Summer Infant Metal Expansion Gate Review

When you become a parent, you quickly realize one of the most important and challenging aspects of parenting, is keeping your baby safe. The challenge grows along with your baby and by the time you have a busy toddler you are in need of a few baby proofing tools to help you out.

A baby gate is one of the greatest baby proofing inventions to keep your child safe and the Summer Infant Metal Expansion Gate is a highly reviewed gate that offers some amazing features.

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• Bestseller No. 1
  
  Summer Metal Expansion 6-Foot-Wide Extra Tall Walk-Thru Baby Gate, Bronze Finish - 36"...
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Overview of the Summer Infant Metal Expansion Gate

Summer Infant is a company that was founded back in 1985 by a dad wanting to keep his daughter safe. The company started with a bouncy seat and now offers just about all the equipment you need for your little one.

You can rest assured of their quality because as they claim on their website, they "work closely with professionals including pediatricians, child development experts, and lactation consultants to ensure that they are safe and beneficial to the development of your child."

Summer Infant Metal Expansion Gate Features

• Width - This gate is an expansion gate, which means it is extra wide. If you have an opening in your home that is larger than a standard doorway, this gate will be a great fit for you. While the gate is a standard height, 30 inches, it can span a width from 44 to 72 inches, where standard gates are 32 inches wide.
• Sturdy - One of the benefits that reviewers love about this gate is how sturdy it is. You mount the gate to the wall, which will keep it in place even with a rowdy toddler trying to push it down. Even with the extra width that this baby gate offers, it will remain sturdy and in place.
• Walk Thru Gate - Gone are the days of needing to remove a gate or climb over it to pass into another room. This baby gate features a walk thru gate in the center. The door swings open for you to easily step thru the gate and into the other room.
• One Handed Opening - The door on the gate is designed with a one handed opening concept. To open the gate door you simply lift up on the door while sliding the connecter to the side. The opening process is simply enough for adults to use, but hard enough that your toddler will not be able to do it.
• Neutral Finish - The baby gate has a white neutral finish which looks nice with most decors. This is a good gate to keep your child safe and separate your rooms without drawing too much attention to itself.
• Also Great For Pets - Your furry children can also benefit from this gate. Mainly small dogs, as this gate is no match for your average feline or even a mid to large size dog. Still, depending on your pet, this might do the trick!

Installing the Summer Infant Metal Expansion Gate

The Summer Infant Metal Expansion Gate needs to be hardware mounted on the wall. While this type of installation can be a little more time consuming than a pressure mounted system, it ensures the gate will not come down. The installation is still relatively simple, only requiring you to drill the mounts into the wall. The gate sets into the mounts and can easily be removed and replaced if you want to have your rooms open for awhile.

When installing the gate you can choose to put it right against your baseboard or above the baseboard. If you are putting the gate against the baseboard you will need to use a small shim or filler piece of wood where the top mount meets the wall. If you raise the gate above the baseboard you will need to step over the bottom of the gate each time you pass through. This will leave a gap under the bottom of the gate.

Review Summary

The Summer Infant Metal Expansion Gate is a great fit for the large openings in your home. The additional width on this gate allows you to use it an areas of your home that most baby gates will not fit. The stability of the hardware mounted installation will keep your child safe and your gate in place for the long haul.

While the gate features a one-handed opening, many reviewers online felt the door was tough to open and re-latch. It is a two step process, which some users struggled with. If you are interested in a pressure mounted gate with a easy open and auto close door, take a look at this review for another baby gate option.

Overall, the Summer Infant Metal Expansion Gate is a popular gate with a simple, but elegant, design that would be a great product for your baby proofing needs.