If you will travel with babies or toddlers, you sometimes don’t know exactly what you will encounter. You could have a hotel room or vacation rental with very little ability to baby proof or child proof. You could be visiting grandma’s house filled with delicate objets d’art on low shelves.
The Superyard XT portable play gate provides a handy solution to this problem. Here is a review of the Superyard XT portable play gate.
Pros of the Superyard XT Gate
- It can be folded down to transport, and comes with a carrying handle.
- It is self-contained, and you can increase the play area by adding two extension panels to create a massive 34.4 square foot space inside the gate.
- The large size makes it much more inviting for babies and toddlers, who can get cranky spending time in a travel play yard, know more.
- It’s great for use at home as well.
- You can also use it in reverse to enclose certain areas and protect them from your baby or toddler, such as surrounding a Christmas tree.
- It can quickly be opened, and it can quickly be collapsed and propped against the wall.
- After several months of use and many instances of opening and closing, it is still quite sturdy and no parts have gotten loose.
- It also can be used to provide a play area outside for camping or at the beach.
- It’s ideal for use in places with odd-shaped or uneven door openings, or in homes with an open floor plan where a standard gate cannot be used.
- You can gate your baby or toddler without concerns about leaving marks or screw holes that a standard door gate will leave.
Cons of the Superyard XT Gate
- It is a bit heavy and large for travel. It weighs 23 pounds with the basic six panels, and 32 with the extension panels. It does lay flat, however, so it will travel well if you have a large trunk or hatch or you have a travel compartment for your roof rack.
- It takes a little practice to get the knack of inserting the two panels together to enclose the gate.
- You would still want to keep a close eye on your children while in the gate, as you would with any enclosure. A hard push to the side can move or even tip the gate. Unlike gates you install in a door frame, its own weight must hold it in place.
- If you will be staying in lodging, you will need a room with enough space to use the gate. With the six panels, you will need 18.5 square feet of open space. You might consider staying in a hotel suite or a vacation rental.
Bottom Line on the Superyard XT Gate
There are almost no products that do precisely what the Superyard XT can do: provide an enclosed play area for babies and toddlers. There are really two alternatives, the standard gate and the play yard.
The standard gate requires that you know the width of the door opening and it provides free access for baby to everything within that room. That really isn’t practical for travel. The play yard is confining to baby, and also very bulky for travel.
This gate is very versatile, and can be used both at home and while traveling.