14 foot trampolines are the best size in my opinion for most families. Obviously there are a few caveats with that. The first is that you have a garden that is big enough to accommodate a 14 foot trampoline, you want a safe distance around it and above it bear in mind. The second is if you have set a big enough budget can afford it. The first caveat is about space and there is probably nothing I can do and nothing you can do to change or influence this. Whether or not you have enough space to accommodate for a 14 foot trampoline should be addressed first. I like to have 5 foot clearance around it and 20 foot above the trampoline (you don’t want to be jumping into power cables J)
The next thing you need to consider is price. Obviously for a lot of people this is a major consideration. But bear in mind there is a huge discrepancy in the quality that trampolines are made so cheaper definitely isn’t always better. You also don’t want to spend more money for something you don’t necessarily need. If you think that a 10 foot trampoline would do the job and is cheaper that a 14 foot trampoline why not buy the 10 footer?
Well to put it bluntly a 10 foot trampoline is nowhere near as good as a 14 foot trampoline for a multitude of reasons. Being honest I think 14 foot just hits that sweet spot of having an amazing bounce (bigger trampolines bounce better), you have enough room for safety, enough room to accommodate your children growing up without having to buy another trampoline to replace it and it’s not insanely big like a 20 foot trampoline.
If you have a 14 foot trampoline you don’t have a 14 foot area to bounce on, you are going to lose a bit the size for the springs obviously you can’t jump on the springs or the matted area protecting the springs. In reality the trampoline is probably to have closer to 12 foot of area to bounce on.
Now if you’re in the centre of the trampoline which is the best case scenario it means that you have got six-foot either way before you hit the enclosure which might sound generous but when you are actually on the trampoline yourself it can feel like just the right amount of space. I find and many others find that trampolines any smaller and you are already thinking that you might hit the enclosure rather than just enjoying the freedom you get with bouncing on a trampoline and definitely takes away from the experience. Also as I started with you likely going to move around quite a lot and not stay on the centre of the trampoline. So the enclosure will obviously be closer.
The other reason why I recommend 14/15 foot trampolines as a default recommendation is that the experience is multiple times better than a smaller trampoline such as 10 foot. 14 foot trampolines have a much bigger surface area so the bounce is a lot better than smaller trampolines. It will feel softer but also you will be able to bounce higher with less effort. More springs will be involved with the bounce. Bigger trampolines are almost immeasurably superior for their bounce.
Another consideration that is often overlooked is the price increase with bigger trampolines is relatively small. If you measure price increase with size (like we have done on our home page) you will find that the price seems to increase linearly with the size the trampoline. So the price difference between a 10 foot and a 12 foot is the same as a 14 to 16 foot in a lot of situations. Since trampolines are measured in diameter but what you should be interested in is surface area you actually get more trampoline for your money the bigger you go. This not like a lot of other items where if you buy better versions you usually pay premium for the bigger better models. trampolines you actually get more trampoline for your money the large you go. Well that’s the case up to 14 foot after this you do reach a point where you pay a lot for 24 foot trampolines and extremely large square trampolines.
Another consideration which I won’t go into too much depth about is whether to get a rectangular trampoline or a circular trampoline. Most people and would only need a circular trampoline and they are far more popular. Rectangular trampolines are better if you want to do tricks at a high level but you pay a lot more for the privilege. If you aren’t sure you should get a circular trampoline.
Okay so hopefully you understand some of the reasons why I recommend 14 foot trampolines. Now I want to continue and tell you which are the best 14 foot trampolines.
The Best 14 foot trampolines
Okay so there are a few options for what would qualify as the best 14 foot trampoline. But really I need to find the best 14 foot trampoline for YOU and your circumstance. I will split it up into budgets and start with the two most expensive trampolines then show you some options if they are outside your price range. But in my opinion you shouldn’t put a price limit of the peace of mind that comes with knowing you have a quality built safe trampoline that’s going to last many times as long as a cheap trampoline.
Happy to pay for a quality trampoline
I will assume you followed my advice and that you willing to pay a little bit more for a solid trampoline that is not going to break whilst using it (it does happen). Let’s start.
So my top recommendation if you have the budget for them is either the springless 13 foot trampoline or the acon 14 foot trampoline.
I actually have the springless 13 foot trampoline myself and you might wonder why the 13 foot trampoline is been recommended as a 14 foot trampoline? Well springfree don’t manufacture a 14 foot trampoline but the 13 foot is a square with rounded edges. So the surface area is the same as a 14 foot trampoline just measure from side to side its 13 foot.
Now the bad news is this trampoline is the most expensive type a trampoline you can buy but I wanted the safest trampoline for my kids and this removes most of the dangerous parts of a trampoline they actually say that 90% safer. There are 100,000 injuries each year in America due to trampolines.
The springfree trampoline is a engineering marvel there has been some serisous innovation in the design process to make this as safe as possible. One of the most serious injuries I have seen has come from someone hitting their head off the frame. Dr. Keith Alexander the designer of springfree trampolines says there is a 1% chance of death from that sort of impact.
So I was more than pleased to see that they had designed it with the frame away from the trampoline itself and the enclose support not made from solid steel but flexible rods means you can’t collide with those either. Seriously this was designed around safety from the ground up. Obviously it has no springs either, I have seen people cut themselves on springs before so again fantastic to have a trampoline without springs.
Depending on how much you prioritise safety and what you budget is this is either going to be overkill on the safety and too expensive or the trampoline for you. If however you think this is too expensive or you think it’s just too much safety and you could do with another trampoline that is very safe but not got quite the exceptional level of safety is a spring free trampoline then my next recommendation is definitely the acon 14 foot trampoline.
Acon 14 foot trampoline
The acon 14 foot trampoline simply put is an absolutely fantastic trampoline. It’s hard to describe the difference in the quality of the materials used with this trampoline compared to the other two that would be recommended in the mid-range. This frame and trampoline as a whole is so well constructed you can’t really compare.
There are occasions especially with cheap trampolines were the frame actually snaps. This can be a horror story of someone that using the trampoline time.
[image of snapped trampoline]
Having the peace of mind that comes from a trampoline that is built to this quality can’t be understated. Not only is the frame excellent everything about its excellent the bounce on the trampoline is probably the best you can buy without paying for a rectangular trampoline and going into the thousands of dollars.
The mat is quality, it’s made from really durable material. You can tell instantly that it’s going to last a long time before it shows any sign of wearing tear. The same can be said about the springs. The enclosure itself is also one of the best I have seen I have had reports of people who had this trampoline for years and it survived everything many bad seasons could throw at it without showing any real signs of wear and tear. I was talking to someone who had this trampoline and it was left out during an intense storm and they feared it wouldn’t survive. They saw their neighbour’s cheaper trampoline was in pieces and wrecked beyond repair. Their acon though didn’t have a scratch on it. Seriously quality construction this.
I’ve heard of stories this one having a trampoline and seen that the neighbours cheaper trampoline from Walmart being destroyed in the storm and this didn’t have a scratch on it.
The bottom line is this is absolutely the trampoline you should buy. It’s got everything you could want from a quality trampoline without costing the earth
If having the paramount in safety isn’t necessity to you and you happy with a trampoline with very high safety ratings but an unbelievable quality trampoline in every other regard then get the acon.
Final words on the best performing trampolines
For the money you can’t beat the acon 14 foot trampoline. However if you are willing to pay the price and safety is of the upmost importance the springfree trampoline is the one for you. Please note thought that the Acon is probably the next best thing in terms of safety for any trampoline but costs a lot less and the bounce is actually better than the springfree.
For most people the acon 14 foot trampoline is probably the best trampoline to get unless safety is absolutely everything then get the springfree trampoline.
Mid Budget Trampolines
There are basically two trampolines that really stand out the crowd in the mid-price range. The first is the skywalker 15 foot trampoline and I know it’s a bit of a cheat because this article is suppose to be looking at 14 foot trampolines. Sorry.
Skywalker do produce a 14 foot trampoline but it’s inferior to their 15 foot trampoline in every way, including price and for all intents and purposes it’s been superseded by the 15 foot trampoline. You can get the 15 foot skywalker trampoline for the same price as what you can get the 14 foot skywalk trampoline and the 15 foot version is much better.
This is my first choice the skywalker 15 foot trampoline and you can see it here.
If for what ever reason you don’t like that skywalker trampoline. It’s 15 foot and you really only have room for 14 foot then there is one other trampoline that is very good.
The other trampoline that is very good in this price range is the ultega which is engineered by Germans and lives up to their fantastic engineering reputation. Both the skywalker 15ft and ultega 14ft have some of the best reviews on Amazon from customers.
The truth being told the better of the two is probably actually cheaper one, the 15 foot skywalker trampoline. It comes in a bit cheaper than the ultega. And it’s better In my opinion, though both are excellent budget trampolines. Even if there’s nothing to distinguish between the two in terms of build quality and bounce the 15 ft skywalker is still cheaper and it’s also more customisable, you get to choose the colour and you know your kids sure will appreciate that you can buy it in either blue, green, red or camo it just might be difficult getting them to make a choice.
The Ultega trampoline has a lot of the features I really like modern-day trampoline including a very high enclosure and decent frame. The enclosure keeps the springs separate from the bouncing environment and also has the support poles and the enclosure away from each other. It’s an excellent bouncing trampoline and the kids are sure to love this. Loads of fun safe enough that it won’t hurt them and cheap enough that it won’t hurt your wallet much either.
You can see from the Amazon page that patented enclosure system which separates the jumping area from the trampoline springs. This means that fingers and toes can’t slip through the gaps that are there in other trampolines. For the price the frame and the galvanised steel is better quality than many other trampolines in same price range. The spring pad is also chunky and very well padded. It actual has UV protection that works unlike many other trampolines that only claim they do. Almost everyone who has the ultega trampoline have said that even after a few years there is very little sign of wear and tear or UV damage.
You also get a pretty nifty basketball hoop it’s also made a form and is really fun to use trampoline.
Best Mid range budget trampolines
So for the best midrange trampoline have a look at either the 15 foot skywalker trampoline or the 14 foot ultega. Both are really good for the price range and far exceed others in the same price bracket.