Review: Evenflo Secure Step Top of Stair Metal Gate

When we moved to the new Super Cool Baby intergalactic headquarters last week, we were presented with a safety problem: a set of stairs and no gate. We went over to the nearest baby superstore and looked at their selection. We picked out the Evenflo Secure Step Top of Stair Metal Gate because it seemed to have a good sturdy latch and it has the requisite hardware mounts.

We took it home and I begin the installation. This should've been relatively easy. Drill some holes in the wall, screw in the mounting brackets, and slip in the gate. However, in order to install correctly, you need to get things spot-on. Once you have the gate installed, you need to extend it to the right width using a set of little knobs. This was the hardest part to get right. If the gate is even a little bit misaligned it doesn't work. It took us a few days to realize this, and at first we thought the gate was an utter disaster. We couldn't get it to close, and when we did, the latch would slip right out. However, once I figured out how it needed to be adjusted it started working perfectly.

To open the gate you squeeze the blue buttons on both sides of the latch, and then push the latch down. That retracts the lock, and you can then swing the gate open. To close it you just have to line up the lock, and let go of the buttons. There is a small red/green indicator that shows whether you have the gate locked correctly. However I've found that this is hard to see and hard to read.

Overall, I think this is a high quality gate. If you have the patience to get it installed and adjusted properly, I think you will find that this gate suits you well. However, be prepared for some frustration when you're getting everything 100% perfect.

May 2, 2007

Review: Evenflo Secure Step Top of Stair Metal Gate