No-Drill Stair Barrier Baby & Pet Gate - Portable Safety Gate for Stairs with Banisters - Child & Dog Proof Fabric Gate for Home Safety | Perfect for Staircases, Hallways & Doorways

update: I don't know if my spam filter ate it, but I never did hear from the company after contacting them to let them know I had received the wrong barrier. However, the correct barrier showed up today. Turns out they had also sent the larger one the first time around. The replacement gate was able to fit with a lot less trial and error, but did still take some fiddling to figure out optimum placement of everything. I kinda wish there was a little bit more strap on the female side of the buckle rather than it being right up against the edge of the barrier. It would make it easier to fold the buckle around the corner of my square balusters... although I eventually did manage to find the sweet spot of positioning that let it work, so no big deal. It works! And now that I have the proper size barrier, I don't have excess material curving around my balusters and I didn't have to go up to the second step to install it. Now I just need to contact the company again and figure out what they want me to do with the original gate. (and currently the cat is trying to claw his way through the gate even though he is perfectly capable of either jumping over it or slipping through the balusters... guess I will find out how durable it is against claws pretty soon)Original Review:First, I ordered the Farmhouse Lines... but they sent the Charcoal/Snow. I emailed them a couple days ago and haven't heard back. In the meantime, I set up the one they sent me since I already had it out of the package and was in the middle of installing it before I really looked at it and realized it wasn't the right one. I was just thinking, "wow, this looked different in the photo" while I dodged the two year old that was trying to defeat it before I could even get it set up.It took some trial and error to figure out how to set it up so that it would be effective. If you don't get it taught, it doesn't work. It seriously took my two year old about 2.3 seconds to tunnel under it on our first try at installation. In the end we had to install it a bit backwards to what was suggested, and on the second step instead of at the bottom step. Instead of the barrier being at the front of the step with the excess curving backwards in order to make it taught, we had to instead put it at the back of the step with the excess curving forward. Once we got it right though, it has worked well. Having easily defeated it earlier, the two year old tried everything he could think of to get around it and failed. Which is even better if you consider he long ago figured out how to open and close every other baby gate we have. (I had to make some straps with clips to keep our other gates shut)As for the people that complain it isn't easy to open and close because you have to undo individual buckles... well, you knew that when you ordered it? I knew full well it wasn't going to be the easiest gate to deal with, but I was fine with it since the stairs are separated from the rest of the house by a couple doorways with gates anyway, and we infrequently let the two year old run free in the front portion of the house (with the stairs). My 7 year old cannot easily put it up or take it down either, which we expected as well. These are things you have to consider before ordering it, which we did and decided we were fine with it since it isn't something we will frequently be opening and closing.I'm giving it 4 stars because it was kind of a pain in the rear to set up the first time, plus I am slightly worried about the tension it puts on the balusters. And it honestly is a bit of an inconvenience when you need to open and close it, so I definitely would not recommend if you rely solely on this to block heavily trafficked stairs.When they are temporary and no wall to attach these work great. They are nice looking as well. They are a bit on the pricey sideI like that it covers the large opening to the stairs and I can relocate from bottom to top opening. Also it is tall so it keeps infant and toddler out.Having to snap 6 buckles and readjust straps every time isn’t my favorite. It has thin reinforcement slats inside but one has already broken (probably someone trying to step over it or a kid leaning into it). Functionally? It gets the job done. However, I would value at $50-$80.My back deck has high stairs and gates were a pain, this is a super easy solution and works really well.For the price it’s just okay .. it’s very loose and doesn’t sit properly on my staircase upstairs. Better than drilling holes i guessRead a few reviews about it sagging. But I went ahead and purchased because the solid gates were not going to work. The cost was $$$ more than I wanted to pay, but I don’t regret it. This barrier adds in flexibility and provides the block needed to stop my 14 month old from climbing the stairs. The three straps work great with my stairs layout. The inserts keep the barrier upright and work great. Add in the fact you can roll it up when not needed is great. Also my Boston Terrier can spring over it to get upstairs as needed. (Trying to stop the baby not the dog). It works great!After trying multiple other high end baby gates, I was fed up with the small openings and the outward pressure many put on banisters causing them to lean out over time. I didn’t want to drill into the oak banisters, so I was lest with very few options. I initially balked at this gate because of the price and unfamiliarity with the product. The gate is relatively simple. To use and installation takes minutes. The down side to the design is that it takes 2 hands and 10-15 seconds to properly open and store it. Double that time at least if you want it closed behind you. I know it doesn’t sound like much but for a parent who has other vertical little ones that cause a constant need for stairway access it’s enough to be a hurdle. Which is actually my favorite way to use the gate is to step over it.The gate is very nice looking and people comment on it often due to its uniqueness and good looks. I feelThe fabric is very durable and will last a very long time to much use. I think a pet scratching at the burlap could be a problem for some owners and I could see a lot of hair collecting on it.If I could change or improve upon one aspect of this barrier is that in order to supplement the stability of the barrier when closed maybe add a cross bar that can drop in and out from the outside when closed to link the internal supports together. Otherwise I’m super happy with this barrier and will probably get another one if the need arises.Now that I’ve had this gate a little while I feel like I can give a fair review. We tried 3 metal gates first and none of them fit quite right. Then I found this and was happy with how easy it was to install. But it is so difficult to open and pretty much impossible to close if you are holding a baby, which I usually am. I also thought it looked nice in the photos but in person there are 3 long straps hanging from each side. The straps are also always loosening up so it looks a little sloppy. I wish I kept looking for a metal gate that would’ve been more practical for me. It was also very expensive for what it is. More than double the cost of the metal gates I tried.