Sturdy, easy to use, good prices

I found one of these hands-free metal baby gates by First Years a couple of years ago at a garage sale for $10. After cleaning with some 409, the thing looked like new even though the original owner said they'd used it for 3 years. We've been using it now for over 2 years, and it works perfectly. Sometimes it fails to latch if not pushed closed hard enough, but usually if you just leave it alone it will suddenly click shut. The foot pedal opening mechanism is easy to operate, and there's no sign of anything about to break as others have experienced.

The single downside to this gate, and it seems to be a common problem with pressure-mounted gates (I've had several different kinds and brands given to us free, and found at garage sales) is the pressure-mount. If the rubber pads are soft enough to provide a good grip, they will degrade and crack apart and/or leave marks on the doorjamb. If the rubber pads are too hard they won't grip effectively. Since this gate was used several years already, the pads may have hardened; then again they may have been hard to begin with. I found I had to tighten, or expand, the gate so much to secure it, it actually started to force the door frame out of square (which is also a testament to how strong the frame and tightening mechanism is). I eventually took some small pieces of wood and secured it with some tiny wood screws to the doorframe and that secured the gate without having to use undue pressure. When the gate is eventually removed it will be a very small chore to putty in and paint over the holes. Face it folks, if you have kids you're going to need to repaint and refinish stuff anyway after they outgrow their destructive phase, so don't rely on rubber pads and double-sided foam tape to mount protective gear. We had some 'corner protectors' on a couple end tables when the first kid was a toddler, the first time she pushed on one it fell off. The mounting tape itself was much harder to remove, hot water eventually did the trick but the tape left a permanent mark on the table's finish. Anything that supposedly presses on or has a 'no install' fit will not be secure, don't rely on these. Use some common sense and ingenuity, and be prepared to cover up some holes and do a little repainting. It's much easier on your heart and wallet than taking a kid to the hospital.

We're at the stage of giving the kid the 'run' of the house, minus a few rooms that are too big of a hassle to kid-proof, so I just ordered 3 more of these same gates from Amazon.com. I paid $49 apiece w/free shipping and consider that a great deal. From the price range I found on the web, MSRP for these must be around $70. And when I eventually put them in my own garage sale or on craigslist, I expect they'll fetch around $20 apiece, so they are not a bad investment. A plastic or inexpensive wooden expansion gate is basically junk when you're done with it, if you get $1.00 for it at a rummage sale you'll be doing good (and I've seen a bunch of those).