Safety 1st Perfect Fit Gate--When you want to keep baby out, this is in!

Seeing that I used to teach higher level mathematics, I have a pretty good grasp of how equations work. This includes the equation: baby stairs = bad. Now, this problem never bothered me before because I was missing a crucial part of the equation – the baby. However, when I learned of Aidan’s imminent arrival I realized I would have to “batten down the hatches.” This included doing something about the stairs in my house. While I am not one of those mothers who go to the extreme and throws away any piece of furniture with an edge and sands down the corners of her walls, I do believe that certain things need to be secured – the pool, the stairs, cabinets and power outlets. One good point is that the only room upstairs is our bonus room – basically Florida’s version of a basement since we can’t have one down here. We have our bar, pool table, dart board and poker table up here – seeing as Aidan is a bit young to partake in these activities, I didn’t really need anything to protect him from falling DOWN stairs. What I needed was something to protect him from trying to get upstairs the second my back was turned. That something was a gate. Since I also felt the need to keep my son away from the cat’s litterbox, I figured I would need two. I received the Safety 1st Perfect Fit Gate (which I had registered for) and the First Year’s Everywhere Gate (also known as the “All Clear Swing Gate”), which I had not registered for. I’ll review the First Year’s Gate later, this review is for the Safety 1st Perfect Fit Gate.

First things first… pressure or handware??

The Perfect Fit Gate gives you the option of either being used as a pressure-mounted or hardware-mounted gate. Since I did not want the gate to be tied down to one location, I chose to use it as a pressure-mounted gate so that it how I will be reviewing it. I really like the fact that this gate gives you the option – it makes it much more versatile and longer lasting than one that is specifically one or the other. I would highly, highly, HIGHLY recommend that if you are placing this gate at the top of the stairs that you use the hardware-mounted option – as a pressure gate, this is simply not strong enough to be effective at the top of the stairs.

If you think about it this way, you get two gates in one. You can use it as a hardware mounted gate when your baby is young and switch to a pressure mounted gate in the future to corral pets. For the price of $29.99, that’s not too shabby.

Okkie dokkie… what does the gate look like?

Whew… done with that. Anyway, as most of you have already deduced, the Safety 1st Perfect Fit Gate is a child safety gate, made for keeping things (such as dogs, my dumb cats or babies) in or out. It is constructed of two white plastic panels with frosted plastic sections in the middle of the gate. I like the fact that there are panels (instead of the bars or wiring) because it makes the gate essentially climb-proof. Many gates that use the wiring have the statement “do not use when child is old enough to climb”… well folks, my son is 9 months old and can climb over those gates (yes, I have seen him do it at my parent’s home), so I’m glad we have these. When you have an active climber like mine, you have to have something flat they can’t get a toehold on. The problem I have with these frosted panels is that they are frosted. Hello? What is the freakin sense in that? You can’t see clearly through these panels, which becomes a major irritation if you’re trying to watch your child from across the room. If they were clear (like the First Years Gate) you wouldn’t have this problem. I can’t, for the life of me, figure out why the panels are frosted.

Another nice thing about this gate is the fact that the sides are relatively smooth. Some gates have objects along the sides that stick out sharply, creating a potential toehold for an adventuresome infant – but it’s really almost impossible to climb on this gate… the sides are simply too smooth to get a good hold. These gates are also remarkably easy to clean – you don’t have to worry about food (or anything else) getting such in the wiring or any grooves… all you have to do is wipe clean and go.

The Perfect Fit Gate can be extended from a minimum 27” to 42” in width – fitting a large variety of entranceways. It is around 26” in height – in my opinion the perfect height since I can climb over it without having to put Aidan down. The recommended age on this gate is anywhere from 6 to 24 months – though in my opinion it is also a great gate for pets, especially if you have your newborn on the floor and you don’t want Fido getting slobber all over him yet.

So, how does this pressure mounted gate work? Is it user friendly?

Well, I thought you’d never ask!

The gate has a handle on the top that controls the locking, releasing and adjustment of the gate. It also employs a two button system that is fairly easy for an adult to get the hang of, but will be nearly impossible for infants and younger toddlers. The Perfect Fit Gate uses a color-coded system to let you know when the gate is locked, unlocked or in the adjustment mode. Here’s how it works:

When the handle is completely pressed down, you have the gate in the locked position.

If you would like to unlock the gate, simply press and slide the button at the top of the handle while pulling the handle up. When you do this the gate will unlock and you will see a red symbol of an open lock appear. That’s akin to beating you over the head – if you can’t figure out the gate is unlocked at this point you should be smacked. If you would like to lock the gate, simply press the handle back down. The symbol will disappear and the gate will lock.

However, lets say you would like to adjust the gate… There is another button you will need to press (the button is to the right of the handle) while pulling up on said handle. When you do this you will see a symbol of two arrows on a yellow background (below the open lock symbol). The arrows are pointing in different directions, indicating you can now adjust the fit of the gate to the appropriate door. When you are done adjusting, simply press the handle down twice and the gate will be locked.


What’s nice is that (not counting the adjustment part), this is relatively easy to use one handed. I have held Aidan before while I unlocked and moved the gate… so it is fairly convenient for mom and dad. There is also a convenient feature that allows the gate to fit even irregularly sized openings (such as a wall with baseboards at the bottom). On one of the sides, there are two buttons that can be tightened or loosened enough to perfectly fit the gate to the wall. I don’t really use this feature that much since I usually place the gate in doorframes (which are even)… but sometimes when I use this gate at the bottom of the stairs, I will adjust the buttons to compensate for the moulding at the base of the wall. It is as simple to use as unscrewing a screw, that’s it.

Now.. is this gate the most user friendly thing on the planet? No, but I’m not really expecting it to be. The major problems I have is adjusting the gate as a whole. You definitely need two hands to get the gate into a good position. This occurs because, when you are adjusting it, the top and the bottom of the gate don’t always form a vertical line (meaning the top part of the gate butts up against the doorframe but the bottom doesn’t). I’ve locked the gate more than a few times only to realize, to my dismay, that I had to do it all over again because the top part isn’t as close to the wall as the bottom part. This is especially true if you’re trying to adjust it to fit a few inches off the ground (so that animals can go underneath it, but not your baby). Sometimes the handle also has a problem with sticking – ie: it won’t lock itself unless you exert a fair amount of pressure on it.

Overall Recommendation

I definitely feel this gate gives you a little bit of everything. You can use it at the top of the stairs (as a hardware mounted gate), or you can keep it mobile by using it as it comes (ie: pressure mounted). It has relatively smooth sides and frosted panels so your little one can’t climb over it. The top handle is versatile and allows you to control the locking, unlocking and adjustment with a simple pull of the handle. This ensures there’s less of a chance you’ll break off an important piece. It seems like it would be hard for a little one to figure out, but then again they’re geniuses… Let me say this, it seems a lot harder to figure out than my First Years Gate. It easily adjusts to fit odd-shaped openings by unscrewing a few buttons on the side. The only negatives are: the frosted panels mean you don’t have a clear view of the other side of the gate and it is somewhat hard to adjust the length.

In addition, the price is moderate. Friends spent $30 on this model, while others spent $40 on the First Years model… and I like the Safety 1st Perfect Fit Gate better!

I just want to add another word of caution: if you are using this as a pressure mounted gate, DO NOT use it at the top of the stairs. It is strong enough for every day use, but not in situations where the consequences could be fatal. It may take a little longer (and be more permanent) to install it into the wall, but it’s worth it.

As always, thanks for reading!!

Pros:

*Gives you the option of hardware or pressure mount
*Adjusts to fit odd-shaped areas
*Fits a large variety of entranceways
*Top handle performs three functions: lock, unlock and adjust
*Smooth sides and plastic panels drastically lower the chances your child will climb on this successfully
*Easy enough for adults to use, but difficult for children to understand
*Color coded system lets you know which setting it’s in – nothing for locked, red for unlocked and yellow for adjustment.


Cons:

*Frosted panels make it so you don’t have a clear view of the other side
*Can be a pain to adjust the length