Safety 1st Eddie Bauer Wood Swing Gate

I have had two gates a year now and the only problem I have is that the screws it comes with should be thrown away before they strip half way in as they are China's finest metal. The wide stairs I have and the natural wood look I wanted to continue were only done with this gate. My installation on curved post did reqire me to add a piece of wood to each side to mount to, but a little carpentry and it looks like this gate came with the stairs. When properly installed the hardware works fine and it is not easy for someone to figure out how to open without showing them. My daughter 2 years old has never opened it by accident or intentional.

First, the installation is horrible. The screw templates are wrong, the instructions difficult (and wrong in places). Only uses 3 screws on one side. Screws on that side have narrow heads and no washers quickly breaking the wood and being secured only part way in. It wont open all the way if it's not at the very corner of the wall. Since the entire thing swings open, it blocks the entire hallway when open,making it difficult to get passed (you have to close it, then squeeze by to open it passed you to get through) Very hard to open with 1 hand. Doesn't accommodate baseboard moldings on both sides. Loud to close, being at the top of the stairs near the kids' room this is a huge minus.

This baby gate is wonderful. We have had it up for two years with no problems. My husband did have to make a wooded piece to mount the gate to since our stairway is plaster and brick. The gate has never given us any problems. It matches our 80 year-old hair wood floors perfectly. We have the high chair and bassinet as well.

After spending over an hour installing this gate because the template provided isn't accurate, I was very frustrated to find that the gate does not work properly or safely. The gate latches using spring loaded pins. It takes very little pressure to retract the pins making it possible to pull the gate open with little effort. Ironically, the gate is very difficult to open when you are using the intended method. The release latch doesn't fully eject the pins so you have to use your other hand (or a small kick) to open the gate. The clip that is supposed to attach the latch to the mounting bar is also faulty on our gate causing the entire latch unit to pull off of the mounting bracket each time we tried to open the gate. This gate looks very nice, but I took it down the very next day because it is so poorly engineered. I wouldn't even use this for a dog much less trust it to keep my child safe.

We bought two of these gates because we thought they looked nice. It has so many design problems, I'm not sure I'll be able to remember them all. In short: * Screws are really cheap, even after pre-drilling holes per the instructions, they almost all stripped clean when just trying to install them. * The opening mechanism is difficult to operate and because the opening action is in the same direction as locking the bracket into place, in one move you can practically take the door off. * The hinge covers have no way to lock in place, so anyone (or anybaby or anydog) can also rip the door off its hinges with minimal effort. * The screws that hold the adjustable section seem to be impossible to tighten correctly, which is bad because staying at the appropriate position is key to the door staying shut. * It is designed to be able to throw the door closed, but it almost always needs your attention when trying to make it stay closed, which half the time will cause the door to come off i... Read more

I purchased this gate when my daughter was crawling. I wouldn't use this gate to keep a dog safe, never mind a child! Also, guests can never figure out how to get it open the right way. It is easier to just pull it open as a toddler would do, rather than correctly try to pull the tab up to open it. It never truely "locks or latches", any toddler can just pull it open. It often closes enough to look locked shut, then my daughter will walk by and pull it open with one hand. It does not latch shut is any way, it is sort of a magnetic lock. Really not a safe gate, especially for stairs and WAY too expensive. I thought the "Eddie Buauer" name and the price would ensure quality, it does not. I would purchase the Evenflo Top of Stair Gate instead. It is half the price, much better quality and you can use it in any doorway (not just stairs). Eddie Bauer's Gate is an accident waiting to happen!