Six of seven trampolines fail safety test
Consumer NZ says there are major safety problems with six out of seven trampolines it tested.
Only one trampoline met all the critical safety checks in a test by the consumer watchdog.
The Springfree, a soft-edge trampoline with its frame and springs beneath the jumping mat, passed all impact, structural and entrapment tests.
Three trampolines, available for less than $350, including models from The Warehouse and Kmart, all had serious failures.
Consumer NZ’s head of testing, Paul Smith, said the six models were: the Jumpflex Classic 100; Kmart’s 10-foot Trampoline with Enclosure; the Lifespan Hyperjump Plus; the Playsafe Springless Trampoline with Enclosure; the Plum Play Australia Space Zone; and the Vuly Thunder.
The Vuly Thunder was the best of all the trampolines that failed, Smith said.
The safety failures of six of the seven models could cause injury to children inside the enclosure.
None of the six could stop a child from hitting the structure with enough force to cause head injury, while two had accessible gaps where a child could get their head, limbs or fingers trapped.
There is no longer a New Zealand safety standard for trampolines and Consumer NZ used the Australian standard for testing.
‘‘It was last updated in 1997 and in 2015 Standards New Zealand decided it was out of date and retired it. They didn’t say why they didn’t update it. They were going to adopt the Australian standard but haven’t yet,’’ Smith said.
In 2016, 11,580 trampolinerelated injuries were reported to ACC, nearly 4000 more than in 2013.
In 2012, Consumer NZ tested five trampoline brands and found a disappointingly similar result.
In that test, only the Springfree model passed with no major safety issues.