Customer Reviews

Simple Fit Pressure Gate - 2 Pack

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(27)

 

 

I should point out first that I have small dogs, not children. I understand why people who use these with kids have complaints.

But for two small dogs (Corgis), these gates are awesome. They are low enough that I (a short person) can easily step over them. I also find them easy to put in a doorway, and in my experience, they stay put much better than the plastic gates I used to use.

I just ordered another set. That's how good I think these gates are. I'm getting rid of my plastic gates and using these exclusively.

This is the old standard in inexpensive gates. However, they don't make these the same way they used to. The expansion rod had been bolted directly against the frame on both halves of the gate. Now, however, there is an extension where it is bolted to the recessed half so that the expansion rod lines up straight along the length of the gate. While it appears that this would improve the function of the gate, my own experience is that it makes the gate more flimsy and more difficult to line up in the doorway. The older design works much better and I feel that the newer design decreases the safety function expected of the this gate. Also, any gate with a crosshatch design like this one is climbable. To its benefit, this gate does not swing open and is more difficult for kids to remove than gates that do - most kids are pretty good at figuring out the mechanism on gates that open. NEVER USE A PRESSURE MOUNTED GATE AT THE TOP OF STAIRS. A stairway gate should be very sturdy and should require installation.

Yes, it is inexpensive, so it does not work as well as the $100 or even $50 ones. If you want to spend a lot more money, go get the Kidco Center Gateway gate--it is pressure mounted and is a swing gate, and it works great. **But** if you can handle either moving this gate or stepping over the gate when you need to get into that room, save yourself a ton of money and get this one. I have several, and I've had one of these for 5 years, since my oldest was little, and it's still working fine. It keeps the babies and the dog away from places that I don't want them to go.

PROS:
1. It's cheap.
2. It's pressure mounted--no holes in the walls.

CONS:
1. Can't use it at the top of the stairs. (DUH!-You'd be stupid to do this!)
2. You do have to move it or step over it to get around it, so if you're in and out of a room a lot, then get a different gate or you'll go crazy! Also, I'm 5'8" and I can step over it very easily. My 5'4" sister in law has some trouble, and my 5' friend doesn't even try.
3. An older child *may* try to "climb" the mesh part (mine weren't successful). If you already have a climber, consider a different gate. If you don't have a climber, take the gamble--there's a lot of savings to be had with this gate!
4. The locking mechanism comes up every time, and you have to remember the "number" at which you lock. Here's a brilliant plan--take a marker (or a pencil if you want) and mark the wooden gate so you won't forget! Then it's quick and easy to lock it!

Look--if you're reading these reviews then you're already intrigued by the idea of not paying too much for your baby gates. Go for it! (And if you don't want 2 you can buy them singly at stores for about half the price.) At this price, you can try it-- if you hate it then donate it to the church and then go buy the Kidco gate!

Hmmm, well we bought this gate a couple of weeks ago, and THEN we read the reviews. I respect virtually every parent who says an item is not safe and I always take that seriously, so I'm not trying to contradict any of these other reviews. But our personal experience is that it has been adequate so far. We use it for the kitchen doorway (the kitchen is not totally baby-proof yet). My 11-month-old daughter pulls herself up on it frequently and has not hurt herself (but she often stands herself up without pulling on anything, so maybe she's not leaning very hard). My husband has complained that it's not always easy to position (we take it down sometimes when she's asleep), but now that he's done it several times, he's kind of gotten the hang of it. I'm not sure about it's strength--we don't touch it very much, and so far my daughter is not that interested in shaking it (too busy with other, more interesting things, I guess), so it hasn't really been put to the test. Our only disappointment has been that, since it comes in a pack of two, we wanted to use one for the bathroom doorway (the floors are ceramic tile, a very hard surface to fall on), but it's too wide. We live in a pre-war apartment in NYC, so we have some very narrow doorways.

I've had experience with this type of gate for the last 27 years. You see my parents had one of these exact gates for my sister and I when we were growing up. They are still using it to keep their dogs locked it. It did have a rebuild about 10 years ago and the plastic was replaced with plywood. But it's still working.

I have 4 of these myself for my two children. 2 of the taller ones. 2 of the short ones. I've used them everywhere in 2 different houses, an apartment and even in a hotel room.

I love them. The shorter ones will fit in narrow openings very well. I used to keep them in the doorways for my bathrooms. Put on the outside of the door they will allow you to close the door to the bathroom without moving the gate, and even with my short legs they were never an obstacle. I never had a problem with them not fitting or falling.

The trick is to find the setting that just barely allows you to lock it down. The rubber feet are there for COMPRESSION and if you don't get it in tightly they will come down every time.

I've got 2 of the taller gates as well and they will span very wide openings rather well. I've used them in the archways between my kitchen and the rest of the house and I find they do a great job. They aren't great to try and climb over, but honestly do you want to always have your small children see you climbing over that gate you tell them not to climb over and are using to keep them out?

I never had a problem opening the gate one handed with a basket of landury or other encumbrance. Again if you don't have them up tightly you'll find that they don't open or close well.

My 2 year old started pulling on the gate at 9 months and climbing and yanking on it soon after. In two years shes only pulled the gates down on herself twice. neither time was she injured by that gate. She was banged up badly by one of the other plastic compression gates we were given as a baby gift. She will climb and pulled that gate out of the doorway it was in so many times we replaced it with one of these.

As for marks from the rubber feet get one of those cleaning sponges, if that is the worst of the messes you'll be taking off walls and doorways you must have perfect children or dogs.

If you're looking for the perfect gate that will always keep your child out, always work perfectly, and never pull out, yet always open easily. Then good luck, let me know how it goes with the custom installation.

But if you're looking for a inexpensive good gate that will stand up to a decent amount of abuse. NOT take a degree to unlock, and be tossed in the trunk to go to grandma's with you, you'll probubly be pretty happy with it.

I'm picking up another two today to keep my newly crawling 7 month old corraled.

I suspect that the ones having trouble aren't locking it tightly enough. My baby is as strong as any, and it's still standing.

I see all of these bad reviews but I actually liked these gates. I have two of these gates and used them both for about 6 years. I never had a problem and prefer them over others.

I can't believe Evenflo actually manufactured this product for use with children. I wouldn't even use it for a dog. It's flimsy and not terribly safe, difficult to open or close yet also too tall for a shorter person to walk over, and the notches make it difficult to fit adequately in many openings.

I chose this gate hoping to safe a few bucks, assuming that all these gates would meet the same minimum standards. I'm taking it back asap.

Yeah it doesn't come with instructions it's a pretty simple gate to figure out on your own. I don't think you really need a set of instructions to figure out how to use this gate. Simply postion in a doorway, expand it, and lock it. I have a 15 month old daughter who can climb everything, but this gate. We also have a 80lb golden retriever who can't get through this gate, try as he might when my daughter is dropping food on the floor. The only reason that I didn't give it 5 stars is because, as someone else said there are no 1/2 inch measurements on the lock and therefore it doesn't fit in all openings correctly, but other than that I think it is a great gate for the price. I also have 2 other gates, a twist and lock and a supergate and I hate them both.

I have two in my household to block with gates; my 16 mo. old daughter and my Siberian husky. I've been glad these are inexpensive, my Siberian husky chewed one down to nothing. We were finding splinters from that gate everywhere!

I've not been able to afford a pricier gate (I think I need an all-metal one!). This has been OK so far for my use. One limitation that's been even harder to work with than my dog chewing up the gate has been my 6 yr old daughter. My 9 yr old is tall enough to step over it, as I do. My six yr old is not, and I'm afraid she's going to try and end up falling. She lacks the strength to pull the bar up and take the gate down to go through.

As to her little sister, yes, it works good for keeping her where she's supposed to be. But it's been a bit challenging to work around the problems, so I'm shopping for another gate.