feat -- had to drill out the rivits) thinking there was probably a spring that had come loose. But unfortunately the problem was do to the poor design and cannot be fixed due to one of key plastic components breaking. This is quite disapointing since I have only been using this gate for just over a year. I would highly recommend *not* to buy this gate.

We've gone through a lot of gates over the past 8 years, and so far this one is probably one of the best we've owned. We're using it across a doorway instead of stairs, but I'm sure it would be a safe gate for stairs too. It's very solid/sturdy. My husband was impressed with the templates it came with (to place the brackets & screws for mounting); no other gate has ever come with a template.

The latching is a bit loud, but at least we're sure it's closed that way! And it's very easy for my older kids to open the gate, yet difficult enough that the younger ones cannot. Another thing to keep in mind is that it's not an easy gate for kids to climb over, unlike the old accordian-style gates.

I bought this gate after reading positive reviews several years ago. Now I see there are many negative reviews posted and I wanted to add mine to the list.

My son is 2. We put this at the top of the stairs. The lock has broken twice and is stuck in the locked position. My advice - do not waste your money on this gate. How appalling that the lock breaks at all, but twice?!!!

The first time it broke, I sent the gate back to the First Years and they sent a replacement. This morning I called Customer Service and told them the second gate that we received in December is now broken. The Rep advised it's not covered under the original warranty as it's now over a year old. I told the Rep this is not acceptable and asked for a Supervisor. She put me on hold and then told me to pry the lock out and send back and they'd replace it one more time.

We are sending it back for a replacement as we have nothing to lose. But I'm shopping for a different gate for the stairs as I now have a newborn and can't afford to get locked downstairs.

Gates I've read positive reviews on:
Kidco Safeway (64.99, carried at Babies R Us)
Cardinal Stairway Special (more expensive, only can find online)

I loved this gate, but the lock mechanism broke in the lock position and there is no way to fix it. I am very disappointed and now have a pressure gate at the top of the stairs until I can find a replacement. Don't buy!

Like quite a few other reviewers said, the lock on this gate will eventually break - three of our four broke between 15-20 months after purchase. All in the same way, with the knob mechanism becoming stuck in the locked position. Seemed like a wonderful, simple to use gate at first, but what a total disappointment now.

I bought this gate in September of 2004. We use it to gate off our living room to keep our twins safely confined. In December, the turning lock system froze rendering the gate unable to open. We had to get the gate open, so my husband popped one side of the locking mechanism off. We contacted first years about the problem and asked them to send us a new locking mechanism. They wouldn't do this and instead wanted us to send the gate in for repair. This poses a problem as what do we do while the gate is in for repair/replacement? We have decided to leave the gate in its broken condition as we can open and close it now having popped off one of the knobs. It is not in a critical position like the top or bottom of the stairs so we will live with the problem but are not happy. I read another reviewer with the same problem. This gate works very well for a couple of months after that forget it.