There are many types of bitless bridle on the market, I hope to test them all and post my findings here. 


The Dr Cook cross under bridle.
This is a bridle designed by a vet who wanted a more humane way of riding.  The reins are connected to straps which pass through rings on the noseband, the straps then cross over under the chin and go around the horses head on the oposite side on the horses cheeks.  This means that if you pull one rein, the horses head is effectivly pushed from the other side.  If you pull both reins the straps tighten giving a "whole head hug"  There is also a little pressure on the noseband and the poll, but no curb action at all.   This bridle is avalable in webbing, " vinyl-covered nylon" and leather.

Beta Dr Cook (Beta material - a vinyl-covered nylon)
Who I have tested this on.  I tested this on my 14yr old, 15.2hh strong cobby mare and my 5yr old cob gelding. 
Where Roadwork,schooling,hacking,showjumping at walk trot and canter.
Durability.  9/10.  the nylon was easy to care for,water resistant and tough.
Steering/stopping/control.  7/10  Would have been better if it didn't move about.
Appearance 6/10 quite smart looking, looks like leather
Comfort. 5/10. The horses sweated a lot under the material, it moved about a lot and also left an indent in the hair on the nose.
Value 4/10 This retails at £67.50 not including reins.  I didn't like it enough for the price.

Total 31/50

The Beta material really moved about once the horses started sweating underneath it, it also wasn't very soft and left hard lines underneath it.  It would have been ok on a short hack but after a few hours it started to rub.  The design is very good, I just didn't like the material. 


English Leather Dr Cook
Who I have tested this on.  I tested this on my 14yr old, 15.2hh strong cobby mare and my 5yr old cob gelding. 
Where Roadwork,schooling,hacking,showjumping at walk trot and canter.
Durability. 7/10. Made from good quality leather.
Steering/stopping/control.  8/10  No problems.
Appearance 8/10 very smart looking.
Comfort. 8/10  Seemed to be very comfortable for the horse.
Value 4/10 At £132.00 it seemed quite pricey.

Total 35/50

This was a lot better than the Beta version I tried before.  It didn't seem to move around as much and was less slippery.  The horses didn't sweat under the leather as much either.  I felt like I had very good control at all paces. 


Easytrek Bitless Bridle
This is made from imported leather which is suprisingly good quality.  It worlk in the same way as the Dr cook Bitless bridle, with a few differences.  The main difference is the noseband is much thicker and more padded, also the Dr Cook chin straps are also rolled, whereas the Easytrek check pieces are flat.

Who I have tested this on.  I tested this on my 14yr old, 15.2hh strong cobby mare and my 5yr old cob gelding. 
Where Roadwork,schooling,hacking,showjumping at walk trot and canter.
Durability. 6/10  Made from soft imported leather, easy to care for but tends to stretch a bit.
Steering/stopping/control.  8/10  No problems.
Appearance 7/10 very smart looking.
Comfort. 9/10  Seemed to be very comfortable for the horse, I especially liked the thick padded noseband which doesn't leave a mark underneath.
Value 8/10 This retails for £23.99 which is great value for money. 

Total  38/50

This is the bridle I use most of the time for my horses, I feel I have total control and it seems to be very comfortable for the horses.  It does tend to stretch a little and I often need to adjust the cheekpieces and noseband because of this.  The cheekpieces are a little loose on the noseband and sometimes move a little, but not enough to bother me.  The sizes in this bridle are quite large, a cob size will fit my 15.2 cob, full size was a bit too big.

Libbys scawbrig Bitless Bridle.
This is made from webbing and is easy to wash.  This acts like a "kind hackamore" applying pressure on the nose and chin via the reins and a slight amount on the poll. 
Who I have tested this on.  I tested this on my 5yr old cob gelding. 
Where Roadwork,hacking and a little schooling.
Durability. 6/10. Made from webbing. machine washable.
Steering/stopping/control.  4/10  The padding on the chinstrap was constantly getting caught in the rein ring, this meant the pressure wasn't releasing properly when it should have.  This was annoying and I had to dismount twice to sort it out, everytime I used the left rein it got stuck again.
Appearance 5/10 I didn't think it was very attractive looking but not too bad.  Didn't match any other tack at all.
Comfort. 5/10  Seemed to be very comfortable for the horse until the padding got stuck.
Value 5/10 This retails around £20-£35.  Not expensive but not very good quality.

Total 25/50

I tried this twice, the first time wasn't  too bad but the second time I went on a longer ride and the padding kept getting stuck in the rein ring which myself and my horse found very annoying!  If this flaw was fixed it would have been ok.  The steering wasn't as good as the cross under type bridles.