Tippitoes Twin Locking safety gate review
3.5
In a nutshell
As a lightweight, semi-permanent gate that can be operated by everyone but nosy toddlers this certainly fits the bill but its installation has to be just right to avoid problems with its effectiveness.
What we tested
- Ease of fitting
3.0
A star rating of 3.0 out of 5. - Ease of use
4.0
A star rating of 4.0 out of 5. - Design
3.5
A star rating of 3.5 out of 5. - Durability
3.0
A star rating of 3.0 out of 5. - Worth the money
4.0
A star rating of 4.0 out of 5.
3.5
Pros
- Fits most spaces, easy for most of the family to operate
Cons
- Fitting deceptively difficult, concerns over stability and rigidity
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When your baby becomes mobile you soon realise that they’re into everything! Because it’s simply not practical to babyproof every part of your home, there will be places you’ll want to keep them out of and that’s where the Tippitoes Twin Locking Safety Gate comes in.
Designed to cover the broadest range of walkways in the house, whether stairs, porches or doorways, the Tippitoes gate is one of the most simple to fit and operate. Helpfully as you often need more than one, it is one of the least expensive on the market at around £20. It fits into the wall space using tension, as screws on either side are unwound, pressing against the walls. Wall cups are supplied to stop the screws slipping after knocks.
What we love
With a slot in/slot out locking mechanism and squeeze buttons on either side of the handle, it’s a pretty easy gate to operate one-handed which is important when the other is trying to steady a cup of tea or hold back an over-eager toddler. Unlike many stair gates, it is also light enough for pre-schoolers to operate meaning you avoid the curse of the gate which has you up and down every five minutes to let other children in and out of rooms.
What to watch out for
Sold as a pressure-mounted gate I was a little surprised when unpacking it that it insisted wall cups be screwed into the wall for optimum operation as I had presumed that pressure meant it didn’t need any drilling – something I specifically bought it to avoid. Some websites selling the gate point out that you don’t really need the wall cups in a doorway but that they are essential on stairs. I followed this advice but both gates that I bought appear to have twisted and now fail to align top to bottom. This means that you can lock the handle in at the top but the bottom part of the gate does not sit in its groove. The gate is sturdy enough that it’s still hard to budge when it’s closed like this but it’s not a good idea to have gaps for small fingers to explore.
Another thing to watch out for is putting the gate in an opening where the gap is bordering on its smallest limit. Tippitoes advises that you leave out the wheels on the bottom. These normally screw out and in to pressure fit the gate to the walls but in small spaces there is no room for them. However it means that the bottom is not as securely fixed as the top and if it should twist in any way, for example if the pressure at the top has been reduced from being knocked etc, the bottom of the gate can swing out and becomes a trap door that my 15 month-old son Joshua can almost wriggle under.
Who is Tippitoes Twin Locking Safety Gate best for?
Mums on a budget who are fed up of having to open safety gates for older children.
MadeFor MumsVerdict
As a lightweight, semi-permanent gate that can be operated by everyone but nosy toddlers this certainly fits the bill but its installation has to be just right to avoid problems with its effectiveness.