SONGMICS 8FT Trampoline

Is the SONGMICS 8FT Trampoline worth buying?

Yes, the SONGMICS 8FT Trampoline is worth buying for a family with children aged six and up, at £139.99, because it takes an 80 kg jumper on a 244 cm galvanised steel frame and 2,425 owners rate it 4.3. It is a complete package rather than a frame you add to: a dense inner safety net, a full-coverage pad over the springs, a hook-on ladder and the assembly tools all arrive in the one box.

It stops being the right buy the moment an adult much over 80 kg wants to bounce on it, because 80 kg is the frame's ceiling and that is the limit for a single jumper. Households that need a bigger mat should think about the 10 ft or 12 ft version of this same SONGMICS trampoline instead of stretching an 8 ft frame past what it is built to carry.

What do 42 springs and an 80 kg rating actually mean?

Divide the 80 kg user rating across the 42 springs and each one carries 1.90 kg, which is the number that decides how the mat feels underfoot. It is a middle-of-the-road load: firm enough that a child does not sink through to the frame, and forgiving enough that the bounce stays predictable for a six-year-old landing in the middle.

Those springs sit under a weather-resistant polypropylene mat on a rust-resistant galvanised steel frame with three W-shaped legs and reinforced T-joints. The T-joints are the part that matters most in the long run, because they hold the ring rail square where the legs meet it, and that is the first place a cheaper frame starts to twist under bouncing.

What comes in the box and what is it like to live with?

The box holds the trampoline, the enclosure net, the safety pad, the hook-on ladder, the labelled tubes and the tools, so there is nothing extra to order before the first bounce. Built, it measures 2.44 m long by 2.44 m wide by 2.39 m high in black and dark green, and it weighs 34.4 kg.

Assembly is slot-in, which means the tubes push into one another and the labels on the parts match the printed instructions rather than a diagram you have to decode. Allow a couple of hours with two people, and clear the 2.44 m square plus a hand's width on every side before you start, because a round frame on uneven grass will lean until the legs are bedded in.

Where does the SONGMICS 8FT Trampoline fall short?

The 80 kg user rating is a hard ceiling, and it rules out a large adult bouncing at the same time as a child. The 34.4 kg of steel is also a two-person lift when the mower needs to get under it, and it is not a trampoline you reposition on your own.

The enclosure stands 2.39 m tall, which is high enough to catch a crosswind on an exposed lawn, so it is worth adding a set of ground anchors and unhooking the net through the winter. The mat itself is built for ages six and up, so it is not the place to start a three-year-old.

How does it compare with the Kanga 8 ft and the mcc direct 8 ft?

The Kanga 8 ft at £109.95 is £30 cheaper, carries a 100 kg user on 48 springs, and includes the ladder, the net and an anchor kit, so it wins on price, payload and pegging down. The SONGMICS 8FT Trampoline answers back with the ownership record: 2,425 owners rate it 4.3 against 1,535 on the Kanga.

The mcc direct 8 ft at £94.99 undercuts both by £45 and takes a 250 kg jumper on 84 springs, but it weighs 67 kg and has 343 ratings behind it. Buy it for the heaviest person in the house, the Kanga for a normal family watching the budget, and this SONGMICS when a deep, settled record from other owners matters more than either.