Safety 1st 0042250 Alarm Security Gate

I bought this gate because I wanted one that was adjustable, but that didn't have a narrow swinging portion that would reduce the size of our doorway. This works great for that feature because all of the adjusting is done on the swinging part of the gate itself, and there aren't side panels that take up space. It fastened very securely to the wall and is nice looking and durable. It is a perk that you can actually remove the gate temporarily without unscrewing the edge pieces from the wall. I don't bother with the battery operated stuff - don't need it, and don't care to waste the batteries, so I can't speak to that feature. It swings and clicks shut very nicely. My only complaint is that it is too hard to open. It takes a lot of hand strength to squeeze the handle and then pull it up (must be spring loaded or something), so that my 7 and 8 year old kids can barely use it even with 2 hands. And my 4 year old can't open it at all, which is a pain for me (who has to open it for her every time she wants to go downstairs). I don't need a gate to keep out a 4 year old. 4 is old enough to obey, and to go downstairs safely. Even adults have to do it a few times to get it right. Aside from that frustrating feature, it is a nice gate. And since most of the other adjustable gates have narrow openings, I still like this one better than the rest.

The hinges on this unit are plastic and over time they are likely to crack. We had one set start to fail and the company just sent us new ones. By the time they started to fail again, my daughter was big enough that we didn't need it anymore. I just am not a fan of the higher stressed components being cheap plastic. I'm looking at the Cardinal gates this time around because they are metal. The best feature on this gate was it would automatically lock when you swung it closed. The alarm and light feature on it aren't good for much. Some people had trouble opening it, although I didn't. Now that my daughter is 6 going on 7, she needs to be able to open it, and I doubt she could open the Safety 1st gate. I'll be giving up the automatic locking on the next one in favor of a safer and more versatile gate that my daughter can open.

We own two of these gates, and have used one for about 4 years, and when we needed a second for downstairs, bought it again. It is fairly easy to put up, and has lasted well. I would recommend it without hesitation.