Which is easier to ride with, Depower Bar or Handles?

Most of the kite landboarders in my area uses handles but I start to see more new riders using depower Bar.

Is it easier for a beginner to learn using a bar or handles?

Kites will be 4 line power kites.

I'm not sure there is a correct answer to this question, but I have more practice and experience flying on handles and therefore have felt more comfortable using them on the board. I'm dying to get out and get some practice with the depower also though and think that in the long run I'll prefer boarding with depower. I think the "pros" landboard on depower almost exclusively if that tells you anything.

I agree with you that most of the pro's uses depower.

Most crazy jumps on youtube also uses a bar versus handles.

I fly both styles, fixed bridle on handles and depower on a bar. It really depends on what you are wanting to do with your riding as to which one is better. I can list a couple of pros/cons that I have experienced and hopefully it will help.

Fixed bridle kite on Handles:
Easier to control the kite, turns are much faster and more precise. Kite size is usually much smaller and the kites fly in less wind. They are much more efficient in the air. Slightly easier setup. You can find tune the brake lines during flight by adjusting the position of your handles.
For buggies, this is the preferred method as you can rip the kite around pretty much anywhere in the wind window and still be under complete control. You can spin the kite faster without the huge swooping downstroke of power. Fixed bridle kites usually have less lift than depower kites so you have less chance of getting yanked up out of the buggy.

Fixed Bridle on a bar:
Kite turns much slower and has large swooping turns through the window. Launching is usually a bit harder than with handles. Harder to get your brake lines adjusted during flight, usually you get it set once and then leave it. Kite usually flies slower and the feel is less responsive. Kite has a mushy feeling unless flown in really strong wind. It is a bit harder to keep the kite powered up in light winds. The bar does give you a lot more freedom with the ground board in that you can rotate your upper torso easier because you can fly the kite with one hand, letting the other drop back behind you for easier upwind riding and also much easier toe-side riding. The harness can be connected to your waist / pelvic area so your center of gravity is much lower. This allows you to direct the power easier into your legs/board and pulls less on your shoulders. The bar offers better safety disconnect setups and a leash. It is also easier to control your kite while you manipulate your board/harness/etc with your free hand for setup. The kite is also less twitchy and usually more forgiving during flight. Less chance of accidentally driving the kite into the ground if you take your eyes off of it.

Depower on Bar (handles not recommended):
Depower gives you the most lift/hangtime over fixed bridle kites. They also have larger wind ranges in which they can be flown in. They excel in gusty conditions, allowing you to adjust your power instantly on the fly. They have the same advantages as fixed bridle on a bar but usually take more wind to fly than a fixed bridle kite of the same size. They generally are slower in turns than fixed bridle kites but can be flown quite aggressively when they are flown in their optimum wind range. Usually one depower kite will cover the same wind range as 2 or 3 fixed bridle kites. The safety release systems on depower kites are awesome. The Re-ride system developed by Ozone and now used on basically every depowerable land kite allows you to kill the kite completely while leaving the bar attached to you. This pretty much eliminates the tangled mess you use to get when activating your safety. Depower kites cost quite a bit more per kite than fixed bridle kites but they usually come complete ready to fly with matching bar setup and lines. Depower is usually the preferred kite with aggressive landboarders and snow kiting.

Hope that helps some.
Let us know if you have any other questions.

That's exactly the information I was looking for.

Thanks a bunch!

Someday I'll get me a depower Kite on Bar... someday...

on the ozone frenzy 06 that I fly they have also seriously increased turning speed by adding a second smaller pulley on the bottom of the kite this way it's almost like flying with handles in that it pulls the break on the side u r turning although I constantly getting the sand out of this small pulley it seems to be a very useful feature

Excellent review awindofchange