Customer Reviews

Summer Infant Extra Tall Decorative Walk-Thru Gate

5 star:		(116)
4 star:		(44)
3 star:		(15)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(12)

 

 

Length:: 3:53 Mins

There is a lot to like about Summer Infant Walk-Thru gate, but it also has some (in my eyes) serious drawbacks.

Pros -

+ Installation is relatively painless
+ Sturdy construction - this is a product I am confident in leaving in place without fear of accidents
+ Nice appearance - it certainly does not look cheap
+ Has the ability to adapt to span openings from 28-48" - this is the SPAN that the entire gate covers "from rail-to-wall"


Areas for improvement

- The gate opening is just not wide enough - I dread trying to go through the gate with suitcases or anything of width. This is different than the gates span ... what I am referring to is the actual fixed opening that you walk through.
- The catch mechanism sticks into the opening by about 2" - It is positioned perfectly to catch onto clothes and pockets. I see things getting caught and ripped in our immediate future.
- For some reason our gate does not automatically close.


Final Verdict - While I can't give this gate a hearty recommendation I am still not convinced that it is not the best baby gate on the market. I know that sounds crazy, but I have not found a product that I don't have major complaints with - so with that

3 Stars

We have purchased many gates since our two kids arrived, and this one is the first one I like. Actually, we love this gate. The other plastic, pressure mounted ones are ugly and impossible to use. We gave those away. Then we bought wooden ones that were so flimsy they fell apart. Then we bought the XT Superyard, which is great as portable enclosure, but simply is not a gate for room entry or stairs. I was able to mount this gate in just a few minutes. The assembly was very intuitive, and they DO provide simple instructions. The gate is sturdy, surprisingly stylish, and works, very, very well. Only because we have wasted so much time and money do we truly appreciate this particular model. FINALLY a gate that works as promised!.

I will note that the auto-close feature can be defeated if the turn knobs are not adjusted properly. Other reviewers complain that the gate ceases to close after a bit of use. But this is only a matter of adjusting the knobs properly - not just the top one necessarily, but all of them. It's not rocket science, and the adjustment of knobs (there are only four) is not nearly as trying as it sounds. They also include a specialized wrench for turning the plastic knobs well and accurately. We are very pleased with this purchase, and have recommended this gate to any friend in need of one. Our 16-month old son, who is very good at destroying things and escaping most enclosures, has yet to defeat this gate. He throws all of his weight into it, but this gate does not budge. Our four-year old, on the other hand, figured out that lifting the door straight up is easier than using the latch. Now we just lift, and swing it open, then close it. Makes the latch superfluous. The lift trick also makes is very easy for their grandmother (who suffers from arthritis) to open the gate too.

Installing it you will notice that the doorway of the gate is not square when you first position it across the hallway or entryway. This is by design, as turning the knobs applies the pressure necessary to make the gate swing shut. As the knobs are tightened, the gate squares up. Brilliant. The gate we bought also came with two extra panels, to adjust the width. Four metal pins hold the panel in place. We only needed one panel. The whole design is so incredibly simple, it's quite astonishing that it works so well.

And finally, there is some hardware provided for screwing the seats for the knobs into the wall. If you're going to use this at the top of the stairs, DO NOT rely on a pressure mount. While this is a great gate, you never want to rely on pressure-mount only to keep your toddler from falling down the stairs. Sacrifice a little putty and paint rather than your kid's neck, and install the screw mount if you use it for the stairway. Common sense is common sense.

While I agree that some Summer Products have been a bit flimsy, this particular model of gate is a real star. We recommend it without hesitation, and we're very demanding consumers. If you find some defect, take it back and swap it out. Both of our gates are perfect.

We really like this gate. We have two big dogs, and we put the gate up in between the living-room and the kitchen, to keep them out of the living-room. It is really nice they cannot break the gate down. We have one dog that is a Irsh Wolfhound, and weights 120 lbs, and a Black Lab weigh 80 lbs. The gate is tall enough too. Our son also brought one for his house when he saw mine. He has also a Black Lab.

I did a lot of research before purchasing this gate. I had a long list of criteria I wanted a gate to meet and this one fit the most on my really long list. I should say that I have not found ANY gate that meets all my requirements, but this one has worked well so far. This gate is used on the bottom of my really long, steep, wide staircase. My gate is for use with kids, not dogs which is a major distinction. My son is only five months old but this gate has been getting lots of practice for the past 8 months with my nieces and nephews and friends kids, along with my husband and myself.

Pros
The height is great at 34 inches tall (note, it's only 36 in at the top curve of the walk through portion). Mine is mounted on the first step of my staircase, so when the kiddos approach mine, it actually stretches to 44 and 46 in respectively.
One of the few that could fill my wide staircase opening of 47 inches.
The bronze color is attractive and blends really well with my decor.
The metal gate feels very sturdy and shows no wear despite being bumped and banged into repeatedly with luggage, snowboards, vacuum cleaner etc.
The latching mechanism is easy to maneuver with one hand. Great when I have an arm full of clothes or my son in tow.
It is safe as it has stumped even some adults who have come to my home. Most people need to be shown how it works in order for them to open it. Big plus for me trying to keep kids from opening it. I should note that pushing the black slider on the top latch is not enough to open the gate. While many adults have simply done that and been able to yank the gate open, no child under the age of five has been able to do the same. The bottom latch has remained engaged until someone has come and lifted the door to get it to open. The added height has made it near impossible for the younger kids to maneuver both the latch and the lifting the door requires to get it open.
The gate is easy to adjust and tweak to keep it working properly. This is huge, especially with kids constantly jostling, yanking, and pulling on it to try to get through. I should note that it annoys me to have to adjust it, but I know all gates need to be checked and tweaked occasionally in order to keep them performing their function.
The walk through opening is wider than a lot of gates I looked at at 17 inches across. My 6'4 husband fits fine through it.
It automatically swings shut and locks. Big bonus as I have it at the base of the stairs for a reason, to keep my the younger kids from climbing the stairs.

Cons
I don't like the bar that stretches across the bottom of the walk through portion. It is only 1 inch high, but it is a nuisance to step over. It is also a reason I would not mount this gate at the top of my stairs. I tend to be clumsy. :)
The walk through opening is only 17 inches across. This is a pro for me in the sense that it is wider than most I've seen, but still would like it to be wider.
The gate is noisy when it slams shut. But it latches and locks so I don't mind this so much. And my infant son is now used to the sound so it doesn't disturb him when he is asleep.

Overall, I would highly recommend this gate for both form and function purposes. It has been up in my home for 8 months, and with only minimal tweaking, has stood up to the punishment of five rambunctious kids and their little friends. I will admit to searching for a different option for the top of my stairs since my banister poses mounting issues and the bottom bar of this gate scares me as a tripping hazard. But, since none have meet my rigid criteria, the search continues. :)

We have been using our summer infant gate for about a month now. So far we have been very pleased with it. It has held up to our 14-month old toddler pushing & pulling on it. When installed correctly the swing gate works great and closes back well. It is easy to open one-handed and has a clean, sleek appearance!

We purchased these for our kitchen and laundry room to keep out two toddlers out. Within 2 weeks of installing them the auto close no longer worked and both kids had figured out how to open them. The upper gate hinge broke shortly after on the one in the kitchen. I realize they were used in high traffic areas but they certainly should have lasted longer than a couple weeks. Do not buy these gates!

We have an opening between the living room and kitchen that is about 46" wide and this was the most reasonably priced gate we could find that could accommodate this width. We are using it to block the grand-dogs out of the kitchen when they come visit us, which is why we wanted a pressure mounted gate as opposed to hardware mount. The gate was easy to set up and we especially like the walk-through door feature. For baby purposes the hands-free gate would probably be the better choice but for pet purposes, this gate does the job perfectly.

We have six dogs ranging from a 7 lb. dachshund to 50-something lb. coonhound mixes. For years we used a 4 ft. tall piece of plywood to keep them contained in one part of the house. Not very attractive, but effective at holding back the larger dogs when they jumped against it. Because of their jumping at the barrier, I was concerned that this gate would be too low to keep them in. It isn't a problem because now they can see who is on the other side of the gate and while they still bark, they don't jump at the gate. We installed it without the screw-in cups just to test the gate (it's placed in a 43 in. doorway between entrance hallway and living room--no stairs) and have found the tension mount is adequate to hold it firmly in place.

Intstallation is not very difficult but does take a little trial and error if you have baseboards to accommodate. With a little back and forth to balance the tension screws, it's possible to get the pressure just right so that the gate closes properly.

We flipped the plastic "stop" around so that if they jump against the gate from inside the living room, it will not open. It's important to make sure you have that stop in the correct direction to prevent accidentally opening if it's not properly latched. Even if the top portion is properly latched, it will give with enough pressure--hence, the need to make sure it opens from the proper direction to keep your pet or child inside.

We did not purchase this for children; just dogs. For those who are seeking a good gate for pets, we think this product is wonderful. We've had no breakthroughs, even with six maniacs. The little one hasn't caught her head in the bars (one of my primary concerns) and the larger ones haven't jumped it--and we have a couple who are great leapers. We found no better value or quality in the pet stores and the enclosed extensions were a tremendous convenience instead of having to order them separately. A nice bonus is how attractive it is.

Many people complain that the door opening is too narrow. It is true that the plastic stop sticks out but sidestepping it becomes as second nature as stepping over the floor-level support bar. Most people likely will not be able to walk straight through while carrying something unless they are tall enough so that the item clears the top opening. Again, simple adjustment of approach. I have had no problems getting used to it and I am short and a 2X.

For the money, an excellent product.

We purchased this gate for a few reasons. First of all it being as tall as the banisters which in my opinion looks better. The color also worked well for our dark cherry wood and doesn't stand out as much as a lighter maple or white colored gate would.

Second we purchased it for the walk-thru style. It works well and my 5.5 year old can work it without worrying about him breaking the latch. The only complaint is that it is kind of narrow and when carrying loads of laundry up the stairs I have to put the basket in front of me or lift it over to get through the gate.

Third we purchased the gate knowing that it could be pressure mounted because we didn't want to place holes into our banisters, HOWEVER, when purchasing it on Amazon it never stated anywhere that to be the safest when placed at the TOP OF THE STAIRS it needs to be mounted with the screws that it comes with. If you want the PRESSURE MOUNTED OPTION this gate needs to be placed at the bottom of the stairs. This is our biggest complaint.

Otherwise the gate works well for the time being and the holes will have to be filled in when finished.

I purchased this gate about 2 months ago because it matched our decor. I love it! It took about 10 minutes to install and has worked perfectly ever since. We've never had to adjust it or anything. My 10 month old will stand at the gate and rattle it back and forth for 10 minutes straight sometimes and it has never budged. I would recommend this gate to anyone! We are about to purchase a second one.