Very similar to my harp.  About the same amount of stability, but goes a touch further before fading.  Mold can be a bit tricky to find at times (compared to a harp) - but nonetheless a solid OS mid.

The bard is my favorite overstable beaded midrange, and is probably most comparable to a roc3 in flight and feel. I think the bard has a touch more glide and doesn't fade as quickly. This is your quintessential workhorse overstable-midrange. It's a great disc for windy conditions, hyzer finishes, flex shots, and strategic fading shots. Super consistent and I can really trust this thing to not turn over on me. It reliably flies super straight with a healthy but not crazy finish left without dumping. It also doesn't take crazy skips. It goes where you want it.

I picked up the bard in VIP, Tournament, and Origio Burst. The VIP is probably my all time favorite plastic. It's stiff feeling on the rim but with a bit of gumminess to the top, grippy, indestructible, and reliably overstable out of the box. Both the VIP and the tournament had a bit of dome to them but the origio's were board flat. I prefer throwing the VIP and tournaments because they seemed to glide better for me, but the origio was nice for forehand upshots.

The bard is one of my favorite discs and you can cover all of your midrange needs with a few cycled bards and a fresh vip

I picked up a Bard to fill the gap between a Pine and a Justice and it fills that spot for the most part.  It turns slightly under normal circumstances and will turn over and roll with headwind. 

Thrown forehand it turns slightly with almost no fade. I would expect an x.x.0.3 to fly straight forehand and fade at least a little.  The Bard disappointed and the suspect too this spot in my bag.

I would consider it to be beginner friendly due to the very straight flight path. 

The VIP Bard that is currently in my possession was bought secondhand.  That may have something to do with why my Bard is not a stable as I would like.  First off I am going to talk about the hand feel of the Bard.  The Bard is very good compared to most other midranges around three fade because usually those discs have a very annoying bead(Roc X3).  The bead on these discs is why I love my Buzzz OS(no bead).  Although The Bard does have a bead it still feels comfortable for a forehand.  This disc, however, was not my favorite, but it is still a good disc.

I love this disc. For me, it flies like a longer Harp, which I love. The Bard is so dependable to finish. It is an excellent mid range for 250-350 in any wind. The flight numbers are dead on. If you are looking for a good mid range you can lean into with power without sacrificing control and fade, then this is your disc. The VIP plastic is very durable. I have hit many a tree with my Bard and there is still no signs of unwanted turn.

The bard is a great stable/overstable midrange in the Westside line-up. It is along the lines of a RocX3, Star Rancho Roc, MD4, Anchor, so on and so forth. You can really play with the stability to make it do what you want, whether its a big high hyzer, straight to fade, forced flex, or anny that pans and maybe comes out right at the end. It is a little deep for my liking, and the bead sometimes catches on my hand (but that’s my personal preference). It is awesome for headwinds, and just an overall dependable midrange to have in your bag. I can imagine having this disc in VIP and pairing it with a selection of BT hard/origio Bards for all of you mold minimalists out there.

The Bard is the stable workhorse of the Westside family. This thing has a Roc3 like flight and feel. Not a ton of dome to this, making it fly very fast. It doesn't have the glide of say a DX or KC Roc, but with some power you can really push this disc out there. It is going to have the consistent fade the flight numbers reflect and will beat in to a great straight flyer. Another homerun from Westside. 

This is a fantastic overstable mid.  I find that the VIP plastic holds the same overstable flight after repeated heavy use.  I can always trust my bard to fight back even in a moderate headwind.  If you're looking for an overstable midrange then the Bard is a fantastic disc to fill that slot.

The Bard is by far my favorite stable-overstable mid. I am currently bagging a very beat in BT Bard, and a relatively new BT. I prefer the feel of the BT plastic over the others, but I sometimes cycle in a Tournament and/or VIP Bard as well. I don't play in the wind much, but when I do, I always rely on the Bard to stay straight in a headwind or right to left (I'm a lefty).

I threw Verdicts forever. Still love 'em. For fun I decided to try a Bard. Loved the way it feels in my hand. They fill out the hand nicely, not as low profile as the Verdict, but not too chunky either. The bead isn't that big (to me.) Fortunately, this is just one of those discs that clicks with me. It seems like the fade kicks in right when I need it to. As others said, it is sneaky long. My Verdicts are total bombers, oftentimes to the point where they would end up too deep. That's not the case with the Bard. It's such a great disc for me it even seems to correct my flawed throws with it. I'm really enjoying flicking this disc also. Highly recommend for OS mid slot.

Flat top ? 

Glidey ?

Sneaky long ?

Dependable bite ?

Lots of check marks for things I like in workhorse mids. It is an overstable mid that for newer players might be beefy but for many average players it falls in a dependable class of overstability. You can get it to to straight for a long ways before it bites off into it's fade. 

For advanced players it handles a decent amount of zip and is HSS and is a very dependable work horse mid that will go where you want it to. The fact you can get it in BT means you can cycle these now which is awesome for minimalist players.

Bards can track a bit across the body with some anhyzer on it, but will not hold it to the ground. It can definitely do some flex shots!

Eventually I'll be transitioning to Bards once I cycle all of my Hornets out. As they get harder to find and mine get too beat, Bards will take over.

Felt it was time to write another review of this disc after it has been a staple in my bag for a good while now. Mainly throw a VIP, but have a rare Finnish BT one as well that I throw on special occasions.Most of my best approach shots in the last 12 months have been the Bard. Wind, calm, rain or shine, I have developed a feel for this disc. It is supremely reliable and consistent, beefy without being a meathook. It is very comfortable in the hand, and it really takes a gale of a headwing to get it to turn and burn. As mine has seasoned, it doesn't fade as hard, but it still has the HSS, and as a result is sneaky long. Were Westside to run these in BT for the US, you'd have a great cycling mid.

O,  Bard sing tour song

Fly straight then dump to the left

Flat top. Long glide. Bead

Two words "BUY IT!" I currently have 4 in my bag and am about to work another one in. My favorite plastic for this disc is the BT plastic, which was only a limited run. The great thing about this disc is that it starts off very overstable and will skip a little when it hits the ground, but after using it, it starts to straighten out. My beat in discs turn a little, fade back just a tad, and end with a nice soft landing.

Dave Feldburg told me that even when these disc's beat in and are less stable, the wind will not affect them as much as a disc like a Truth because this disc's mold is an overstable mold.

This disc is by far my favorite and I find myself throwing it more than any disc in my bag, so just do yourself a favor and click that "buy" button up there ^

After trying the roc and MD3 with no success, this was the midrange I needed. When thrown with 60% power it is an over stable disc that is great for approaches and when thrown at full power it flys laser straight with a very predictable fade. It also has the same feel as the majority of trilogy midrange so it fits right in with a Truth and a Justice

The Bard is a overstable mid that likes to hook.  My max weight Vip Bard works well for any shot under about 250 feet that I need to end right as I throw left handed backhand. The Bard also eats the wind so it is a very good wind fighter.   I liked the grip and feel of the Vip plastic. What I did not care for was the feel of the disc for my grip.  The rim is just a little to deep for my liking.  The big thing I noticed was it seemed very difficult to get the Bard out much past 200 to 225 feet.  I can throw my max weight Roc 300 or so on most throws and I get pretty much the same flight as the Bard. Also I have a 175g Vip Harp and It flies so much like the Bard I just pretty much call the Harp a mini Bard.  The rim on the Harp pretty much feels like the Bard and I can get the same distance with the Harp. I would say if you need a hooking midrange disc the Bard is a good one.  If you have a Harp pass on the Bard as it will overlap as they are pretty much the same disc and fly alike. 

I've been throwing the Bard as my main mid for a couple months now and I don't see that changing.

For a long time I was a Roc guy, but the low shoulder and big bead made it hard for me to forehand.

I came across the Bard, and it was revalatory in a few ways. It has a good slightly overstable, yet glidy flight. It is extremely predictable, but you can manipulate it pretty well also. 

The top is very close to flat and the shoulder is very high. A lot like a DD Justice or a Champ Gator. The bead is very small and unobtrusive, so in a FH grip it still very comfortable.

For any shot from 275-350 I've been nailing it with my trusty Bard.

I have two now; both are orange VIP one is 173 and other is 178. Flight is pretty much the same, but the 173 can be coaxed to turn a bit more.

Been bagging this disc for about 8 months and have used it to great success, until an errant tree got in the way and sent it careening into the drink. I picked up a replacement since, but the new one seems to be more finicky. Matbe it just needs to be beat in a little. I use the Bard for long approach shots where I need to curve around an obstacle or hyzer it into the basket. It tends to stick where it lands without much of a skip. It will also fight off a decent wind. However, I am leaning towards replacing the Bard with the Verdict because it feels better in the hand.

My Bard is a VIP plastic, 176g orange beauty. It is my first disc from Westside, and I love the grip and feel of it. Putting my hands on it, the lip of the disc is deep, which gives me a very good grip on my RHFH shots. Using it primarly off the tee when I was testing it, I could put a little anhyzer on it and it would flatten out and fade farly hard back to the right. Throwing it flat, it flew a very straight line until it lost speed and started fading. I am already loving how it flies and the dependable fade it has for when I need a disc to go around obstacles when I don't have a straight line to the basket. Get one of these discs if you are like me and need to navigate around trees when your drive goes awry. 

I tested out a VIP Bard at 177g. I would like to throw it more, but my first impression is I like it a lot. It is pretty overstable, but not out of control. I would consider it to be like a faster Gator. I felt like It was doing exactly what I expected it to do from the beginning. I feel like this disc will hold a straight line and glide for a long time before diving down to the left. For me it was predictable, and I think it can fill a gap in many disc golfer's bags.

Got a heavy VIP Bard, 177, and took it out into the wind last weekend. It ate up gusts of 20 mph and asked for more. This flattop mid feels great in the hand, pretty deep. It fills a huge hole in the Westside lineup, a mid that can standup to wind. It carries pretty nicely as well considering how beefy it is. My Pains are looking nervously over their should right now.

If you have clean form, this will be a great overstable mid. I'd say it is a good alternative to the verdict (with a slightly different feel). No offense to Big Country, but some of his throws in the video (especially forehand) are just too sloppy to be taken seriously (sloppy throws make the discs fly more understable). I got a 177g VIP bard (so pretty close to max weight) and it is really quite beefy. It doesn't have any turn, will always fade out at the end and will hold a hyzer very well. It is only advertised as a 3 fade, which I think is right on. I really like the feel in the hand (bead isn't large like the Mace or Roc) so I get a nice clean release. Solid midrange.

I initially bought 2 of these discs from my local disc store, one was 176 grams in Tournament plastic, and one that was 171 grams in VIP plastic. After trying these 2 variations of the Bard out, I got my hands on a 180 gram VIP Bard as well. 

Regarding the physical traits of the Bard, the mold kind of reminds me of a deeper and wider rimmed, slightly domier L64 Sinus with a higher parting line and a bit more pronounced bead. Although I know that normally this is a hit-or-miss type attribute, the depth and height of the Bard's rim fills the hand quite nicely; and although I have slightly larger hands, I wouldn't see the depth and height of the discs rim impeding on someone with smaller hands ability to feel comfortable and confident in gripping the Bard.

Unlike many discs that Westside makes, I feel that the stability in which Westside rates this disc is dead on. Before this disc was released, I looked at what InFlight rated the Bard, and because of this I was initially hoping for and almost expected the stability (not the glide, obviously) of the Bard to be very similar to my blunt nosed big bead gator, as InFlight made the high speed stability of the Bard appear to start turning left almost immediately after it left your hand. A few throws with this disc in both plastics later, I realized this wouldn't be the case. After this realization, I struggled to find a disc with a similar flight pattern; and then it hit me. The Bard is like a faster, slightly more stable Rancho Roc, or a Roc3 with a good amount more low speed fade (I've always felt the Roc3 didn't quite have the low speed fade to warrant a 3 rating, but I digress). In comparing the flight numbers of the Bard to the Roc or Roc3, this should have been what I expected.

When comparing the flight pattern of the Bard in both Tournament and VIP plastics, it's obvious that the Tournament plastic will be a bit less stable (both in terms of high speed turn and low speed fade), and this is exactly what I noticed when throwing the Bard in Tournament plastic. It is still quite stable, but if thrown with a lot of spin and power, the Tournament Bard will show just a hint of high speed turn, but I would still consider the zero rating for high speed turn to be accurate. The Tournament Bard also doesn't quite have as much low speed fade as it's VIP counterpart. Under these circumstances (high power and spin, or a really heavy wind), I would say the Tournament Bard would be a perfect substitute for a Roc3. If you throw the Tournament Bard with less power or spin, the Bard will be more high and low speed stable, showing just a hint of positive high speed turn, but again not enough to consider this disc anything other than zero in terms of high speed turn, finishing hard to the left (RHBH). 

As I think most people would assume, the VIP plastic of this disc makes it have more high speed and low speed stability. If thrown with a lot of power and spin, or into a fierce headwind, the VIP Bard will hold whatever line you put it on during high speed flight, and always finish to the left; maybe not quite giving the Bard a 3 rating for low speed fade in this situation, but it'll still fade more than the mids I would give a 2 rating for low speed fade. When not thrown with a lot of power/spin/into a headwind, the Bard will hold a line for a little bit, show just a bit of positive high speed turn (much like a newer Firebird does before the fade really kicks in), and then finish really hard to the left. 

My preferences usually lead me to using VIP/Opto/Lucid/Champion plastics, mainly due to aestetic reasons. In my opinion, this disc is the Trilogy's best answer to a faster Roc; and I am treating it as such by keeping a few Bards in different plastics, and eventually different amounts of wear in my bag.

Not as OS as advertised

I pre-ordered a VIP and TP Bard in the hopes that these would be beefy goodness. They weren't, but it's still a very good disc! Here's my video review for Hucking Aces: