If you’re undecided on whether or not to get a trampoline for your kids, that’s probably due to being pelted on all sides by friends with horror stories about injuries kids sustain on trampolines.  You may have even seen one of those funny home video television shows with trampoline accidents that made you cringe.  Note that the accident is almost always the result of someone doing something very carelessly and their trampoline did not have any type of trampoline safety kit.  If you’re considering getting your family its first trampoline make sure to get the trampoline safety kit for it, and get the one designed for it.  Just do it, please.   

Trampolines come in many sizes and styles.  They can be found in most athletic supply retailers – especially the large nationwide chain stores.  Selection may be limited though; thankfully we’ve got the internet.  They all require assembly as a rule with the larger trampolines coming in rather large and heavy cartons.  The trampoline safety kit was a separately priced item and almost always is.  Ours is a fourteen foot round model, and took about 2.5 to 3 hours to set up.  First step was to assemble the galvanized metal frame.  Second step is to attach the trampoline’s surface to the frame.  It was real work attaching the (in my case 88) coiled springs to both the frame and the trampoline surface.  Mine came with a special tool designed for this step.  Take my word for it – you’re going to have to use their tool.  The first 40-50 springs went on fairly easily – just a grunt here and there.  It was a grunt festival thereafter I’m sad to report.  Ironically, it wasn’t until the last few springs were done that I realized I’d been using the tool incorrectly.  I had been hooking the tool to the hard spring end and attempting to manipulate it onto the connector on the frame.  The easier way is to attach the spring to the frame to begin with and then use the tool to stretch the surface to the spring.

Our trampoline safety kit consisted of a net and extension poles.  The entire trampoline safety kit attached via 2 u-shaped bolts for each of the eight poles.    In this way the trampoline safety kit poles attached directly to the legs of the trampoline.  It took many labored turns to get all 32 bolts tight and those poles on and steady.  My trampoline safety kit came with a rubbery sponge-like sleeve for the poles.

That effort, despite my onerous description, was very well spent.  That was two years ago and our trampoline is doing just fine.  Kids are jumping on it as I write this – really.  That trampoline safety kit is intact and functional too I’m happy to report.