What makes a trampoline bounce better?
A better bounce comes from four things working together: long springs, lots of them, a bed that flexes with the jumper, and a frame that doesn’t flex at all. Every full-size Mr Trampoline uses 11-inch springs (98 to 114 on our four standard sizes), a 2-string bed woven on our own looms in Melbourne, and a rigid galvanised steel frame. The result is a deeper, smoother bounce with more height for less effort.
Why do longer springs give a better bounce?
A spring stores the energy of your landing and gives it back on the way up. A longer spring stretches further and gives it back more gradually, so the bed sinks deeper and lifts you more smoothly, without the jarring “hard floor” feel of a short-spring trampoline.
The number of springs matters too. Our Olympic Elite has 114 springs around a 14′ × 7′ bed. Spread the load across that many long springs and the whole bed works with you, not just the patch under your feet.
There is a safety side to this. When a jumper drifts toward the edge, the long, covered springs draw them back toward the centre of the bed. Someone who looks close to the edge of a Mr Trampoline still has the springs and the rubber or padding between them and the frame.
Why does a rigid frame matter?
Every bounce drives the jumper’s weight down and outward into the frame. If the frame bends or moves, some of that energy goes into flexing steel instead of coming back into the jump. The bounce feels dull, the rhythm is hard to hold, and you work harder for less height. It stops being fun.
A Mr Trampoline frame is built not to move. It is 100 × 50 mm Australian steel RHS, C350 grade, with a 2.5 mm wall on in-ground and deck frames and 3.0 mm on above-ground frames, hot-dip galvanised after fabrication. Our frames are static load-tested to 1,000 kg. Set into the ground or bolted into a deck, the frame has nowhere to go, so the force goes into the springs and the bed, and comes back to you.
That is the difference between a bounce you can keep going easily and one you have to fight. Lighter frames that move and flex under the jumper can’t give it back.
What is a 2-string bed, and why does it matter?
A 2-string bed is woven, not cut from a sheet. Each thread is a doubled strand of high-tenacity polyester, woven in an open square pattern on looms we built for the job, then coated with our rubberised paint for UV protection. Every thread ends in a loop that hooks straight onto a stainless steel clip, so there is no seam, hem or stitching between the spring and the bed.
An open weave lets air pass through, so the bed moves quickly and evenly under the jumper. We are the only weaver of 2-string beds in the Southern Hemisphere.
Compared with the harder, more inflexible black poly-beds and shorter springs on many backyard trampolines, the difference is something you feel on the first bounce.
Which size bounces best?
Bigger beds with more springs give more room and a fuller bounce. All four standard sizes use the same 11-inch springs and the same woven bed.
| Model | Bed size | Springs |
|---|---|---|
| Family | 12′ × 6′ (3660 × 1830 mm) | 98 |
| Family Elite | 12′ × 7′ (3660 × 2130 mm) | 102 |
| Olympic | 14′ × 6′ (4270 × 1830 mm) | 110 |
| Olympic Elite | 14′ × 7′ (4270 × 2130 mm) | 114 |
| Mega Cube | 14′ × 14′ (4270 × 4270 mm) | 152 |
| Super Tramp | 20′ × 10′ (6100 × 3080 mm) | 162 |
The Olympic Elite is our most popular size. For a smaller garden, the Family gives the same bed and springs on a shorter frame.
Is a performance trampoline too much for young kids?
No. “Performance” describes how well the trampoline is made, not how hard it throws you. The bounce comes from the jumper: the springs only give back what you put in. A small child gets a soft, gentle bounce, and a teenager or adult pushing hard gets more height from the same trampoline. It grows with your family instead of being outgrown.
What makes it a good trampoline for kids is the same thing that makes it a good one for gymnasts:
- The springs are covered. Rubber or padding covers the whole spring zone, so little feet cannot slip between the springs getting on and off.
- The bounce draws them back to the middle. The long springs pull a jumper back toward the centre of the bed, away from the frame.
- In-ground keeps it low. Set flush with the ground, the bed has the lowest fall height of any mounting. For pre-school and early-childhood settings, our Mini Cube is a purpose-built small in-ground trampoline.
- It is smooth, not jarring. A woven bed on long springs gives a soft, even bounce rather than a hard one.
The rules matter most, at every age: one person at a time, land in the centre of the bed, and stay off the rubber or padding. Supervise children, especially those aged about 2 to 5, who are still building the body awareness that makes bouncing feel natural.
Plenty of our customers bounced on a Mr Trampoline as kids and now have their own children on one.
Is a Mr Trampoline good for gymnastics practice at home?
Yes, for building air awareness, timing and basic skills between coached sessions. The 2-string bed responds the way a training bed does, and the long springs give a smooth, predictable lift.
Two rules matter more than the equipment:
- One person at a time. Never double bounce.
- Learn new skills with a coach, not in the backyard. Practise at home only what you can already do safely, and land in the centre of the bed.
For serious training, an in-ground installation keeps the bed at ground level, which lowers the fall height if a landing goes wrong.
Can teenagers and adults use it?
Yes. Our frames are 100 × 50 mm Australian steel, hot-dip galvanised, and the same beds and springs go into commercial trampoline parks, where they take thousands of bounces a day. Families tell us the same trampoline is still in use as the kids grow into teenagers and adults, and some have been bouncing on theirs for decades.
The rules are the same at every age: one person at a time, land in the centre, and keep off the rubber or padding.
Spring or springless: which is better?
They are built for different things. Springless designs replace steel springs with flexible rods under the bed, usually with an enclosure net. Our model is built for performance: long steel springs, fully covered by rubber or padding so feet cannot slip between them, on an open bed with no net, used one person at a time.
If what you want is height, a smooth bounce and a trampoline you can keep repairing for decades, long covered springs are the way to get it.
Where are our beds used?
The same woven beds go into commercial trampoline parks and elite training programs:
- Bounce Inc: we have supplied their performance zone since 2012.
- AFL Max: high-cycle performance beds.
- Olympic Winter Institute / NSTC: competition-grade string beds and bungee training rigs for Australia’s aerial ski and snowboard athletes.
- Brighton Grammar: flush-mounted beds built into the school’s movement program.
Find your size
Every Mr Trampoline is handmade in Carnegie, Melbourne, with a 30-year frame warranty and every part replaceable.