Yes, the design of the frame matters and the interaction between the flap and the frame matters. But if you haven't got a great flap to put in that frame, you can't possibly have a great pet door. Patio Pacific Inc has specialized in the sale of pet doors for over 35 years. During that time, we have handled every pet door ever made. While many of these have been excellent in one respect or another
, none has ever combined all the best features into one product. Flexibility is Vital for Pet Door Safety:
The first design requirement of the Endura Dog Door Flap was that it be flexible. Though the chance of injury, especially pinching, is small in a rigid flap pet door, it is nevertheless real. Over our 40 years in business, we have encountered injury in all types of rigid flap pet doors. Some of these injuries have been serious. The Endura Flap™ is soft, flexible and safe. Dual Pane Insulated with Heat Transfer Barriers:
Insulation
Insulation is not as important as a good seal. For example, the best insulating windows available aren't much help if you leave them open 1/2"! After achieving a good seal, however, insulation is very important. A single-walled flap is not satisfactory for the same reason that single-pane glass is not: It just doesn't insulate very well. While single-pane glass is completely replaced these days by dual-pane glass, most pet doors sold on the market today provide no more than a 1/ 8" thickness of vinyl between the living area of the home and the outside weather. The Endura Flap™ consists of a sealed unit that is slightly thicker than a dual-pane glass unit and provides comparable insulation qualities. Heat Transfer Barriers
Heat transfer across an air space in a sealed unit is caused by air currents moving within the space. These currents are caused by the continuous heating and cooling of the air inside the unit. The Endura Flap™ is divided by horizontal barriers which serve to reduce the effect of these air currents. A trade Off - We could have filled the flap interior with insulation for better insulation performance. We didn't for the same reason that dual pane windows aren't filled with insulation: It's better if you can see through. UV Retardant Prevents Cracking and Wrinkling in the Sun:
UV Resistance
The suns rays are very harsh and will produce a yellowing effect on vinyl flaps. Some of these flaps are heavily tinted to prevent this yellowing from showing (we suspect). Besides yellowing, vinyl is weakened by prolonged exposure to ultra-violet. The Endura Flap™ material is specially treated with a powerful UV retardant
And it's Not made from vinyl. In intense test chamber exposure equivalent to 2 years of Florida sunlight, no yellowing or degradation of the Endura Flap material occurred. At the same time we tested the Endura material, we tested vinyl flap samples from every leading pet door manufacturer. In each case, there was significant yellowing, crackling and degradation of the material. Regular Vinyl Flaps
Anyone who has used a pet door for any length of time has seen that the cost of replacing the flaps can exceed the original cost of the door. This sad fact is because most pet door flaps in use today consist of a sheet of vinyl fastened rigidly across the top of the frame with screws. As the pet goes through the flap it flexes. Worse, the pet must press upward against that flexed area to get full use of the space. First the flap will 'potato chip' and begin leaking badly. Eventually, the repeated flexing causes the vinyl to crack and tear in just the same way that repeated flexing of a coat hanger will cause it to break. DURABILITY OF THE ENDURA FLAP™ DESIGN:
The Endura Flap™ Pivots! If the Endura Flap™ material had to flex, it would fail in time also. But it doesn't flex! And that simple design difference allows the Endura flap to be flexible and extremely durable at the same time. The Endura Flap™ is warranted against failure, except for chewing damage, for 15 years. By the way, since this illustration was designed, the test machine went over 3 million trials. Same result.
