I have been looking into the different types and brands of "turbo bars" and wanted to know which one is the best before i commit to buying one.

I don't think there's an answer for that. Might be more like 'which bar system best suits kite X'. I have the Ozone Turbo bar and love it. But put it on a Reactor II or Century II and it's a disaster and will drive you nuts. Stick it on an Octane/Method/Beamer/Flow/Blade and it's quite nice.....if that's what you're after. The disadvantages are it's bulky, expensive, needs a harness and can sometimes make a kite feel a little...mechanical. I like to sit straight in the buggy and have one hand free for filming - the bar is perfect for that but I wouldn't buy one to static fly with.

So what kite is it for? And what are you hoping to do with it?

definitely operators choice, not really a" mystery" type set up you want to start with. ton of tweaking to make work. handles to bar are handicapping the kite slow , may not even respond. and definitely narrows usefulness and feel of most riggs

Though I much prefer using handles I have the Ozone turbo bar when I fancy a change or to give my arms a rest, you need to get the brake tension right otherwise you will find the kite slow on turns. I use mine on blades and NPWs without any issues, for the NPWs I have had to make a couple of extension pieces for the leader lines to get it balanced properly. If it doesn't work, don't give up as that's what a lot of ppl do, put a bit of time in making sure the brake to power line lengths are right for the kite.

thanks guys for the input not for sure if I am ready just gathering a lot of info before i take the plunge, more than likely i will stick with handles for a while before i spend two hundred dollars on a bar

I was very dubious about handing over my hard earned for one without knowing how it would turn out. So I looked at a picture of one and knocked up a copy out of some dowel, some pulleys and some starter cord. Worked a treat.

Turbo bar mock up

That's cool John. That must have taken a fair amount of tinkering but it looks like you had it dialed in.

I thought about trying to convert my hq three line bar into a cross over bar seeing how it has the center pull through but didn't know what to use for the pulleys straps and lines

For pulleys something like these: http://www.cygnus-sails.com/item-Kite_Bridle_Pulley_Blocks.h...
or http://www.cygnus-sails.com/item-Riley_RM_302_Kite_Bridle_Bl...

For line you need 3-4mm static line (no stretch such as dyneema) such as http://www.cygnus-sails.com/item-marlow_excel_racing.html

There are obviously other options, but this is stuff that I use.

PS I tried converting a spare de-power bar (40cm) I had kicking around to a turbo for my fb kites.... result..... kite would not turn! The bar was not wide enough the turbo is @50cm and that makes all the difference, so it's not just about the pulleys the bar width makes a huge difference.

This might help. Tuning the brakes is the key to all of it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&...

Just thought I'd mention the bar size as ppl may not realise if they make one that there is an element of "leverage" to take in to account.