Customer Reviews

Summer Infant Sure and Secure Extra Tall Walk-Thru Gate, White

5 star:		(144)
4 star:		(51)
3 star:		(24)
2 star:		(15)
1 star:		(24)

 

 

After trying 3 different gates (that all had high ratings on Amazon), this is my second favorite. I turned my home into my own version of a baby gate showroom to figure out which one I wanted, so here's my take on three different gates.

I think they are all pretty good gates, it just depends on your situation and what features you're looking for. The key features that ended up making a difference to me were 1) the width of the gate opening and 2) the latch mechanism

Summer Infant - Sure & Secure Extra Tall Gate
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cost $60 & extensions included / gate is 36" Tall / fits 28"-48" doorway width / 2" bar to step over / gate opening 19"

- This is the one that I wanted to like because I thought it was the best deal.
- The gate opening is about 19" - which I thought was ok, but hubby wanted wider.
- The latch mechanism is really easy to operate and I thought kids could figure it out easily, but because the gate is so tall, they would probably have a hard time reaching it.
- It does come with its own extensions in 5" and 10" so it more easily fits the wider doorways.
- However, depending on the width of your doorway, this one may or may not fit as well. For example, I had a lot of doorways that are about 33" and this gate didn't end up fitting well in them because the gate without any extensions was too small and the posts had to be extended so far it didn't seem stable. And the 5" extension was too big to add. (vs. the kidco gate's extensions add 2.75" as needed).
- It's by far the tallest and I liked that since my daughter has been in the 95% so far. I also just like the way the taller gate looks.
- It does have the highest bar across the bottom to step over - 2".
- If it fits well in your doorway it is probably the best value for the money.

Kidco Center Gateway:
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cost $85 & extensions $24 / gate is 29.5" Tall / fits 29.25" to 37.5" doorway width / 1" bar to step over / gate opening 22"

- Has the widest gate opening (the space you walk thru, not the doorway that it fits into) of any of them - about 22". (This certainly won points from my 6'2" husband who was pretty irritated when walking thru some of the others). I was surprised after reading so many reviews on all these gates that there wasn't more mention of this feature.
- This one also had the most secure latch feature. You have to push a button to lift the handle and lift the gate over a little ledge to open it and walk thru. I figure this will absolutely be the hardest one for my little one to figure out.
- This gate has the most adjustable widths and therefore would probably be the strongest in most door widths. The gate has about 2.75" pieces on the ends that you can use or not with the optional extensions (more 2.75" spindles as additions - 2 per box) to provide the most width flexibility. Because all the gates become "weaker" if the posts are extended too much, this one seems the sturdiest in my doorways. (ie. if the gate says it fits up to 37" and your door opening is 36.5", it won't seem as sturdy as if the doorway was 34").
- It doesn't have its brand name printed on it anywhere (a plus in my book) so it's totally white.
- It has the lowest bar across the floor that you have to step over at only 1" high (seems less of a tripping risk).
- This is the one that has the highest rating from Consumer Reports. (Child safety gates 8/04)
- Unfortunately, it also is the most expensive of the bunch at about $85 + any extensions you need.
- I do have to say that this one had the most confusing directions, but you can still figure it out ok - none of them took longer than 10 minutes to set up.
- It's the shortest gate and I wish it was a little taller.
- All in all, if you can afford the price of this one, it's definitely worth it!

First Years - Hands-Free Gate
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cost $50 & extensions $15 / gate is 32" Tall / fits 29"-34" doorway width / 1.5" bar to step over / gate opening 17"

- My gripe with this gate was primarily because the gate opening is only 17" wide! I'm 5'8" and I felt like I was going to have to really pay attention walking through it so I wouldn't end up bumping it every time. However...
- The hands-free step pedal is pretty cool and worked pretty easily. I wouldn't worry about a little kid figuring it out and having enough weight to be able to push it down to open it. For me it just wasn't cool enough to overcome my issue with the gate opening width.
- Good height to the gate.
- It was very sturdy in my doorway.
- This one did have a little ramp feature for the bar that goes across the floor that helps minimize the tripping factor.
- Fits only up to 34" doorways so has the best chance of needing an extension.
- All that being said, if you really want a hands free gate, and the width of the gate opening doesn't bug you, try this one.

All three gates seemed to:
- Fit pretty tightly in the doorways after being adjusted properly. Depending on your walls and if you have moldings etc, you might need to take an extra 5-10 minutes to adjust them and get them straight and hanging correctly.
- Had the same type of post for the pressure-mount that is covered with a rubbery material to help it not slip on the wall.
- Were pretty easy to set up.
- All look about the same from a quality point of view - in other words one of them didn't look "cheaper" to me than the others.

Please remember that for safety, only hardware mounted gates are considered stable enough to put at the top of stairs, so don't use any of these for that. Think about how you will use these gates in your house and what features you will value. Good luck with your own purchase!

At one time, we were using both a Hands Free gate (upstairs) and this prouct (downstairs). Both door openings were equally wide. Both products were equally easy to install. We ended up returning this one, and buying a second Hands Free. Here's the comparison:

Extra Tall Gate:
1) Comes with extensions (built into price). Don't be fooled by any of these products - you will ALWAYS need at least one extension.
2) Self-closing, BUT it is very easy to get the gate out of alignment. When this happens, it won't always self-close in one direction.
3) Although latch is very simple, it DOES require one hand to open it. Picture yourself carrying a 20 lb child in one arm, and a jug of formula in the opther, and consider how you will open the gate.
4) Because these gates use compression (instead of drilling into walls) they have a bar across the bottom. The bar on this gate is thicker, and more of a tripping hazard. Hands-free has a ramp.
5) The gate misaligns EASILY, even when securely pressed between walls or door openings. This is because when it swings shut, it usually slams. Enough of this and it always knocks the assembly out of alignment. By 'alignment' I mean all four pads that contact the wall must be in a perfect plane. Misalignment means one of the pads (usually the top ones) slipped.
6) When the gate slams shut, it makes noise. Therefore, you always need to close it gently -- or worse, sometimes leave it 'closed, but not latched' -- so as to not wake sleeping babies. The danger in this is that other people may think the gate is latched and safe. Mom might have left it unlatched to not wake the baby; dad later thinks it's closed and locked because it's self-closing... Not good.
7) Yeah, it's tall... Extra-tall even... In fact, it's about 4" taller than most gates. Are they implying that most gates are unsafe since they are shorter?

Hands-free
1) You will NEED to buy at least one extension. No one in America has doors narrow enough to fit the gate alone... A gate + 1 extension equals the price of the Tall Gate.
2) NOT self-closing. This might sound bad, but if the parents leave the gate wide open when the kids are sleeping, it is obvious to all that it is open.
3) Bar at bottom has an anti-tripping ramp.
4) Truly hands-free! I can carry my twins - opening is extremely simple with your foot.
5) These just don't seem to ever get out of alignment. Remember, the gate is never slamming shut, so there is no force to misalign it.

The Hands-Free gate just has too many things going for it. Check out the super long list of 5-star reviews. The only 1-star reviews complain about a poorly designed foot pedal for the latch. The models that are being sold now have fixed that problem.

While there is nothing truly wrong with this gate (assuming no one leaves it unlocked), the Hands-free is simply much better.

Wonderfull gate! It swings in both directions. It is extra tall. You dont have to mount it on to your walls. It comes with two extensions and I have used it with both extensions on it and it dosent give at all. Our house has odd openings and I can fit this anywhere. I still have a plastic gate in my kitchen and just came online to order a second one of these to replace that.

Good news for parents of curious toddlers. The way to open it is a button on the top of the gate (since this is an extra tall gate you'd have to be the parent of a future nba player to get to it). Even if you have a super tall todler, you have to push the button over and lift the swing gate to open it... it is very easy for "most" adults, however visitors will have problems with it!!!

Also if you need extensions for a gate, you need to check the price of extensions... I needed both extensions and by the time I added them onto other gates I would have paid $80.00 or more. That is the reason I chose this one.

This gate works great! We plan on buying another! Although it is pricy compared to those others out there- you get what you pay for- a grand gate that is true to it's name- very tall and very secure! I love it. It was easy to install and I love that you can use it either as a pressurized gate or install it as a permanent gate. We have it installed permanently to our nursery's doorway and plan on getting another to use as a pressurized gate to move it to other areas as needed in elsewhere in our house. It also comes with the extension parts if you have large doorway (others I learned you had to purchase separately!).

We also have LARGE dog- 90 lb Lab. Our other pressurized gate was shorter and did little to hold her weight when she would stand on it with her front legs. I can't remember the brand but it was about $30.00 with a plastic grill and center arm that extended. The Sure&Secure gate holds the weight of our dog and is too tall for her jump over.

I love this gate! I have two of them. The main reason I have this gate (over a hands free version) is because of CATS, who could squeeze through other gate openings and leap over other shorter gates. This is the one gate they can't get through!

I love the pressure mounting. It is so easy to assemble and lines up perfectly. I also love that this gate is metal and cannot be pushed or knocked over easily. I also love that it has a bottom and top locking mechanism.

The only thing is it can be a little squeaky when first out of the box but a couple squirts of WD-40 and it is silent.

This is a great gate - I just bought it two days ago and was able to install it easily and quickly. It seems very secure. It does not slam shut for me (maybe I am just lucky). The extra height is wonderful. It is not, as a previous reviewer commented, an implication that shorter gates are "unsafe"! - The extra height is great if you have kids and a dog for example. We have a large dog and we wanted something that would keep our baby in the living and dining rooms and our dog in the family room and kitchen area. This works great for that. Smaller gates would not have kept our dog out of our baby's play area. It easily locks in to place and can easily be opened with one hand. We have a white room and doorway so it is also color-coordinated and there are pads on the pressure points so your door frames won't get scuffed up. So far this seems to be an excellent gate. Oh and you DON'T need additional extensions and the price is excellent for the type and size of gate you get. We got ours for (...) - cheaper models (...) all got bad reviews - doesn't mean they are terrible for everyone but it seems you get what you pay for.

After pouring through Amazon reviews and scrutinizing the stock at Babies R Us, I finally picked this gate because it seemed to be the only one that truly did not need any fancy installation. It is great. It fits right in the bedroom doorway of our '50s house. We can open it with one hand, and it swings like a gate. All I had to do was take it out of the box, position it in the doorway, and turn the large screw type knobs with my hand until it was tightened in the doorway. Sort of like giant screw type earrings....Very easy and fast. They enclose a tool/wrench type thing you could use, but I used my hands and it worked out fine. I am going back to buy another for the other bedroom door. It opens like a gate, either way you swing it. You have to step over the bottom bar, but it is only a couple of inches and no problem, even for a klutz like me. I would highly recommend it!

My husband and I both wanted a walk-thru baby gate, but were unable to find one, even with extentions (for less than 150.00) to work in our hallway in order to keep children away from the basement steps and bathroom. We finally found this one, it comes with the extentions already included in the box (no extra cost), has no cross bars which helps prevent climbing, does not need to be attached to walls which makes it moveable, and is extra tall as a bonus. Although this one has a one-handed open feature, we would have preferred the foot lever and a smaller base to step over. All in all is is a great gate for the money.

I've got 4 children and have used a few different gates in my time. We had one from our second child that we loved for our entrance into the kitchen but it finally broke and our fourth is still into everything so a gate was a must. I saw this and thought, "Wow, it does everything I need!". It's true, it's taller than most (my #4 is a climber and has come very close to climbing over standard gates), pressure mounted (we are putting this between a metal covered corner and thin paneling under a breakfast bar), and one handed operation while swinging both ways. Sounded perfect for us.

Then reality settled in. It took less than 1hr for my 20mo old to figure out how to open it. Yep, that's right. 20mo old, through it in under an hour. The latch just isn't designed to stop a determined child. It's 1/8" (maybe smaller) tongue that slides back with a thumb plate. He yanked on it and popped it out. Then he figured out how to pull it up and into the kitchen he went. Hmmm...maybe we didn't have it tight enough? We tightened it to the point where the auto-latch thing didn't work and we could barely latch it ourselves and still he got through. No matter how tight or how loose we made it, he could open it. We've had it a week and it's going back to the store to try something else.

For the record, no, my #4 is NOT a huge tank. He is tall (hence the reason I liked the extra-tall gate) but he is only 30% in weight. If he could do it, so could just about any child that put their mind to it. I shudder to think of these at the top of stairs.

I did call customer service and was told no refund through them but I could trade for a different one. All the ones that would work in that area had the same latch. No thanks!

We love this gate, it is tall and easy to use. However, we bought this gate mainly because it is advertised as 48" wide. Our doorway is exactly 48" wide and there are very few gates that will accomodate that width. when we got the box I noticed it said it went up to 47 1/2 inches. Sure enough it was 1/2 too narrow. We fixed the problem by screwing some wood pieces into the wall. Not very pretty but it works. Just wanted to warn any of you who have 48" openings!