Side by Side Comparison of: Summer Infant vs Graco

I love this thing. I'm using one for surrounding the pee pad 'station' to make a temporary crate while house-training. The latch was a little tricky at first (there are buttons to push in on two sides of it), and getting the bottom to fit into place to secure it while my puppy is learning where to "go" (I have pee pad trained dogs, as I'm disabled, and it makes it convenient for them, and safer for me). The sections are a bit stiff- but nothing out of sorts for a new product. My 3 1/2 pound mini-schnauzer puppy is confined without stuffing her in a box. As she gets the hang of the pee pads being the place to do 'business' I can remove the pen, and have it open like I did with my older dog. ( I use the trays from crates to hold the adult sized pee pads- much better absorption, and better value; check McKesson pads- 30x 36 pads).

This is sturdy, and versatile. Right now, it's rectangular to surround the pee pads. Later, I can make it a hexagon for a play or post-op area to minimize energy expenditure during this time while the little one is prone to hypoglycemia.

We are outdoor people and we love to garden, camp, etc. We live near a river...baby bug loves to explore. This is perfect for holding travels to a safe zone. Because there are six panels, the hexagon shape shown helps to make tip over less possible. The "gate" latch is very helpful. It is heavy (sturdy) to carry around - daddy does that for us. Because of the more reasonable price, we bought two and will join them together to make a larger play area as baby bug becomes "toddler bug." ;) If it breaks, I'll repost.

Perfect for small dogs and toy breeds. One set easily keeps a min pin in one pen and a Chihuahua in the other. Also had 2 toy Chihuahuas in one of these. I foster a lot of small dogs and these are perfect. Perfect 10/10 score for my purpose. They have plenty of room to run around in when I'm not home and can't have them out in the house. Small dogs and toy dogs can be easily injured in a house if you don't keep an eye on them. One pen holds a pee pad, food and water bowls and a dog bed with room to spare. They are easy to spray off with a hose or power sprayer. I heartily recommend.

I was looking for a good solution for keeping my twins reined in while outside. They are 15 months old and toddling around everywhere. I ended up getting two of these six-panel sets, and I am very happy that I did. It was so easy to connect them together- the latches easily connect each set to eachother, so you don't have to do anything permanent like if you just got the 2-panel extension set. And the 12-panel blocks off a large area- I was surprised at how huge it was!
I already own a Northgates play yard which is 8 panels. That is a great size for inside, but I wanted more room outside. Plus two of those gates snapped because the pieces that hold the gates together get stiff when you are trying to adjust them (Granted, I have had this gate for years). The Summer gate shouldn't have this problem- see below. The Northgate is also much more expensive if you want extra room. I got 12 panels for not much more than the Northgates 8-panel.

Material: The gates are both made of similar material, plastic. They feel basically the same all-around to me. Thin plastic in the middle, thicker and sturdier on the outside.

Size of panels: Both panels are the same width, but the Summer is a good amount higher. I like the fact that I can step over the Northgates, but for security, higher is better I suppose. It probably makes them seem flimsier, though, since there is more area in the middle which is made of thinner plastic.
Adjusting: Northgates has a piece on each hinge that helps each section "snap" into position. I have had two of these break, and that whole hinge breaks off so you cannot connect that side any longer. Summer has a similar construction, but these pieces either screw down or up to adjust them, so there would be no reason for them to break (unless you forget to loosen them).

Moving: The weight of both is similar, but the Summer should be easier to move because the panels move more easily due to what I explained above. I also like the strap. I bought these for our back yard, but I can see taking at least one other places to keep my twins from running everywhere.

All in all, I feel the Summer is a better deal than the Northgates. I'm sure they both have their flaws, but they are very comparable in quality and function, so for me, it came down to the price difference.
However, the price is only better if you are going for the 12-panel size. Six-panel would be way too small (that's how the Northgate used to be, but now they just sell it with 8), so buying this plus a $36 extra two panels is no bargain- you might as well get both sets, and even if you don't need all the panels, you could use the extra to block off a room, tv, fireplace, etc. Or buy one set for a crawler, then get another one once they are walking. Because trust me, they'll want the extra room.

We recently purchased this play yard for our 12 month old son. I am sooo happy we bought it, it is a lifesaver. Our son loves his pack n play - thats is where we would put him when we would need to shower, do laundry, etc. I wanted him to have some more space to roam around, so we were looking into many play yards. I have been looking on craigslist in my area for quite some time now, and most people are asking around $50 for a used gate, so why not check amazon for a brand new one! Can't beat $50 plus free shipping!
This Play Yard has so many positives... It is very sturdy when it is together in the octagon shape. We also use it spred open to block off the hallway and the stairs to go upstairs, and it fits all the way across our living room. It is very sturdy this way too. The gate is very easy to open and close. There is absolutely no assembly required, it comes ready to go in the box, plus on top of that it is very lightweight. It is so nice being able to attach links and other hanging toys to the gates holes, and throw a few toys in there and let him walk around and play while I can make dinner, do laundry, clean the house, etc. LIFESAVER! :)
I read some other reviews that said their child could push the gate, crawl underneath, or climb it. Well I haven't had any of these problems. Our son is 12 months old, and 24lbs. He leans against the gate, and it still holds up. There is no way he could crawl underneath, not sure what other people are talking about.. and believe it or not he is a climber on everything, but there is no way he could climb up and over this gate. It is very tall, it is hard for me to get over it when it is blocking the doorway, and I am 5'11 with very long legs! Some gates were shorter in height, and that is one thing I wasn't looking for, I wanted to make sure there was no way out. This product is everything I was hoping for, it holds up to my expectations. I highly recommend this playgate!

First - my baby hasn't been born yet, so this review is simply about the unit itself, not baby's happiness in it. This Pack 'n Play was extremely easy to set up (both with and without the changing table and bassinet area) and tear down. The only part that's a little tricky is loading all the gear back up in the bag, but I believe that's because I'm a beginner at all things baby. Otherwise, this unit is safe, secure, sturdy, and adorable. It's also gender neutral IMO.

Perfect answer to giving our grandson a place to play off the drafty floor. Changing table is a great asset. I did purchase the mattress for the bottom and I think gives additional support for the baby. For the price this is a great product.

This was ordered as a request by our son for his new baby. They are very pleased and have made no negative comments.

Haven't used it yet but it looks great after we set it up. Just remember to read the directions before you try setting it up. They are under the mattress pad.

Perfect for a small spaceOthers have complained of an odor; I did not have that experience and I am very sensitive to smells.The construction is amazing to me; Read the instructions thoroughly before setup, It's a lot easier to assemble than I expected.

Received the item quickly. It was very easy to assemble and reassemble each time we traveled. Great size and perfect as a bassinet for beside the bed!!

Bought this for my dogs and LOVE it. I do wish that they would invent something I can sort of attach or magnetize to do parts of two different walls. to keep my dogs contained. But they usually stay in the pen. I don't keep it closed with the latch, I put one end behind my bookcase and the other next to my door so that I can come in the house and they stay on the tile by the door rather than the rest of the carpeted house. But yeah, the only thing I would change about this thing is maybe adding some magnets to the gate part so it could stick to itself or you could wall mount some magnets and stick it to the wall.Oh, and yes one of my little screw joint things broke. so I guess I'm never getting that piece apart lol. But I'd have it for a year and that's been the only issue.

I use this inside with padded kid mats underneath. My only issue with it is that it can easily be pushed by child pushing his feet against one side. Needs to be anchored to something. But if you're using this on a carpeted area it should be fine! It is one of the taller gated areas which is why I purchased this one! Overall not a bad buy.....and the problem I have with it can be easily fixed.

The gate works for what we wanted and is decent for the price. It did arrive terribly warped which was disappointing but considering that it did the job anyway, not worth the hassle of return. I would not order this online again though.

Great safety gate, wanted something reasonably priced that will help keep our new baby away from the floor humidifier as well as blocking his ability to grab the cable box or ps4 from our entertainment unit. Very sturdy and thick plastic. The only issue I see with it is it's not super easy to separate the sections of gate. We took two of the six pieces to block the entertainment unit and made a square with the remaining pieces for the floor humidifier. The other nice feature is that the opening in the gate are ovals and are not sharp nor are the prone to snagging our child's tiny fingers which is a huge plus as he is constantly grabbing the gate and trying to move it.Overall I would say this is a nice product good for barrier protection. We have not used it as a pen for either our dog or child but the height of the gate seems as though it would be plenty to protect either family member from climbing or leaping over it.

I bought this item about a month ago when my daughter began showing signs of crawling and it is working very well for the purpose we bought it for. We bought it to keep our dogs away from the baby while she is on the floor and to keep her in a safe place while we are not able to sit with her. The gates are tall enough to keep our knee height dogs out of the play area but still short enough for me to reach over it and pick my daughter up pretty easily. My daughter is not standing up or walking at this time so I don't know how it will stand up to a toddler, as far as keeping them in the play area' but I do believe the gate itself could hold up physically to anything a toddler could put it through. The product is sturdy enough not to be knocked over easily and the plastic seems to be very durable.The play yard is made up of 6 individual gates and each one moves independently of the others and are attached with a sort of moving joint at the tops and bottoms this is a very nice feature as it allows for easy configuration to what ever design you want to make for optimal placement of the play yard. I used another play yard before buying this one, the North States Superyard, and found the gates to be difficult to configure. Although it did not break I had fears that it would every time I moved one of the gates during setup. I don't have that fear with this product and believe it is well made. The only reason I did not give it 5 stars is that I wish it had some type of self stabilization feature so that when I use it opened up (like against one wall or in a corner) I have to place chairs at each end to keep it from falling over.

We have a wood burning stove + firewood + tools (etc) near a wall in a large family room. It quickly became clear that we needed to block our grand-daughter from flying across the room and getting hurt (she just began to walk and is all over the place). I purchased the 8-panel unit and configured it in a U formation so that the fence completely encloses the stove and wood at a safe distance. The U shape terminates on a wall and I'm planning to devise some simple anchor to fix the contact point so it can't be easily moved (but easily removed). Maybe something as simple as a strip of velcro, an end screwed to the wall, and strapped around the fence where it touches the wall. (I moved the gate in the front where I can enter the enclosure and access the stove and firewood with ease). So far this configuration works very well. She's gone up to the fence but it's rigid enough and won't tip over (even without the wall anchors). The fence is far enough from the stove that there's no danger at all. During warmer weather I can see using this outdoors as a "natural grass" play pen--at least for a short time until she wants out. The 8-panel unit was only a few dollars more than the 6-panel unit and is a good value.A couple of picky points. The knobs that secure the hinges at a specified angle are difficult to hand tighten and loosen. Even when turned counter-clockwise (loosened), the hinges were stiff and the panels difficult to bend. I didn't see how to remove the knobs in the instruction booklet (which isn't very good). It sort of explains that you need to bend a panel to remove it from the hinge, but an illustration of doing this would have been useful. I needed to move the gate to a mid-point (not at the end where it comes from the factory). It was difficult removing the knob--you'd think that you could just turn it counter-clockwise and it would come off, but it requires it to be hand loosened then pried off with a screwdriver or other tool. The other issue I have is that the fence sits on a hard-wood floor and can slip and slide. I thought I read somewhere that the fence comes with rubber pads, but mine didn't. I've ordered some high friction adhesive pads to affix on the bottom. These should help stabilize the fence on the floor.Overall a good product for the price, and it solved a difficult problem.

It's not bad for the price

Perfect for the newborn. Wish the mobile was a little fancier. ..needs a musical one!!! Will have a lot of enjoyment over the next year or so!

Very nice good and sturdy,I purchased this for my new grandson and works great as a changer and sleeper for our downstairs, Love the colors.

I purchased as a reduced previously open item and it is missing the stars for the mobile. Otherwise it set up super quick and was ready to use it that night.

This is a lifesaver! Our little one is almost 3 weeks old and I don't know how we would've survived this long without our pack 'n play. It was very easy to assemble and we have it set up in our living room. It's so convenient for me to have everything I need close at hand. When she naps during the day, I put her in the bassinet. When she has a dirty diaper, I don't have to worry about going to her nursery to change her. The side compartment easily holds a pack of wipes and about 20 newborn diapers. I'm very comforted knowing that it will still be of use to me even as our daughter grows.Cons: It is low. This wouldn't be a problem but especially right after having a baby, it hurts to have to bend over so much to change diapers. We ended up buying a small stool to sit on when we change her and that has been a big help. Also, the mat on the changing table could afford to be a little more water-resistant. When our little one has decided to wait until her diaper is off to pee, the material starts to absorb it before I can clean it up.

Very well made, a little more difficult to put up than I expected the first time, but sure it will get easier each time.

As others have noted, it's really easy for a toddler to climb up the barrier. Our 10 month old can get about halfway up, and could probably get over it in a few months. I would not leave a toddler unattended in it.

In addition, the base has no friction, so slides very easily, even on a plastic foam playmat. Taping on some rubber pads help, but it should have come with them.

Other than that, it's a pretty good sized enclosure.

I really liked these because they're tall and the baby is tall so it felt safer. They're a little hard to bend but I thought that made them harder to tear down by kids and wanted to use them for a long time. These warped after using them for 6 months. The plastic is bowed in certain places. I had to remove them bfrom cause one of the edges warped and the baby was sticking her hand through it. Problem is, the return window is over. Don't waste your money on these for kids. Maybe to use as a pet corral.

I got this play yard when my son was 8 months old and I choose this design so the kid's arms won't get stuck in between the poles. But still my son could stick his arms through the space between the pieces. Now the bad thing about it was that my son could climb it easily, the design with the holes on the yard wall makes it easy for active kids to climb out of it. Though my son didn't climb out of it all the way because I could save him in the last minute but still it was dangerous because he might fall after climbing to a high point. So if you are getting this product consider this point if your kid is active. Also my son could easily move it from place though we had the 8 pieces and he fell with the whole thing once so i reduced it to 6 pieces but still it wasn't safe and I had to support it with furniture around the sides. Now I am using it as a hazured Infront of the fire place and stopped using it as a play yard so overall I didn't really use it that long just 2 months. Maybe as he grows up I might try to use it again but not sure if he will stop trying to break out of it.

It works but is not easy to open and move the sections. I guess you get what you pay for. If you are short like me (5') you won't be able to reach in and get your pup out of the pen, you will have to open the gate. If you have a really small dog there are some openings in places that the pup can try to come through. My Pom is 3 lbs and she can almost manage to get her head through an opening. We made sure she couldn't but if I had used this when she was first home, I believed she could have gotten through it.

For a while I loved this play yard, because it gave baby so much room and it's easy to set up, fold and move. However, I just caught my 10 month old trying to climb out of it AND SUCCEEDING! I was looking in on him every minute or so, luckily, because at some point I looked in and he was at the top! So make sure when you use this play yard to watch baby closely and make sure they aren't able to climb out.

Update: I will be contacting the company about this ASAP, as baby being able to climb out would not be a problem if the walls of this product were designed/positioned differently. The walls are made up of oval-shaped holes which are in a diagonal pattern. WRONG DESIGN! If only the holes were patterned VERTICALLY, I believe babies would not be able to get enough toes into a vertically positioned oval hole as to be able to climb out, especially while wearing socks or other foot covering. The way these oval holes are currently patterned, might as well make the walls out of ladders.

*Contacted the company, they informed me that I could return this play yard to them in exchange for their other play yard, which has smaller holes. The thing is, shipping this play yard back to the company would cost more than buying it on Amazon, so I am stuck with it. Now I use it to keep baby in the living room and it works fine. Actually, it being kinda flimsy helps to help keep him in, because he doesn't want to climb up something unstable. And I've found that baby can't climb the walls of this play yard with shoes on. So bottom line, it works for some purposes under certain circumstances. Do as much research as you can before investing in this.

Just bought this for my grandson when he stays with us, but NO SHEETS ANYWHERE FIT THE NEST BASSINET!!!! So the baby has to sleep on the bare plastic mattress, and that's not what I wanted, and may return it.

Only 3 stars because we haven't used it yet, but the product was super easy to put together and looks great! The only con is that it is on the lower size and I can already tell my back will be in pain

If you're using the changing station, the mattress where the baby is suppose to sleep doesn't fold out completely flat. we didn't feel comfortable leaving our baby in there for a nap.

Really cute and pretty sturdy

I got this pack n play as a lightening deal. It is a nice one and the price was good. I have an older version that stays at my in laws house since we are frequently there on weekends. I got this one for when we travel elsewhere. I was not able to use the bassinet because my son out grew the 15# weight limit before we used it the first time. Which also means that it was difficult to use the changing station with the 25# weight limit because the bassinet and the changing station are all one piece! This was a seriously dumb design by Graco, make the whole thing the same weight limit or make them 2 seperate pieces like my older Graco Pack n Play. I did like the bonus fold up changing pad thing that came with it!

I loved the colors and overall look. Item is made well aside from the mobile. However, this pack n play is geared more to an newborn right to a toddler. It does not have a full sized basinet. The insert includes half basinet & half changing area. They are not separate. If you have a long baby they will quickly outgrow small basinet area. I had to return for another model.

Don't buy this for the open and close gate feature unless you use it very sparingly. It can't handle repeated opening and closing (say 4 or 5 times a day) and will break. The plastic latching teeth on the gate handle on ours broke after only 2 months of use. The fence itself it very sturdy and a really nice height especially for medium size dogs. Just step over the fence and avoid using the gate handle as much as possible as it can't handle the stress. Update: After dealing with the broken handle for a week or so we're dropping this from 3 to 2 stars. It's become really inconvenient and once it breaks that one panel is basically useless. Also, there doesn't seem to be a way to get a replacement handle.

We wanted to use the this system to block in our little puppy. When we separated the fence to make it one long fence to block a living room off the connections broke. I think the system could be a five star but ours perhaps had a weak spot? I am trying to get in touch with the company. I will update my review if things change.

I believe I received 2 used products! The panels were all facing different ways, some upside down so it wouldnt fold correctly. A few of the round pieces that connect the panels were broken so I cannot tighten down those panels. It took forever to take apart all of the panels to put them the correct way. Kind of disappointed as I've never been sent a used item before. It works ok to section off my living room to keep my 1 yeast old from entering the kitchen and hallway. But as I said before, the broken pieces make it so I can't tighten all the panels so it's not as sturdy

This gate is not functional or sturdy at all. The connecting, big, plastic screws are really hard to get out. I have to use a screw driver to pop them out. The panels are flimsy and warp. The gate door is inconvenient because you have to line up the bottom insert before you can latch the top in. If you're walking back and forth all day, it takes way too long to unlatch and latch again. I wish I could just step over it, but it's too high to do that too. (I'm 5'4") I wouldn't recommend this to anyone. The only thing I like is the neutral color.

This may work for some but, aside from arriving damaged, the panel system is too flimsy for our active 11mo old that loves to grab and lift herself up. I could see her easily wobbling this thing over by trying to lift herself up. I'll stick with the solid panel playpens.

This is fine for my dog but I would not recommend it for children with the current "shipped in the box" method. The box was trashed in delivery and covered in shipping tape. Case in point; I opened it from the top that side long rip pictured is how it arrived taped up! There are chips in the plastic and it is filthy. I had to scrape off glue/tar on the handle. Not happy with this arriving in this state but I need it for the dog now. If getting it for a child find someone who will ship it properly :-( The product itself is good - heck it took a beating getting here and it still works!

We bought 2 pack n' plays - one for each floor (upstairs & downstairs). I like this one quite a bit less than the other one. When my baby was a newborn he sleep in this in our room. Because of the way the bassinet part sloped in the middle he kept turning his head to a certain side (even though we would try to move his head & position him differently) which contributed greatly to his flat head. The changing part of this pack n' play is terrible in that it is super low! and the changing part can only be used when the bassinet part is in. So once the baby out grows the bassinet part, then the changing part is basically no good. If I were choosing again...I would buy a different pack n' play.

Newborn Baby made her way to the side of the sleep area and her arm was in the gap and her face against the plastic side. Wish I would have purchased a pack n play with an infant cradle. Need to purchase some type of insert to keep infant safe.

Did not come with hardware!!!

I actually don't like the bassinet on this at all. I didn't realize that it's only half the usual area, and two of the sides aren't mesh which just screams unsafe to me. If I didn't have a rock n play for him to sleep in, I would return this. I'm only keeping it because I really like the changing table and it will be fine once i decide to start using it as a play pen with the pad in the bottom. Just don't use the bassinet whatever you do.

We bought this to use as a bassinet in our bedroom for the first few months of our baby being home with us, before we transitioned to the crib in the nursery. Unfortunately, due to an apparent design flaw, the bassinet itself slopes dramatically toward the center of the pack n play. This is dangerous for a wiggly, swaddled baby, and I refused to use the bassinet once we discovered this issue. I'm amazed that Graco put this product on the market with a flaw like this. Additionally, the product feels cheap and isn't necessarily easy to put together. All of the parts don't even fit into the travel bag!We've packed this back up and will hold onto it for the pack n play portion, but we've moved on to a Chicco Lullago for our bassinet needs, which has been delightful, as has been our experience with all Chicco products so far. I don't think we'll be buying anything else from Graco in the future, clearly we don't get our money's worth.

it has separate diaper changing table.it is not convenient and i found that until i received it.I cannot see very clearly from the picture.

Disappointed in the quality. Bought these for my mother in law to use because it was cheaper than my North State ones but you get what you pay for. A few of the panels have already broken off but I've been too busy to return them.

The product is not as pictured. It is extremely small space and it's so flimsy my 16 month old knocks it over. We bought to use near a pool and obviously can't use it that way so returning.

This thing is ridiculously flimsy if you try to set it up it starts Bowing in bending like it's going to snap. I got this for a puppy's luckily once I got it up I don't have to open it because when you open it it well, it's junk so it doesn't work too well. I only need this for about 3 weeks and then it's getting thrown away not worth keeping and it's very overpriced!

This was ordered to expand our current surround for a larger area.
Upon receipt it was noticed the box literally fell open - one side completely split at the glued seam.
When the panels were opened they were VERY hard to expand, I twisted the knobs to make sure the panels were loose, but the panels are severely warped.
It is my belief that we received a used product that was returned as defective - thus the box issue. So very disappointed, because this is a problem for us now.
I will be returning this as soon as I can figure out how. A process not easily ascertained. But I will be ordering a new set of panels if I can be assured they are not warped or otherwise inoperable.

I originally purchased two Summer Infant 6-panel playards to connect and my 6 month old son had it down in less than 2 minutes. I mentioned this experience to my sister and she told me about seeing parents on Pinterest using a pool. Let me just saw one word... GENIUS! Don't even spend your time considering or researching other options. I have the same amount of space for a quarter of the price, it's much safer for infants to learn to stand and has a lower height so parents can easily see into the pool and babies can see out.

Do not buy. I never write Amazon reviews, but I had to for safety purposes. The bassinet is awful! It is not flat and caused my baby to roll to center. The first time I placed my newborn on the bassinet, she immediately rolled to the middle. Her face smooshed against the inner wall. I was terrified and placed her in the crib that night instead.The next day, my husband and I confirmed what we already knew with a level tool. The bassinet is not level at all. The pack n play itself is completely level. However, the bassinet is on an obvious incline.We called graco immediately and they asked a few questions. The pack n play was assembled correctly. As per graco, they said the bassinet is "not a true bassinet" and "should not be used for sleeping purposes". When we told them the bassinet is not level and our 3 day old rolled to the middle, they were not concerned or surprised. They said the device is not defective, just don't use the bassinet for sleeping. why do they call it a bassinet? I wouldn't even use it for when she is awake. It is not safe at all.Please do not buy this pack n play!I may try to return it to Amazon, although we bought it a while ago. If not, I will just toss the bassinet and use the pack n play for when she is older.

I recieved it on time but this is not foldable after u assemble it button are too firm . Color shown in picture doesn't match the actual one ..

We bought this with every intention of using it for our newborn to sleep in along with a changing table. The bassinet side is too hard and the changing table too low and too much movement so that our baby moved all over and we had to reposition several times. It was awful and currently is packed away (excuse the pun) in our closet. Hopefully the toddler portion of it will work much better when he is older.

This item arrived broken and it was a gift

DO NOT BUY! This version of the pack'n'play is horribly inefficient and far less safe than other models. The changing table and bassinet are one unit, so when baby outgrows the bassinet, changing table is no longer functional. The bassinet is also entirely too small, and the way it's assembled is less stable than you want for your baby. I placed my two-week-old in the center of the bassinet for a nap and found him later all the way against the side. Not safe!!

This play pen broke just 4 months after I bought it. I think i had put it up maybe 4 times when it no longer would click into place on two sides and won't unclick on the other two. So it is essentially worthless now, I can't put it up or down...very disappointed