The Munchkin Brica Extended Metal Top of Stair Baby gate

08/14/2015

I had the pleasure of reviewing the Munchkin Brica Extended Metal Top of Stair Baby gate recently. I have a busy 2 year old and a kindergarten student who are very rambunctious and high energy and like to run up and down my upstairs hallway chasing each other. I was always paranoid about my children as babies and toddlers falling down the stairs and had a baby gate installed when my first son was just learning to crawl. So I replaced my old baby gate that was previously installed and replaced it with this Brica one and let me tell you, what an upgrade this was!

This Brica gate is not only sturdier and nicer looking than the average baby gates on the market but it is extremely versatile. It fits narrower or wider door/hall openings and not overly difficult to install, in fact it was very quick to get it set up. And the best thing is if you get stuck there is a Youtube video you can watch to help walk you through installation of this product which was extremely helpful.

If you have crooked walls, it’s a bit tricky to get the alignment right the first time but with a bit of adjustment of the bracket positioning, it lined up perfectly.  This particular gate has a unique spring mechanism that allows the gate to tilt open or close to minimize the pressure on walls, swinging open in either direction depending which way you’re going. This was one thing I hated about my other baby gate.. it only was hinged one way so I can’t tell you the number of times the kids or I bashed that gate and almost ripped it off its hinges for knocking it in the wrong direction or I had to step aside to pull it towards me before walking down the stairs.  I have kicked it on more than one occasion.  It normally ends up hitting my shin, and I yell a few choice words as I almost trip down the stairs.

The closing mechanism on the Brica Gate is easy to click and lock and it easily unlocks and opens with one hand in either direction when you’re carrying baby/child in one arm and only have one hand free. However the kids aren’t able to figure out how to work it yet so that is a bonus. My kindergarten kid figured out how to open my old one and would forget to close it again, leaving it wide open and unfortunately, a huge safety issue for my clumsier 2 year old.

I definitely recommend this baby gate as it not only looks a lot nicer with a modern wrought-iron look, but has a sturdy feel, and opens and closes very smoothly even with one hand. I like that it is not too complicated to install, and can fit various widths of doorways and hallways.  The fact that it swings in or out is definitely a great feature and makes it a lot more versatile. We’ll see what happens over extended use and time with the hinges and mechanism – whether it can stand up to the abuse and perhaps I’ll write another review in a few months from now if things change.

The Brica Extended Top of Stair Gate is available for $54.99 at various retail stores across Canada.  As far as baby gates go, it gets an overall thumbs up from me!