Customer Reviews

GMI Keepsafe 108-Inch Expansion Gate

5 star:		(56)
4 star:		(24)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

We loved this baby gate until one of the rivets fell out. A rivet is a permanent mechanical fastener and this gate is covered in them. Before it is installed a rivet consists of a smooth cylindrical shaft with a head on one end. The end opposite the head is called the buck-tail. On installation the rivet is placed in a pre-drilled hole. Then the tail is deformed so that it expands to about 1.5 times the original shaft diameter and holds the rivet in place. This particular rivet was never deformed on the buck-tail. If I had not heard it fall on the hardwood floor, I would not have noticed my baby pick it up and almost put it in his mouth! If you purchase this gate, inspect every single rivet just in case. . .

Update 4/22/09:
I emailed GMI about this incident and received a fast and concerned response. I am very pleased with how they are handling this issue. They will send a replacement and will pick up the defective gate for inspection, possibly issuing a recall. Other than the rivet issue, the gate is perfect to meet our needs. Hopefully, GMI will rectify this problem quickly.

OK, it has been over 2 years since we bought this gate and it is still standing! We used it for my mother's visiting dogs, keeping kids out of the kitchen and in a doorway! Very flexible and simple for adults to open and close.

I just got new carpet and furniture and wanted to 'start over' with my dogs (one aussie and one lab mix). They have had alot of freedom and the result was a very soiled carpet and alot of pet hair, paw prints and slobber stains. My problem with an open layout home is alot of wide spaces. I searched for a long time to find something that could expand the width between my kitchen and living room. This 108" gate is perfect. I have tile floor in the kitchen so I couldnt anchor the center down, but it doesnt matter because this gate is so sturdy, I just latch it and it looks solid. It is tall enough that it hits the dogs eye level. They havent even tried to push through. It gives me time to clean thier paws and let them dry off before they come and join me in the living room. They have thier own comfy beds they like so much, the dont even try for the furniture. So far we are a slobber, paw print and hair free zone in the places that make my house a home. Very awesome product!

This product is wonderful in keeping children and/or pets in certain areas or away from other areas. I have a very wide "doorway" between my living room and dining room and this gate works perfectly for me! I ended up needing an extra set of hands to help me install it (I think because the gate needed to be so wide)as the gate kept flopping over and just made it very difficult to measure and place the screws, etc. But once it was installed I immediately loved it. :-)

I wasn't sure how it would work out - the distance I needed to cover was over 12 ft. We attached the 60-inch expansion to the 108-inch expansion and incredibly, it all works like it was made for it. This is a remarkably flexible product, easy to install and even easier to use. Very handy when it swings out of the way. EXCELLENT!!!

We bought this gate to keep our 2.5 year old in her room at night. It just barely fits our standard doorway, so we had to attach it to the door frame on each side. It's very quiet to open and close in the middle of the night. I'm 5'5" and I can step over it to get to my daughter if I don't have a free hand to open it. We've had no issues with pinched fingers, or any injuries. It also keeps the cat out of her room which is an added bonus. It is a very solid and safe product. I would recommend this to other parents.

This is a good expansion-type gate if you have the proper place to mount it - it has to be mounted on either a stud or wood frame to be sturdy enough. Also, know that this gate does not fold up all the way or cannot be pushed flat against the mounted surface. It will stick out about 18-24" from where it is mounted so make allowance for that.

GMI sells the only large expansion gate I could find to cover a very wide porch doorway. I needed something to contain my two small dogs and am very happy to have found this item. I have a Madison Mills expansion gate in the living room that is perfect for that spot. It's made of smaller pieces, moves and latches easier, but this one is sturdy (without the extra pieces for stability that block the view) and worth keeping. Because of my dogs, I've own a variety of collaspible gates. But for wider openings and areas I frequently want to block off, I greatly prefer gates that will store in small spaces and swing out of the way. I would give this gate five stars, except the rivets are a bit too tight (may loosen, so that's not a terrible problem) and the latch mechanism is functional, but stiff and somewhat difficult to use. That's the one thing I would definitely change.

***(3 weeks later) After about a week of continuous use, the gate was much easier to expand and contract. If it had been made differently, it probably would've been too flimsy. The latching mechanism is still not my favorite, but I find it easier to operate now. All in all, a 5 star product. (I tried to edit the 4 star rating, but unable to do so. Best I can accomplish is adding this note to explain!)

I bought this as a temporary blockade to 'train' a new dog to keep out of an area with a very wide entrance. Since I didn't want to make this a permanent feature, I did not use the mounts at all, and simply stretched out the gate and leaned it against the entrance. For a clever dog this wouldn't work and of course it wouldn't be a suitable solution for a child, but it solved the problem for my less-than-genius hound! The fact that it "compresses" to a small enough size to quickly remove and throw out of sight when I have company is a big bonus. Great value too, especially if you need it for a temporary time as I did.

My girlfriend is very concerned with keeping our dogs safe and sound, so we have bought several gates over the last few years. I even built one to save some money, but I learned that it's just better to buy one that's already put together.
The Keepsafe Expansion gate is perfect for several reasons:
It expands and contracts. Very nice.
It swings on its hinges. Also nice.
It locks. Right on.
But, if my dog is so inclined, he can jump and climb over it. He is a fearless Dachshund/Chihuahua mix.
To be honest, the gate is more for peace of mind than anything else, and it does its job great.
It's just not very attractive.