Air bar vs air reel?

I have run both. Both work really well. The only issue I have had with the the bar style is when harvesting oats. Oats can get quite tall and the bar tends to lean the crop forward before the reel pushes it into the head. We have taken ours off in such cases. Loosen a couple bolts lay it on the ground.

Have both. Had the reel before the bar. I’d go with the reel if I could. Not flat ground and the bar will bounce into the ground also seems like I can push a few more seeds back onto header with the reel. Bar is way simpler but haven’t had any major problems with either. Beware of gear boxes they are expensive.

I went with air bar. It’s simpler. All major parts stayed with Deere. Where as air reel wouldn’t have the dealer parts supply close by. Worst case with the air bar is you unhook it or unbolt a few things and it’s off.

I run the reel. Love it but haven’t run the air bar at all so I don’t know how they compare. The reel obviously has more moving parts than the bar but the bar appears slightly bulky to me hanging out the front. I’m not sure if the angle of the air blowing onto the cutter bar would make any difference on performance or not