I had purchased several different brands of baby gates over the years with my children and this one comes closest to ideal for me. Durability These gates are sturdy and will not break. The lever on it will not break if pulled too hard and never came loose. Walking over the gate and kicking it over and over again, it never budged. These gates are made strong and durable. Ease of Use The lever to open and close the gate to get it to fit the doorway is a bit tough at times to do. It definitely takes some muscle to get it tight, but for most people, I'd imagine it wouldn't be too hard. Other than that, it is simple. Put in place, move lever to adjust to the width of the doorway you want the gate in, and snap into place. Safety This gate is one basic unit with only a few added on pieces. It is thick and tough to move, so baby will never get it open and will never be able to pull any spare parts off of it, as they are locked in well and no screws or anything small is visible.

JessNicole

Undisclosed

One of the hardest things for us has been having a highly active daughter. She began to walk at an early age and was always into everything. After she managed to get into most of the locked cabinets (with child proof locks) and managed to get into a whole bunch of things, we needed a gate system that would hold her in her room. We purchased two of the Safety 1st Lift and Lock Gates for her doorway. At first one worked but then she would find a way to climb over it, so we had to put two up when it was time for her to have some alone time. There are some drawbakcs as the setting with four screws is a pain if you need to move it from one place to another, and on a few occasions, the screws would not hold that well, but in the long run, the gates stayed put and were a life safer many times. Durability Despite some annoyances with these gates, I have found they have lasted a long time. We have gone from using them for our daughter to using them for our rabbits to keep them contained during play time in our kitchen. They work fine for that too. Ease of Use When using them on the same doorway, we opted not to use the hinges with them. We used the pressure instead only and completely removed the gate when we were not using it. That usually worked great, except one of the gates had trouble with the screws on one side staying in place. I have a hard time stepping over these gates at times, so not using them in high traffic areas became important to us. Her room was the primary place we used them. Safety We had such great results with these gates. Even when we had to use two of these on top of each other they did not budge and our daughter never hurt herself on these at all. She could not budge them either, which was a great relief to us. They are also very nice for the bunnies and would be great to use for ambitious puppies too.

Caprig

Podunk, NY

I initially got this gate when my daughter was a baby. She is now going to college and I still use it. No it is not what you are thinking. I now use it for my dog. Ok I know that doesnt sound right, but anyone that has a loved pet that has short legs and needs to be kept confined to certain locations like away from steps knows what I mean. I have had one of these  that lasted years and it finnally broke because the spring mechanism gave out, but I still use the gate. It works really well and can conform to many different size door openings. I am currently in the market for another one for my second set of steps. We now use a box and crate to block the steps from my Maltipoo teddy who would love to try to go up the steps even though his short legs would not allow him to make it very far and he would also be in a dangerous situation if he did make it to the top without supervision. This is the only gate to buy!

jimbeau38

Flushing, NY

I've used this baby gate now for 2 different kids and have found it to work great.  It's easy to take down and move quickly, or I can also step over it if I'm feeling flexible.  My husband and I looked at a lot of baby gates and decided on this one because it has a nice simple took and seemed really safe.  My only complaint is that if you are constantly taking this gate up and down it may damage your walls.  It's hasn't been a huge deal...I've just had to patch and paint the area where the gate touches once I have finished using it.  It's way better than having a kid fall down the stairs.  One of the rubber pads as fallen off (that protect it from scratching the wall), but overall it has been very durable.  I would recommend this gate to anyone.  It is very compact for storage too (it can colapse to half it's size).  Once it is put in place, it is very secure.  My child has tried to get past it before, and it has always held tight!

kaysvillemama

Kaysville, UT