Cardinal Gates Stairway Special Gate - Durable Black Finish for Safety and Security

John P: This thing is solid, and I'm really happy with it. We have this gate at the top of the stairs, and a tension-mounted one at the bottom by another brand. I'll compare them a bit then.

I thought the instructions were really easy to follow, so I guess YMMV. They even list how high off the floor both brackets need to be. This gate can be installed at a slight angle, which we needed and might give you better options to install into a stud while the tension gate has to be at 90 degrees.

The opening mechanism looks a bit older than more contemporary gates, but I find it simple and just as easy if not easier to open (push the little wing nut things down on both sides and lift up... versus pushing two buttons and lifting up on the tension gate). It just doesn't feel finicky. We'll see if our little one can figure it out in time though.

Versus the tension-mount gate, there's no bar you have to step over, and the entire gate opens up as opposed to a smaller door. I almost feel like I need to turn sideways to get through the tension gate. At the top of the stairs, it's nice to have full clearance and no hurdle.

Overall, I'd buy it again in a heartbeat.

Edit...

United States on Mar 04, 2022

DebounceDebounce: Our top of stairs does not have studs directly across from each other. This meant we needed to mount a gate at a slight angle. Drywall anchors are something you don’t want to deal with for a gate.

We found this gate that can mount at up to 30 degree angles and gave it a go. All it required was carefully drilling holes for 4 wood screws and the gate was mounted. Honestly most of the time was spent screwing the screws into the wall. The gate opens and closes without issue being angle mounted. We have absolutely no problem with the gate, it closes very securely and would be difficult if not impossible for a kid to open as it requires you to unlock the gate, LIFT IT and then swing it open. The opposite must be done to close the gate, it WILL NOT CLOSE ON ITS OWN.

My tips for anyone installing this:
- mount the hinge side first using two screws. Note that we had to mount our hinge under the handrail. It can be done, you’ll have to screw in the hinge wall bracket with the gate and hinge assembled on it.
- one the hinge is mounted, attached the gate to the hinge.
- attach the remaining wall bracket to the gate in the correct orientation. Make sure the gate pins...

United States on Dec 08, 2020

Amazon Customer: EDIT/FOLLOW-UP: We have now owned these 2 gates for over 8 years. They still operate and look like new. Zero issues ever. Just years and years of safe and easy operation. Our visiting friends and family with small children are in love with them and honestly, we won't take them down. Ever. They are too handy and make the stairs safe.

First, all of the ratings that I've seen so far below 4 are people that are using these gates outdoor or dont like the latch because it's "too hard to use".

People, if you cant get the gate to operate EASILY, then you do NOT have it installed correctly. I have 2 of these gates and after trying other gates that sucked i LOVE these.

They are all metal, even the latch mechanism.
They are not too heavy or too light.
They are easy to install as long as you know a few things that I will list:

1. Before you do anything look at the hardware and where you want to mount the gate and decide exactly what you need. They dont send enough hardware to install these for everyone. They send 4 short screws and 2 long screws. You need 2 screws per side. So if you plan on using two drywall mounting points you need 4 long screws that go...

United States on Jan 07, 2013