REVIEW – There are times when we need to corral animals or children into or away from certain areas, either for their own protection or for the preservation of the things being cordoned off. Traditionally, in North America, at least, this is done with a temporary solution called a baby gate. I was recently sent one from Tokkidas.

The Tokkidas baby gate is a metal and ABS plastic auto-closing gate that can be tension mounted into a doorway.

The Tokkidas baby gate is mostly carbon steel rectangle and round pipe, welded and then powder-coated with a glossy finish. There are several colors available – I was sent the white. There are two extensions so that it will fit doorway sizes between 29.5″-40.6”. The extensions will fit on either side. At the top and bottom of each end, there is a hole with four indentations around them. The threaded cylinder of the twist-lock screw fits perfectly into the holes. The indentations are mated with four protrusions on the twist lock’s threaded piece, which prevents it from loosening after being fitted into your opening.

The head of the twist-lock screw is a wide, flat pressure plate with a clear, non-marring cover. This will stay when pressed against the door jamb unless you have a particularly rambunctious detainee. In that case, you may want to attach the wall cups. This can be done with adhesive tape or with screws. (Or both. Beyond this point you may need to invest in electric fencing, however!) If you don’t elect to use the cups, there are no indentions or other evidence the gate was ever in use. The entire structure is also slim enough that you can install it on the outside of a door jamb and still have the door operate normally.

One of the benefits of the Tokkidas baby gate design over the flat-sided pressure gate of yore (above) is that each of the four corners can be tightened separately. With our first Sheltie, Reggie, we had to block access to the rear bedrooms that were down a hallway with no doorway into it. We could put the gate across the hall, but the baseboard made the lower opening slightly narrower. We first tried placing it on the walls, above the baseboard. Reggie quickly found he could slither through that opening on his back, and we’d find him snoozing on our bed, with the contents of every trash can spread generously around the room! Then we had to get a shim for the top pressure points the same width as the baseboard so that the gate went all the way to the floor. Putting up the gate was then a four-handed job. While doing research for this review, I discovered an entire cottage industry devoted to solving this issue. There are wall cushions, extenders, and other items that are a bit more finished and functional than our scrap lumber solution, but it does point to a design flaw, which the Tokkidas model under review neatly surmounts.

The single-handed release of the gate has two lock-out points for younger kids. First, it takes large hands that can press from opposite sides of the handle to release the gate latch, pressing from both above and below. Then, you have to lift the gate slightly, to clear it from the lower clip.

The true test of a baby gate is two-fold: does it keep the creatures corralled safely, and is it easy for the tenders of said creatures to get through? I found the Tokkidas gate to be head-and-shoulders above any gate I have used previously. Getting in and out with a pup on a leash who is waggling around was much easier with one-handed opening and the auto-close feature. Kudos for the clever design!

I have been using baby gates for dogs and children for about 40 years. Most have been the pressure-release type that have a sliding piece that is wedged against the door frame. This type, where the entire gate is a single size and the frame is mounted is new to me, and I’m a fan. Being able to open the Tokkidas baby gate with one hand, walk through, and have it close behind you is a welcome change from having to use two hands to balance the four points and adjust the tension-lock every time you pass through. And there’s always the time the dog or baby wants to flail against it as you’re opening it, and the whole thing clatters to the floor, scaring those who don’t (yet) understand gravity and physics. This design is much cleaner and easier on the nerves.

Price: $69.99 Where to buy: Amazon Source: The sample of this product was provided by Tokkidas.

This looked like what I was looking for: adjustable width, permanent set up, and swinging gate. It it adjustable for three different width variations using the gate and two extensions. Unfortunately the width I need falls between two of the useable widths and didn’t work. Baseboard molding complicated the set up. It is a great gate.

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