North States Supergate Stairway Gate

by North States Industries

Product Features

• 26" high, fits openings 26" to 41" wide
• Will not swing over stairway
• Swings out of way when not in use
• Great for use with pets
• Gate, safety gate, baby gate; pet gate, plastic gate; hardware mount gate

Product Details

User's Guide [962kb PDF]

• Product Dimensions: 28.6 x 26.9 x 2.3 inches ; 6 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S. and to APO/FPO addresses. For APO/FPO shipments, please check with the manufacturer regarding warranty and support issues.
• Shipping Advisory: This item must be shipped separately from other items in your order. Additional shipping charges will not apply.
• ASIN: B000GE9XIA
• UPC: 026107086792
• Item model number: 8679
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #872 in Baby (See Top 100 in Baby)
  • #27 in Baby > Safety > Gates & Doorways
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (72 customer reviews)

Product Description

From the Manufacturer

Stairways can be dangerous especially with young kids or pets around. With the North State Supergate Stairway Gate, you can be sure that once it is locked in position it becomes very secure. Offers one hand operation. Swings out of the way when not in use. Will not swing out over stairway. Can be used in openings 26" to 41" wide, 26" tall. Ideal for top of stairs, bottom of stairs and between rooms. Designed and produced in the USA to give you many years of durable service, the Supergate Stairway Gate is made of heavy-duty uni-body construction, has safe round edges plus, it is made of non-toxic plastic, giving you absolutely zero worries. With the Supergate Stairway Gate, stairways need not be dangerous anymore.

Product Description

Walk Thru Child and Pet Gate. The Walk Thru Pet and Child Gate is the perfect swing gate, which can be adjusted 26" to 41" and is 27" high. Easy to attach with hardware included. Swings out of way when not in use. Easily removable. Will not swing over stairway. Safe rounded edges.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Great product for the price, provided it is installed right, November 30, 2010

By 

Neehar Gupta (Indianapolis, IN) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: North States Supergate Stairway Gate (Baby Product)

I just purchased 3 of these gates since they were so cheap. We own the playpen that North States makes, and are quite happy with it, so we thought we would try their gates.

PROS:
Inexpensive
Functional
Lightweight yet durable
Easily adjustable

CONS:
Installation is a pain (tips on how to best install below)
Gates only open one direction
Must be manually locked, and may require a bit of fiddling
If baby leans on it or puts pressure, it can bend
Gate cannot be locked into a specific width

So as I said up above, these gates are really cheap! Compared to what else is out there, these gates are at least 50% cheaper. They are functional, but opening and closing them can require a bit of work. They don't open as easy as simply turning a doorknob, and don't close and lock as easy as closing a door. There is a tab you must pull to open the gate, and this tab can sometimes get stuck on the gate. It is hard to explain in writing, but I know with time it will get easier and easier to open and close. In the present though, it is a bit of a pain, especially if you are carrying your baby.

These gates are extremely lightweight yet durable enough to not snap. They can bend though. As one reviewer said, these are simply gates and meant only to keep your baby contained. They are very easy to expand and shorten. One potential issue with this though is that they cannot be locked into a specific width. Since they are so new I am not sure if I want to lock them in a particular width yet. Sometimes when I need to open or lock the gate, I have to adjust the width slightly, but I imagine this will change once I get used to the mechanism. If I want to lock them in the future though, I will probably simply use tie straps. Maybe not pretty, but it will do the job.

One particular annoyance is that the gates only open in one direction. According to the directions, they have that set up as a safety feature since they are designed to not open up over stairs. This way there is little risk of one accidentally falling on the stairs with your child in hand. I can understand this, but it is annoying nevertheless, especially if you don't install them at the foot or head of the stairs. We have them installed in hallways and don't need this safety feature. I'm sure we will get used to it but it's annoying right now.

INSTALLATION
So this is pretty much the key to having your gates operate properly. You have to take the time to install these correctly. It looks easy in the manual to install them since all you have to do is screw in 4 clips into the wall (2 on each side). Easy enough right? WRONG! And the reason it is not easy is because you have to make sure they are all aligned and level with each other. I can only speak for my house, but I am sure many homes are the same - nothing is level in our house! So when you think you have it aligned to one thing, it is not aligned to something else. Take your time to install these. Here are a few tips, based on my experience:
1. Measure at least 2 times before drilling your first hole.
2. Use a long level, and use a pencil to mark your lines on the wall.
3. Measure from every angle to ensure that everything is correct.
4. The gates install approximately 1 inch off the ground, so if you have cats, take that into account. Mine are installed 4.5 inches off the ground (so the cats can go underneath), therefore all the measurements are 3.5 inches higher than what is in the manual.
5. Try to drill into a stud (especially for the hinge side), but if you cannot, be sure to use screw anchors.
6. Once you have your marks on the wall per the manual, put one of the anchors on the wall and mark exactly where you will drill. You will NOT be drilling where your initial markers are.

I will post an update once we have used the gates for a month or so, but overall, they are great for the price. You do get what you pay for, but in the end they are functional and safe.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars It's worth it., May 11, 2010

By 

J. S. "potato head" (pocatello, id) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: North States Supergate Stairway Gate (Baby Product)

It does it's job. My sister bought this same gate from PetCo for $42.00 and was so pissed when I told her I got it on amazon for $14.00. The mounting is a hassel and it it's a bit difficult for some people to open and close but overall it's a great buy, here. If only it included 4-8 extra mounting brackets so I could put it in different spots easily.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Works Great, Can Be a Challenge to Install, April 30, 2010

By 

Evan Darnell (Lubbock, TX, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: North States Supergate Stairway Gate (Baby Product)

This is a great gate. I bought two of them and installed one at the bottom of our stairs and one at the top. They would have been relatively easy to install except for the molding next to the floor. Unless you have a completely flat wall from top to bottom where you need to install the gate, it will be a real challenge to install. I had to cut small small blocks of wood and place them strategically to make it work. Now that they are installed, they're great! It was just a pain getting to that point.