I have a baby who comes to visit who crawls and walks all over my house now, so I needed a baby gate to keep him out of the laundry room. I must admit, I let the price of this product heavily influence my decision. Sometimes you can buy the cheapest products and find you made the right choice. Other times, the “cheapness” comes back to haunt you. Read my Evenflo Position and Lock Gate Review and find out how I did with this product!
Product Description
This Evenflo Position and Lock Gate is 23 inches high. It fits a doorway that measures 26 to 42 inches wide. The main body of the gate is made of hard, white plastic mesh. The mesh is contained in a natural hardwood frame. There are rubber bumpers on each end to protect your doorways and hold the gate firmly in place.
According to the cardboard wrap, this Evenflo Position and Lock Gate is recommended for ages 6 to 24 months. It is NOT suitable for the tops of stairways. I assume this means that, since it’s not secured to the wall, enough pressure applied to it may cause it to give way. This type of baby/dog gate is rather nice because it doesn’t make holes in your walls. However, a gate held in place only by pressure can only be so secure.
There are several other safety warnings printed on the cardboard of the Evenflo Position and Lock Gate. They are:
“NEVER use with a child able to climb over, dislodge or open the gate.
NEVER leave child unattended.
STRANGULATION HAZARD- Pets can force themselves into very small openings. Use this gate only with pets whose head or body WILL NOT fit into openings in the gate, between the gate and the floor, or between the gate and the wall.
DO NOT allow space between bottom of gate and floor to exceed 3″.
Use ONLY in doorways with wooden frames. DO NOT pressurize gate against drywall.
This gate will NOT necessarily prevent all accidents.
Install with locking mechanism on the side away from the child.
Use ONLY with locking mechanism securely engaged.”
Usage Instructions
The Evenflo Position and Lock Gate is pretty easy to install. All you do is measure the width of the opening of the doorway or opening. Then, you place the gate into the doorway or opening. Lift the locking bar and move the clamp across the bottom bar and into the slot that corresponds to the size of the opening. Press the bar down to lock the gate into the proper width. To open the gate, pull up on the clamp to unlock it.
Conclusion
First off, I would not use the Evenflo Position and Lock Gate to contain a kitten, puppy or other small animal. The openings in the plastic mesh do present a possible strangulation hazard.
2. The year-old baby I needed this gate doesn’t climb a lot yet. But I do wonder if he won’t be able to soon get a toehold in the mesh and climb over it.
3. Even though this gate is made of hardwood, the frame seems rather flimsy. I doubt highly it will hold up against a lot of pressure, climbing on, et cetera. That must be why it’s described as being “Light Traffic.”
4. The price at the local Wal-Mart was around $10.00, so it’s quite affordable.
5. The Evenflo Position and Lock Gate cannot be secured into spaces where either wall is uneven.
6. Unless you’re very tall and can step over this gate, you have to keep removing it and re-installing it every time you need to pass through the doorway or opening.
7. You can take it with you if you’re visiting friends or relatives with your baby where you’ll need a baby gate.
Since I’ll only be using the Evenflo Position and Lock Gate every now and then, it will probably suit the purpose of keeping the baby confined to one room. If I was a parent, I wouldn’t buy this product. I would spend more money and purchase a better-made gate. Preferably one that secures to the wall so it cannot come unsecured.
