So we installed this in our office between a wall and a reception desk to keep our office mascot (Terrier) away from the outer lobby.

First the bad then the good.

Okay so the installation was easy, for the most part. The company gives you spacers for uneven walls, like floor molding or trim work, but they don't explain that is what they are doing. That said you figure it out because the also give you short and long screws, just in case. IN the end, you may use ONE spacer at the bottom and THREE at the top to balance and level all things out, but the screws will work. Molley's are provided, but always good to have extra.

They also give you a PAPER TEMPLATE to put on the wall so yo know where to drill holes. This is both good and bad, and here is why - Good because it is a no brainer template - YEAH! Bad- because it is hard to lay out 'accurately IF yo in fact have projecting one inch molding on the bottom floor base board and a flat wall. Your holes will be off because the paper folds into the wall as it moves up from the floor board to the flat wall. You need to compensate for this, and maybe hold it away from the flat surface and run a in through the marks to get an accurate spot, marking the wall. Lastly, the receiving side template was printed BACKWARDS. so be weary of that. Look at the gate and see how the handles hook on the brackets first and you will see that you have to put the brackets on the wall in reverse from what the template shows in order to have the entire hook and grab feature apply. You will see - it is easy, just look before you screw them in so you don't have to turn it around and have too may holes in the wrong spot.

One more bad thing about the template - It is wrapped around the gate when shipped so you might just think it is shipping wrap, so don't tear it off when unpacking - it is the template! When ours was received it was wrapped around the gate - UPSIDE DOWN, so that could have sent us down the wrong path too if we just did not look at it closer before mounting.

One last bad thing before the good....

We got the EXTRA WIDE GATE, so this is an issue with that -- When you extend the gate out and then engage it in the closed position, (fully extended) it is designed to LOCK, so as to not SNAP BACK like an old Window Shade might. However unlock an old window shade, where to release that lock you typically pull it (extend it) another each and then slowly release to allow for retraction, in this case you must PUSH DOWN on the Button at the wall mounted side (BE SURE TO PUT THIS BUTTON SIDE UP and not at the floor level so you can push it, when mounting). Simple enough to do on the smaller gates, but on a 72 inch gate, having your arms stretched like a scare crow to push down on one side while pulling out on the other is almost impossible and YES you must be pushing down simultaneously to make it release... So UGH. But we created a feasible work around... We PUSHED and TURNED the release knob as required, and placed a metal paper clipped (wedged) into the tight gap between the knob and the frame, to LOCK IT in the pushed down and unlocked position, so we do not have to do both at one time.) As long as we don't let go when opening the gate, it wont suddenly retract back to fast. (As the gate ages, it tends to retract slower anyway - so we have had no problems with this.)

NOW THE GOOD> This gate, which we got in white, permits enough see though for our dog to not feel blocked, and looks great in the office, much more professional than a wooden child gate or metal type frame. It is EASY to operate and separates the public from the staff, until WE allow them in, so it stopped the 'just walk right back' effect we use to have.

I mentioned a lot of bad stuff above - but I want to CLEARLY SHOUT --- None of the bad out way the good - this is a great gate and well made. The bad I mentioned are merely to help you prepare to use this gate in an easy fashion, both from the installation point and the final use.

You won't be sorry if you buy this gate - UNLESS -- our dog does not claw at things, so I am not sure how it would handle a dog that tears at stuff, but it has enough flexibility to probably prevent much of any destruction, while also being of a thickness that would not merely tear by accident.

LOVE. Of all the baby gear purchases I've made, this may be my favorite. 10/10 for reliability, convenience and versatility. It's well-made. It's grown with our baby for the past 18 months: crawling, to scaling the stairs, and now blocking the hallway from the rest of the house as she transitions to a toddler bed. We use it tirelessly and it's withstanding the test of time. There are a couple things to consider, but my overall experience has been one of convenience and ease.

The locking mechanism takes diligence to ensure safety. If you have guests that will be operating the gate it's important they understand they have to push the locking button down after securing the gate, otherwise your babe could push right through to whatever lies beyond. If this makes you nervous, you may want to look at other options. With that said, the lock has never failed and we use it tirelessly every day. For such a low profile and minimalist gate, I'm personally impressed with its reliability.

We originally installed the gate at the top of our stairs. We used the second set of brackets on our deck (this thing expands further than a lot of the options I saw online). When we contacted the company for a third set of brackets, they sent it to us free of charge. We're now waiting on a fourth set to secure the hallway. Each time we've contacted them they've been extremely helpful. Stellar customer service.

If you like to eliminate as much work for yourself as possible, this is a great product.

Installed and used for 9 months. Unfortunately one of the wall mount clips broke when my dog ran into it. They promptly sent me a replacement at no cost. Great company. Great customer service! Thx!

Super sturdy. Easy installation. Works beautifully for our need.

We're a family with 4 kids, dogs, and cats, these gates are used multiple times a day and are still holding up. Out of the 4 gates we have, this one is by far the worst off, mostly from when the animals have attempted to jump over them, or the big kids try to step/climb over them, and it's causing the gate to slowly rip out, but it's still just as effective at closing off the stairs.
As you can see we had to build a box around the railing of the stairs in order to install it, but it was very simple to do, and has held up wonderfully since.
You will have to open/close the gates for everyone though, even people who regularly come to our house are baffled by it and unable to get by. As an added feature if someone uses it incorrectly, it makes a very loud ratcheting sound that we call the mischief alarm.