One of the top selling features of a trampoline is the number of springs that the trampoline comes with, but the question is; do the number of springs make any difference? I put this question to the Etoys Zone in-house sales team, and the answer they gave was quite interesting. The team weren’t able to answer the question fully, they said that it depended on what the customer was looking for in the trampoline. The amount of springs on a trampoline does change the type of bounce that the trampoline produces, especially on round trampolines. However on rectangular and oval trampolines it depends on the structure and size of that specific trampoline as to how many springs should be on that trampoline.

Round Trampolines – When it comes to round trampolines, there is no question as to whether more springs make a difference, the clear answer is yes they do. The round shape creates an equalised bounce platform that means anywhere on the trampoline bed you get a clear bounce difference when more springs are added. We have tried and tested this system in-house with our own trampolines, where we have created defined trampoline ranges within the market. We started off with the more budget end range, which are our Fun Trampolines. These were built to compete with the more affordable trampolines sold by the likes of Argos and Homebase etc. They are designed with the bare minimum of springs too accommodate 16 stone adequately, meaning that for the average household, this is a perfect trampoline. If you are looking for something that can take a few more children and to let the kids try out the new tricks they learnt at school, then you start looking up the range, this is where it gets interesting.

We moved on to design the Skyhigh Trampoline Range a few years ago now, it has proved to be a huge success. This is where the principle of more springs came into affect. The Skyhigh trampoline range are produced with above the average number of springs, but not the highest number of springs. This means that they have a smooth controlled bounce, not to taut, but not soft by any means. You can do a full range of gymnastics activities on the 14ft Skyhigh trampoline as you need the space, but overall they can accommodate most needs. Why not go for the trampoline with the most springs though? Well, this is why it’s interesting, as a retailer of these trampolines not everyone wants a super duper high performance bounce machine, on the other hand they don’t want the village bin. The smooth mid range bounce offered by the skyhigh trampoline range is very popular, accommodating both children and adults it gives the family a cross platform bounce experience while being totally safe.

Now we move onto the Xtreme 360 Trampolines, designed about 2 years ago, we went all out on these trampolines and what we got was remarkable. The bounce on these trampolines is just mind boggling, we say that because round trampolines shouldn’t have the same performance as rectangular trampolines on a whole. However these trampolines are testament to the fact that you can produce a round trampoline that is in most cases much higher performance than a range of rectangular trampolines on the market. What’s the bounce like though? This is also an interesting factor as the bounce is slightly different to what was anticipated. The result from all those trampoline springs is something of a likeness to an exquisite exotic sports car. It delivers exactly what you ask it to, the amount of effort you put in you receive to perfection. This is rare in trampolines as they are rather primitive in their design, but it does seem that we have found the key to a magnificent trampoline. I can’t give all the credit to the springs though as a lot of it comes down to the sprung frame along with t bar fitting fixtures etc. But the overall result was very positive.

Rectangular Trampolines – Rectangular trampolines are totally different in every way in relation to round trampolines. They are designed and built solely for one purpose and that is for single user performance bouncing. The shape restricts these trampolines bounce area to the middle zone of the trampoline bed which means that they are generally 1 user trampolines. The bounce however is superb as you go up the trampoline range. The interesting thing here though is you don’t need the same number or more trampoline springs to achieve the same performance as a top end round trampoline. The rectangular shape changes the way you bounce and makes a much more definitive bounce area which in turn means you can have less equipment creating the same and better bounce than most round trampolines. The general guide here is not the springs and they are not a benchmark when it comes to rectangular trampolines. There are a large number of other factors that come into play when choosing the right rectangular trampoline for you.

Oval Trampolines - Oval trampolines are very young on the market and have seemed to have created quite a stir. In the short time that they have been available they have proved to be quite good trampolines overall. They are somewhere in the middle between a round trampoline and a rectangular trampoline. The number of springs used on the ovals is less as the shape principal of the rectangular trampoline still applies while at the same time the sheer brute force of the round trampoline over spec principal is used creating quite a well balanced trampoline unit. There are really only 2 brands of oval trampolines on the market so far and they have established themselves quite well in such a short time period, those are the Skyhigh Oval Trampolines and the Jumpking Ovalpod Trampolines. The bounce on the oval trampolines is a firm bounce that is stable across the whole surface of the trampoline bed. The major benefit in regards to bounce on these trampolines is the fact that 1 child can be bouncing in corner and another in the other corner and they wouldn’t know each other was there.

Overall there is no basic answer to this question and we hope that this guide has clarified some grey areas for you.

With the trampoline market ever changing this has been a difficult one and people still ask us from time to time what we think about it. Our conclusion is that we prefer the trampoline springs, they are safer and more robust. They stay bouncy for longer, they are easier to maintain and they are what people are comfortable with. Against the trend we believe that if something works perfectly why change it, enhance it yes. Redesign it? No. The trampoline spring design has been around for a few generations now and there is no sign of that ever changing. A few manufacturers have designed trampolines with the patent elastic technology, but the designs never really took off in the UK.

A testament in itself as to what the public want, they just want something that works, is affordable and looks half decent in their back garden. Needless to say at Etoyszone we only sell the spring version, not saying that we will never move to the spring free design. For now though we are happy with the conventional trampoline that has brought so many smiles to children across the nation.

If anyone else has had experience with the spring free trampolines and would like to post a comment please feel free to do so.