Hands-Free Gate

Comments about The First Years Hands-Free Gate:

Best gate I've ever had (out of 6 different gates). Latches great, doesn't need to be realligned, and easy to install. Keeps my 9 mo & 2 1/2 year old from getting through. My 2 & 1/2 yr. old isn't even heavy enough to jump on the pedal to make it open (he tries). My almost 5 yr. old and older kids can get through easily.

Comments about The First Years Hands-Free Gate:

This is THE BEST Gate of any we have tried (We have had 5 types). We also have a metal Dream Baby swing gate, a Summer infant swing gate, all in use at this time.

This is the only truly handsfree latching gate that we have. EVERY OTHER GATE STOPS LATCHING ON IT'S OWN after a month or so. We have had this for a year or so now, and it is the best. I love that I can step down to open the gate, it is so easy and convenient. I have a 22 month old and a 3 month old, so my hands are always full. I can walk through this gate with laundry, babies, diapers, anything....

It does not swing open and shut on it's own, which I initially thought would be an issue, but I actually prefer it to all the gates that do swing shut automatically, because I have a hard time getting through them as they are always trying to shut on me. This one is great because all I have to do is press down with one foot to open it, and then when I am done walking through, I just bump it with my knee or foot to close it, and it auto latches. The other gates may swing shut, but they have to be latched manually. This is SO frustrating because you can bump a gate shut with your knee or foot, but you CAN NOT lift and latch the gate with your knee, and when your hands are full, it's a mess.

This is sturdy. The only time it EVER came out of the doorway was when we were first using it, and we needed to learn that we had to step down and not press TOWARDS the gate with the lever, because this eventually (like once a month) would work the gate loose. My toddler is a very intelligent little girl, and at almost 30 pounds she still can NOT open this gate. I often ask her to shut it for me and she just swings it shut and it latches itself. This is not the case with other gates, as she can't shut them because they won't latch.

The ONLY downsides to this gate are that 1. the wrench is plastic. It would be much sturdier and nicer if it were metal like other gates. 2. The foot pedal is wide enough that if you put this in a doorway with a door, you won't be able to shut the door completely. We are able to shut the door, but it won't latch. And we have very deep doorways in an old house. This is something I was warned about befoe purchasing (by another friend) and it's the only downside that I wish would change. But it's a small sacrifice for the superb quality of this gate, as we have tried MANY others and been disappointed.

Comments about The First Years Hands-Free Gate:

We have had this gate going on 5yrs and it is still going strong. I am surprised to read in a review that an 18 month old can open the gate and I question whether that particular gate may have been faulty. Our eldest could not open this gate before he was 5. This is not a question of understanding the mechanics, since our 16 month old has already figured this out. But our kids (and their guests!) have not been strong or heavy enough to push the pedal, even though our eldest has always been stronger than average.

Aside from its durability, it is very easy to use and the hands-free feature is essential especially with more than one child. Also, the use of pressure to keep it in place makes it easy to remove or install and it doesn't ruin your walls. Of all our baby & infant equipment, this one is amongst my favorite.

Comments about The First Years Hands-Free Gate:

This is a great baby gate. I love the walk through feature and that you do not have to screw it into your walls. The best part is that my 7 and 5 year old girls can get through. Our old walk through gate tended to pinch fingers (even adults) so this is much better for our entire family. It is a bit tricky to install, trying to get it exactly square. Ours isn't perfect but it works. Now when our 11 month old gets a bit stronger, we'll see how it holds up. I also think the price is good.

Comments about The First Years Hands-Free Gate:

I use it to keep me 11 mouth old out of were i keep my cleaning supplies and laundry room and away from the back door

Comments about The First Years Hands-Free Gate:

Dont waste the time with the cheap gates, this is the best gate EVER!

Comments about The First Years Hands-Free Gate:

Perfect hands-free design. Sturdy, easy pedal. My toddler knows the process to open the gate but because you must apply body weight on the pedal, he has no way of opening it. This wasn't the case with a competitors gate - he figured it out and opened it. The look of the gate is asthetically pleasing to our homes interior.

Comments about The First Years Hands-Free Gate:

We bought 2 gates with extensions to help contain our daughter on our two sets of stairs. Living in New York where apartments are small and stairs/entrance ways are bizzare measurements - the gate extensions were extremely useful. However, one suggestion, gates in different widths would be helpful. We need to carry our stroller up and down stairs into our apartment - and our Maclaren stroller wheels don't fit through the gate. So we have to lift it over to get into and out of the apartment. The gates do have a slide over attachment but not helpful with a stroller going over the top. Sure, beats lifting weights at the gym...and a small beef on what is a great product....

Comments about The First Years Hands-Free Gate:

Nothing bad about this gate at all. It's exceeded our expectations. It was easy to install without making holes in wall. It is VERY well made. Another great thing we did not expect is how nice it looks.White enamel paint looks much nicer than wooden or plastic gates. I have had many gates. I am a mom of many kids & this is the best I've ever had.I installed it myself. My husband loves it--and he hates gates!
It is TRULY hands free!And the gate opens either way.
It is a BIT pricey..but worth every penny!

Comments about The First Years Hands-Free Gate:

We use this gate to block the doorway to the top of the stairs. We also ordered two extensions to get the proper width and it looks and works perfect.

Comments about The First Years Hands-Free Gate:

We bought this gate for the top of our stairs. We used another one we found locally, but our 13 mo old could push it opened (when it was locked). So, I looked for this gate, specifically because family had it on their stairs. It is awesome to keep my baby from falling down the stairs but it also keeps our 30 lb 3 year old upstairs too since she is too little to open it.

Just make sure the tension is tight, because if not they can push it open and it does NO good! (That is operator error - not the product!!)

Comments about The First Years Hands-Free Gate:

This is the best gate on the market for a family that has a older toddler that needs to be able to get through on their own and a younger child that needs to be contained. I have a 3 year old that can open this gate but a 1 year old that can't and that is what we needed. It works perfectly for us.

Comments about The First Years Hands-Free Gate:

So easy to set up. I didn't even need to open the directions. I just looked at the picture on the box and it was set up in minutes. The quality is great, and the gate is very easy to use.

Comments about The First Years Hands-Free Gate:

This gate is awesome. It's so easy for adults and our 5 year old to open, but our crawler obviously can't. It'll be probably 2 more years before she can open it.
It took my husband about 15 minutes to install, with only a little bit of frustration. Once it was up, it is very strong and even our 5 year old hanging on it doesn't make it budge. I would highly recommend it.

Comments about The First Years Hands-Free Gate:

This gate is very useful if you have solid walls on either side of the gate or a solid wall and a strong post on stairs. It is not good for stair post that don't have really good support. Overall we like it, its useful for what we need it for.