Springfree vs Vuly: Which Springless Trampoline Should You Buy?

Side by side

As published by each maker on the dates in the source list. Springfree and Vuly measure and describe their frames differently, so read each row against its own source rather than across the table.

Rods under the mat or leaf springs

Springfree's design is the more complete removal. Flexible composite rods sit beneath the jumping surface, angled so nothing rigid reaches jumping height; the mat edge is the SoftEdge pad, and the FlexiNet enclosure stands on the same flexible rod technology rather than on steel poles. There is no spring to land on because there is no spring at the edge, and there is no frame rail at mat level because the galvanized frame is hidden below. That is what earns Springfree a 10 on enclosure and edge design, the only score of 10 in our registry.

Vuly's Thunder gets to the same place by a different route: compact, pre-curved leaf springs, which Vuly states carry no welds or rivets, mounted under the mat rather than as coils at the rim. Vuly publishes 56 leaf springs on the Large and 64 on the Extra Large. Functionally this is the same promise as Springfree's: the energy store moves out of the fall zone. The Thunder scores 9 rather than 10 because Vuly does not publish the rod-and-mat geometry in the same detail, not because the design is worse in principle.

Vuly's Ultra is a different proposition and worth separating out, because buyers conflate the two. The Ultra is a coil-spring trampoline. What it borrows from the Thunder is the enclosure: Vuly states the springs sit outside the netting and that net and springs arch in opposite directions, so a fall lands on the mat or the net rather than on the coils. That is a good spring trampoline, not a springless one. If the springless design is the whole reason you are shopping, the Ultra is not the model to buy; the comparison of springless against conventional is on Springfree vs spring trampolines.

The single-jumper limit: 220 lb against 330 lb

This is the single most decision-shaping difference on the page, and it runs against the intuition most buyers bring. The springless design does not raise the weight limit.

Springfree publishes a tested maximum weight capacity of 1,500 lb on the Jumbo Square and Large Oval, and a single jumper weight capacity of 220 lb. The Medium Round R79 carries the same 220 lb. Vuly publishes a maximum user weight of 330 lb on both the Thunder and the Ultra, with a separate certification to withstand 1,650 lb of static weight. Both brands do the thing we ask every maker to do: separate the single-jumper figure from the structural one, so you are not left guessing which number applies to the person about to get on. The reason that matters, and why a single blended headline figure is close to useless, is on trampoline weight limit.

The consequence is blunt. If a parent who weighs more than 220 lb is going to jump with the children, or a teenager is heading that way, Springfree has told you in writing that they are outside the rating and Vuly has told you they are inside it. That single line is why Vuly scores 9 on capacity and Springfree 7, despite Springfree's much higher headline total. Adult-rated options across every design are on best trampolines for adults.

Standards: ASTM, or AS4989 and EN 71

Springfree names ASTM F2225 and F381. F381 is the US consumer trampoline standard covering components, assembly, use and enclosures; F2225 covers the safety enclosure specifically. For a buyer in the United States those are the two designations that mean something, and Springfree printing both is why it scores 9 on certification.

Vuly names AS4989:2015, the Australian trampoline standard, plus EN71-1:2014, EN71-2:2011+A1 and EN71-14:2014 from the European toy-safety series, and states accreditation by TUV and Intertek. That is a longer list of real third-party standards than most brands publish, and it is genuinely more specific than a bare "ASTM certified" claim. But Vuly does not name ASTM F381-16 on its US pages, which is a gap for an American buyer: AS4989 and EN 71 are not the documents a US regulator, insurer or homeowner's policy will reference. Vuly scores 8. Neither set of claims is a test we have verified; both are what each maker publishes.

The net and the door

Springfree's FlexiNet stands on flexible rods, which means the enclosure itself gives way rather than presenting a rigid pole inside the net. Vuly publishes something Springfree does not: a measured net-to-mat gap of zero inches under 220 lb of static weight, and an hourglass enclosure Vuly states stands 15 inches taller than its nearest competitor's, on poles that curve away from the jumper.

Vuly's best detail is the door. It seals shut behind the jumper with no zip and no Velcro. An unzipped enclosure door is one of the most common ways a well-designed trampoline becomes an unsafe one, because a child gets on, forgets the zip and the only barrier is a flap. A door that closes itself removes the human step. If you want to see how the rest of the market handles the net-to-mat joint, the sewn, clipped and buttoned-at-every-spring approaches are compared on best trampolines with an enclosure net.

Anchoring: neither one ships it

This is the shared failure, and it is the single biggest hole in two otherwise careful products. Springfree sells a Ground Anchor kit separately, four anchors on most models and eight on the Jumbo. Vuly names no anchor kit at all; its US manual goes only as far as saying sandbags or pegs may be suitable anchorage devices to stop the trampoline tipping over or blowing away. Springfree scores 6 on anchoring provision, Vuly 5, and both lose points a far cheaper trampoline earns simply by putting four wind stakes in the box.

A trampoline is a sail. A frame this tall, with an enclosure acting as the sail area, moves in a storm and the failure mode is not subtle: it clears the fence. Add the anchors to the same order, and prefer augers over straight stakes, because an auger threads into soil and resists uplift while a stake pulls straight out of it. The kits are ranked on best trampoline anchors and the method is on how to anchor a trampoline. On a patio or hard standing, the method changes completely: anchoring a trampoline on concrete.

Warranty, and which parts it covers

Springfree publishes a ten-year warranty on all parts of the trampoline. That is one sentence and it covers everything, which is the easiest warranty to read in this category.

Vuly splits it, and the split tells you where Vuly expects wear. On the Thunder: ten years on frame tubes and joiner poles, five years on the jump mat, and one year on the safety net, the net poles and the leaf springs themselves. On the Ultra: five years on the frame tubes and joiners, five on the springs and jump mat, one on the net, net poles and safety pads. Vuly also offers Half-Price Parts for Life on replacements, which is a real benefit on a product whose soft parts are consumables. But one year on the leaf springs is a notable line, given the leaf springs are the whole reason to buy a Thunder.

Read it this way: Springfree is the brand that will replace a UV-degraded net in year six; Vuly expects you to buy that net at half price. If you want the full Springfree range with its model-by-model limits, that is on the Springfree trampoline review, and Vuly's range including the Junior is on the Vuly trampoline review.

Where you actually buy them

Both of these are premium-tier purchases sold mainly direct. Springfree sells through its own US store and through dealers and warehouse clubs; Amazon carries some Springfree listings, but not reliably every model, so treat the maker's store as the real inventory. Vuly sells through its own US store at vulyplay.com rather than through Amazon, which means no Amazon returns path on a product that arrives as a large freight shipment. Check the generation before you order, too: Vuly's US store now leads with the Ultra 2 and the Thunder 2, which publish different dimensions and a different warranty split from the models above, so match the model name on the listing to the spec sheet you are reading.

Neither brand is a budget purchase, and that is the honest counterargument to this whole page: a Zupapa or a Jumpzylla with the net sewn or clipped inside the springs removes most of the same hazard for a fraction of the outlay. The case for each is on Zupapa vs Jumpzylla.

Choose Springfree if / choose Vuly if

• Choose Springfree if every jumper is under 220 lb, you want the rods and the frame out of the jumping zone by design rather than by geometry, you want ASTM F2225 and F381 named, and you want one ten-year warranty covering every part.
• Choose Vuly Thunder if anyone over 220 lb will use it, you want a published zero-inch net-to-mat gap and a door that closes itself, and you can live with one year of cover on the net, poles and leaf springs.
• Choose Vuly Ultra only if you want Vuly's enclosure on a conventional coil frame and five years on the springs and mat; it is not a springless trampoline.
• Either way, buy the anchors in the same order, and apply CPSC's rules: one jumper at a time, no somersaults, nobody under six. Both brands appear on best trampolines and on best trampolines for families.