The First Years Hands Free Gate

Thursday, June 4th, 2009 at 3:59 pm

Manufacturer: The First Years
Customer Rating:
List Price: $59.99
Sale Price: $42.54
Availibility: Usually ships in 24 hours
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Product Description

Because of its simple "knee-knocker" mechanism, this Hands Free Gate can do exactly what the name implies: be opened without having to use your hands. Any parent occupied with little ones and all of their necessities will quickly recognize this as a huge benefit. To operate, simply press on the pedal with your toes and then bump the knee plate with your knee. Closing is just a nudge in the opposite direction; you will hear a click when the latch has caught, offering peace of mind that it’s secure again.

The convenient foot pedal is easy for adults, but difficult for children, to open.

The pedal, knee plate, and hinges are designed so the gate can swing open from either direction. Even smarter is that the gate is purposely designed as easy-to-open for an adult, yet difficult for children. The gate’s vertical bars curb curious toddlers from trying to climb over, are spaced to help prevent painful accidents, and provide ample visibility through to the other side.

Adjustable pressure mounts don’t require screws and won’t mark up your walls.

Able to fit in standard doorframes (29" to 34" wide), the all-metal safety gate is a pressure-mount device. Just twist the adjustable bolts at each of the four corners to get a proper, secure fit in your doorways. (If you have wider than standard doors, The First Years sells extension kits separately that can accommodate up to 44-inch wide openings.) It should be noted that this safety gate can be a little unsteady when used at the outer limits of its range, so you may want to consider an extension kit even if using in a standard doorway.

Before you buy, there are two things to be aware of. One, the actual opening for parents, kids, and/or pets to walk through is only about 18 inches wide. Two, if you want to use this in a doorway and be able to close the door, the foot pedal sticks out too far to allow this. For use with children up to 24 months.

Product Details

Foot-pedal operated
Gate swings open in both directions
Fits all standard doorways 29" to 34" wide, and will fit openings up to 44" wide with Gate Extension Kit
Pressure-mounted design that won't mar walls or doorways

Video Reviews

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Customer Reviews

Great gate!

Review Date: March 19, 2010

Reviewer: Work-at-Home Mom, Washington, DC Metro Area

Not a lot to say... gate is sturdy, no problems with installation, impossible for a child to open. Thumbs up!

Worked great... for 9 days

Review Date: March 16, 2010

Reviewer: PghYinzer, Pittsburgh, PA United States

We got this to gate our hallway so our 23 month old twins will stop getting into drawers and wrecking things. Not their safety so much as my sanity. We have an old house with the cut glass doorknobs and the door knob thingies are hit or miss on them. So this gate seemed like the perfect idea. It's sturdy and attractive, easy enough to open even if your arms are full of toys, laundry, children... but not so easy my girls were able to figure it out (again, we only had it 9 days though!). It's pressure mounted but it held up quite well to my girls shaking it in protest.

The problem is with our baseboards... and I think most people have baseboards like this so it seems like a huge design flaw. We have really wide 6" baseboards (not common) but at the bottom of that is a bit of round molding, maybe an inch, inch and a half high - and this is where the problem came in - and don't most houses have this?? What happened is the little pressure-mounted pads to hold the gate in place had to sit above these moldings, leaving a gap beneath the gate. My husband slid a block of wood beneath this gap (actually one our window props, gotta love old houses!) which seemed to fill the gap nicely... until today... when I went to open the gate, the wood went flying out, the gate slid down, the pressure pad stayed in place... so the bolt that adjusts the pad bent, and now the whole top of the gate seems cockeyed. Not sure yet if I can fix it - I can't figure out exactly where the issue is.

This gate seemed like a good idea... but you need to find a way to fill in the gap underneath, or else it will creep down over time as you push the pedal, and the whole thing will pop out like mine did. I'm giving it 3 stars because I think it will work awesome if you don't have those moldings, and if you can think of a good way to fill the gap if you do (I'm thinking maybe zip-tying the wood to the base?) - it will work great But it seems like something they should have thought of when they made the gate.

Best hands free babygate I've owned

Review Date: March 6, 2010

Reviewer: Andrew J. Badertscher,

This is my second gate I've purchased, it's fantastic. The foot operation is a life saver to be able to egress thru it without having to juggle what you are holding. This is also a great baby gate for keeping animals out of areas of your house.

Love it!

Review Date: March 5, 2010

Reviewer: Bonnie Dugas,

Nice and sturdy! Easy to install and use. It has hands-free opening so its good when you have your hands full like I always do. This gate wont budge when it is installed so it is very safe. It looks nicer then some of the other gates on the market.

Not just for toddlers. Works great for doggies

Review Date: February 18, 2010

Reviewer: Marilyn P. Mclendon,

I have purchased several typical kids gates, but this one is great. It's so nice to have the hands free gate. My friend bought two.