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Tired of constantly playing doorman for your furry friend? Smart pet doors promise ultimate freedom for your dog and unprecedented convenience for you. If your home features a sliding glass patio door, two major contenders often come up in discussion: SmartSlydr and Wazyn.
Both of these innovative systems convert your existing slider into an automatic pet door, but they are designed with different priorities in mind. When choosing, every pet owner looks for convenience, flexibility, and ease of use. In this comprehensive guide, we’ll break down the key differences between SmartSlydr and Wazyn to help you make the right choice for your home and lifestyle.
⏳ Proven Track Record: System Reliability and Pet Tag History
When investing in home automation, system reliability is paramount, and this extends to the specialized tag technology pets use for access. A product’s market presence can often indicate its stability and the amount of user feedback available.
- SmartSlydr: The SmartSlydr door opener by LycheeThings and its dedicated PetPass tag system were released concurrently over three years ago. This means the system offers a substantial track record of real-world use for both the opener mechanism and the integrated tag-based pet recognition feature. Customers have accumulated extensive data on the reliability and durability of both components working seamlessly together.
- Wazyn: The Wazyn door opener itself has an established market presence. However, the Wazyn Pet Tag system is a much newer addition, having been released only in the last few months. While the opener mechanism has a proven history, consumers should note that the long-term reliability and real-world feedback on the automated door opening functionality via the pet tag is still accumulating.
🔩 Mounting Style and Installation Effort: Mechanism vs. Adhesion
The style of mounting directly impacts both the system’s longevity and the level of effort required for the initial installation.
- SmartSlydr (DIY Top-Mount Mechanism): SmartSlydr’s mechanism is mounted at the top of the door frame, similar to how a window blind or shade is installed.
- Wazyn (Bottom-Mount Adhesion): Wazyn utilizes a bottom-mount installation. This system is often seen as the easier, less-intrusive option for installation as it relies on strong, removable adhesive tape to attach the unit to the bottom door track.
📏 Opening Size: Pet-Only vs. Human-Friendly and Accessible
This is arguably the most significant functional difference, determining who can use the door and how easily they can access the space, especially when manual operation is necessary.
SmartSlydr: Partial or Full Opening for Everyone
The SmartSlydr system provides a partial opening for dogs and full opening for humans. This means the doorway is effortlessly accessible for both pets and the average person. Crucially, its full-opening design makes the doorway accessible for wheelchair users and individuals with physical disabilities, truly delivering a human- and pet-friendly experience.
Wazyn: Partial Opening for Pets Only
The Wazyn system is designed to open the door only enough for a pet to pass (typically around 11 inches). For full manual access (to slide the door all the way open), the user must bend down to detach the unit from the door, a significant inconvenience for frequent human use.
📱 Flexible Ways to Operate: Deep Smart Home Integration
Both systems offer remote and automated opening features, but SmartSlydr provides a significantly wider range of control and integration options, especially for advanced smart homes.
- Control Methods: Both systems offer control via Phone, Alexa, use a Pet Tag for automated pet entry, and can use a Camera Trigger.
- SmartSlydr’s Exclusive Control Methods: SmartSlydr significantly extends its flexibility by integrating with:
- Google Home
- The DuoButton Remote
- Apple Watch
- API / Home Assistant Integration, allowing for complex custom automation setups.
- Crestron System Integration, appealing to users with professional-grade smart home systems.
SmartSlydr’s deep integration capabilities position it as the superior choice for users who want seamless, comprehensive control within a full smart home ecosystem.
🔑 Conclusion: Choosing the Right Fit
The final decision between SmartSlydr and Wazyn ultimately depends on your household’s needs and priorities:
- Choose Wazyn if you prioritize a basic, pet-only solution, are focused on the easiest possible installation (bottom-mount adhesion), and your sliding door is rarely used by humans.
- Choose SmartSlydr if your priority is PetPass feature and human-friendly accessibility, if you use your sliding door frequently, or if you require the highest degree of smart home integration (including Google Home and advanced API/Crestron integration).
If you are looking for a smart pet door that offers versatility, durability, and true human- and pet-friendly access for everyone in your household, the SmartSlydr smart pet door provides the most feature-rich and reliable option.