Cardinal Gates Stairway Special Safety Gate-White

Comments about Stairway Special Safety Gate-White:

This gate is awesome. I did a lot of gate research to keep my now crawling little one safe and my head was swimming with facts. We did not like our initial gate purchase (different brand) because we have since realized that to have a swinging door on a pressure gate, you are stuck with the bar on the bottom that is a trip hazard when the door is open. We also realized that hardware installation gives you maximum safety at the top of stairs (and elsewhere) so we started looking at this option. I stumbled upon this gate and was impressed by the number of top reviews. It is the most highly rated gate I found. More expensive than most other gates, but you get what you pay for! I initially thought these gates looked old fashioned, but I've since realized that they put a lot of thought into their gates and if you buy one, you will easily know how to install another even if it is a different model because the basic installation is the same. And now that they are up, they look quite nice and several friends have asked me where I got such nice gates. (We welcome them to our "gated community")! I found the instructions clear and easy. They are in english(!!) and have words, not just pictures. They even print a ruler on the page for measuring! There are also relatively few holes that you have to drill into your walls; just two on hinge side and two on the latch side. We just plan to spackle and paint when we are done with the gates. We bought two other Cardinal gates that require four screws on the latch side, but the same basic installation on the hinge side. Customer service (at Cardinal gates, not Diapers.com) was also very helpful in helping me choose the right gates and accessories. I emailed them a photo of where I wanted a gate and they helped greatly with the decision. The reviewers who put magnets to hold open the gate when not in use helped sway my opinion also - what a great idea! Just remember you are magnetizing a screw on the bottom as the rest of the gate is aluminum. Speaking of screws - everyone is right, the screws provided were too short with the other gate I received (but easily fixed if you have some screws or a quick hardware trip), but Cardinal gates must be listening to reviews, because this gate had a choice of longer or shorter screws! I also personally much prefer auto-lock to auto-close. For those as confused as I was: auto-lock means the gate will easily lock if pushed gently back toward the latch (you do have to make sure it catches, but it does so easily in my opinion). Auto-close means the gate is under pressure that swings and closes the gate for you. While that sounds convienient, I found that type of gate more difficult to open and get through than the auto-lock type. And, when not in use, you can't just open the door on the auto-close type, you have to bungee them open or they will close.

Comments about Stairway Special Safety Gate-White:

I researched many gates and decided through reading other reviews on various websites these gates would be a great fit for my stairs (
We bought one for the top and one for the bottom ). I received the gates the day after I ordered them, as promised, with free shipping (even better!). The gate is easy to install, we used 2x4 boards (painted them white so they look a bit more attractive) attached with 4 heavy duty zip ties to the bannister, and anchored the opposite side of the gate to the wall. Instructions were easy to follow. We've had them installed for about 2 weeks, with lots of daily use, and really no complaints! My 7 yr old and 4.5 yr old can open and close the gates unassisted which is perfect. The gates securely stay in place and have not budged, even with my 11 month old shaking them vigorously. If there's anything I would change, it would be that the gate doesn't automatically close, you have to lift it gently to lock it in place, which I really can't complain about because I believe that is stated in the description. Overall a great purchase, well worth the money!

Comments about Stairway Special Safety Gate-White:

The Stairway Safety Cardinal Gate is so sturdy and I am so happy with this purchase! We'd looked at other gates at different stores, and none can compare. This was a big thing to check off our childproofing list and I feel a lot safer now that we have a durable gate up. Love it!

Comments about Stairway Special Safety Gate-White:

We put this gate at the top of the stairs. Seems very sturdy, even with an energetic 1 yr old banging on it (she promptly ripped down the tension mounted gate we bought before getting this one). Easy to install. After a day or 2 of practice it is easy to open and close one handed. My only concern is how long it will take for kiddo to figure it out, since she already knows where the latch is. Still seems sturdier than other gates we've looked at, so we will be buying another one for the bottom of the stairs.

Comments about Stairway Special Safety Gate-White:

This gate works well on stairs and in areas where the walls on either side of the gate aren't even with one another. There are no sharp parts and it seems well made. My 8 month old has held on to it and pulled on it and it is very sturdy. Although I was able to put it together and install it myself, if you haven't used a drill before or haven't used tools much you may find it too much to install yourself.

Comments about Stairway Special Safety Gate-White:

I finally found a gate that would work for our space. We just put an addition on our house and have brand new wood stair railings & posts. At the top of our stairs the posts are slightly angled from each other, so I had a difficult time finding a gate that would work. This gate works perfectly because Cardinal makes clamps that you clamp onto the posts so you can drill and attach the gate to the clamps instead of directly to the posts. Yes, if you're handy, you could probably make the clamps yourself, but it's just easier to buy them and have everything ready so installation isn't difficult. The only complaint was from my husband (who installed the clamps and gate) was that it took a little longer than expected to install (but I think he probably didn't really read the directions the first time :-)

Comments about Stairway Special Safety Gate-White:

We use this gate at the top of our stairs. We had a gate we loved and had used for 5+ years that finally broke and wasn't fixable or replaceable. We looked at several gates online and instores and decided on this one. It's very sturdy and withstands our 2 year old standing on the bottom of the gate without issues. The lock mechanism is simple enough to use one hand. Our 5 year old figured it out on his own. The 2 year old has an idea of how it works but hasn't figured it out yet. Not sure how much longer we have before she will figure it out. My only complaint is that you can't just swing it shut. You have to purposely close, which requires a slight lift of the gate when it reaches the closed position. Otherwise, it's strong and sturdy and I feel comfortable with it for the top of the stairs. It's hard mounted and was not difficult to install.

Comments about Stairway Special Safety Gate-White:

We went through several expensive stairway gates, only to be disappointed by cheap materials, poor construction, or having to engineer ways to make them work with our irregular stairway. We have angled walls and a baseboard on only one side of the stairway making it impossible to find a good match for us...until we found Cardinal. After spending a fortune looking for the right gate, I came upon Cardinal's Stairway Special. We weren't jazzed with the price but realized after going through several poorly-designed gates we should have saved our money and gotten this the first time. You need the safest gate you can find for stairs, and this is it for sure. It is rock solid and not going anywhere. Other brands we tried just didn't stand up to frequent opening and closing or work well with our angled walls. We purchased one for the top and one for the bottom of our stairs, a must if you have stairs and small children. This gate does not have the pesky horizontal bar that is fixed to the floor on many lower-priced gates on the market, a terrible tripping hazard. I always trip over that at my friend's house, and surely her newly walking daughter does, too. Features a one-handed latch that is easy enough to open when carrying a baby or arms full of stuff. All steel construction, no plastic parts to break off. Easy to use, but you will want to model unlatching to guests. We are so happy with this gate, even our preschooler can't get this open! Extensions and other hardware are available if you have a wide stairway. I wasn't sure if we needed this and called their 1-800 number. They helped me figure out the angle and saved me from buying extra parts we didn't need. I was really impressed with my experience. We love latching the gate at naptime so our pets can't bother our napping kids upstairs - there is no squeezing under the gate. I can't recommend this enough, it is the best gate for those with stairs, angled walls, pets, and especially those with brilliant toddlers and preschoolers who seem to figure out every latch and kid-proofing device out there. Don't be swayed by the high price, save your money and get this gate that works well first instead and buying several until you end up with this gate like we did. Would purchase again for sure!