I’ve had a Mantis X10 Elite training system for quite some time now and I’ve been trying to figure out how to write this review. It’s not easy to fully encapsulate what this little device can do. It’s an intimidating prospect, and my goal is to try and capture all the ways you can train with the Mantis X10 Elite, as well as how it improved me as a shooter.
The Mantis X10 Elite is the newest version from Mantis (see TTAG’s review of the original MantisX here) that is universal. It’s designed to work with handguns, rifles, shotguns, and even bows.
Previous versions included the X2 for rifles and pistol dry fire only. The X3 was the same, but allowed for live fire. The X7 was for shotguns and the X8 for bows.
The Mantis X10 Elite is the first version of this training tool that’s capable of working with all of them; bows, rifles, pistols, and shotguns for both live fire and dry fire training.
The X10 Elite module can attach to nearly any firearm with certain adapters and I’ve used it on numerous firearms, including a Polymer 80 GLOCK 17 (Which I rolled myself with 80 lower jig.), the SIG 556R, and the Benelli M4. I don’t own a bow, so that’s a gap in my testing.
What Is It?
The Mantis X10 Elite is a small that’s device designed to attach to a Picatinny rail. It can be used for dry fire, live fire, and even works on CO2 powered pistols. The attachment feeds information to the device of your choosing via Bluetooth.
The Mantis applications are available in a rifle/pistol app, a shotgun app, and a bow app. Inside the app, you can set up your firearm, how the device is oriented and how you are training with it.
The App
The Mantis app records and saves the information as well as the profile of the weapon the device is on. You can build and save different profiles for different guns and record your training with each firearm.
The training options include numerous drills, as well as basic open training. For the rifle and pistol app there is a basic marksmanship program that encourages you to try the different drills as well as to train daily.
The Shotgun app is aimed less at tactical shooting than it is shooting clay pigeons. It measures how you swing the shotgun and allows you to track your progress and practice skeet/trap without the ammo, range, or clay pigeons required. You can also evaluate your performance on a live-fire range.
I wish the Mantis X10 Elite and the shotgun app offered more tactical drills, but I can see how designing such drills around the device would be difficult for a shotgun when dry firing.
Overall the apps are very easy to install and use, and the tutorials are simple and quick to understand.
Mantis X10 Elite General Performance
The device is wonderfully stable. It hasn’t crashed, frozen shut down or missed shots and has counted every round I’ve fired.
The tiny Mantis X10 Elite unit attaches easily enough to the rail and stays in place without issue. The range from your gun will communicate with your device (usually a phone) seems to be decently far. I’ve set it on the range table outside of ten feet and it has always read my shots.
Measuring Performance
The Mantis system assigns you a score between 0 and 100 for each shot you take. Anything below 90 gives you a diagnosis and of what your issue could be (jerking the trigger, dipping, etc.).
A quick click gives you a second screen that better explaining the issue. I learned that I was pulling with my firing hand, something I had never even heard of until the Mantis X10 Elite diagnosed it.
After taking a shot you can examine various fields showing different data relating to that shot. This includes a graph with a red, blue, and yellow line. Blue shows the weapon’s movement as you line up your sights. Yellow is how your pistol moves while you pull the trigger. Red is the path your gun follows during recoil.
There is also a holster draw analysis program that doesn’t issue a score for your draw, but times it as well as the different phases of your draw. This includes the grip, pull, horizontal time, and trigger pull.
The Mantis X10 Elite and its various drills will most certainly spice up your dry fire training at home. The hostage-taker drill is a personal favorite, and the reload drill is timed which adds on a layer of stress.
On the range, you can get the same measurable performance. You can self-diagnose problems, and work to correct them.
How the Mantis X10 Improved My Shooting
The aforementioned pulling with my firing hand was fixed which lead to more consistent groups with the occasional low flyer. This was a nice improvement that I wouldn’t have otherwise been aware of.
Prior to using the Matis system, I just had the nebulous idea that I’d goofed somewhere, I just didn’t know where.
As far as handguns go, I was able to work on my recoil control and follow-through, which lead to faster and more accurate follow-up shots. When shooting a failure to stop drill the initial two shots from a double-tap are much closer together and my time to finish the drill decreased by a .15 of a second.
In general, my accuracy is improved by dry fire practice regardless, but the Mantis X10 Elite gives me feedback on even my slightest movements. Predictably I don’t shoot smaller handguns as well as I shoot larger handguns, and the Mantis X10 lets me know it. It’s a picky teacher, but those small discrepancies allowed me to get better, little by little, with guns like the SIG P365.
What if My Gun Doesn’t Have a Rail?
My P365 doesn’t have a rail on its traditional frame, so I was using an Icarus frame. However, if your gun doesn’t have a rail you do have options.
There is a small section of rail you can attach to your magazine’s base pad and mount the Mantis X10 that way. This works well and the results are just as good as if you’d used a traditional accessory rail.
Additionally, there is an attachment for shotguns and rifles without rails that allows you to tighten one down on your barrel.
Making Dry Fire Fun
The Mantis X10 makes dry fire practice so much more fun and gives you that extra challenge that makes that 15 minutes of practice fly by. I’ve been enjoying the marksmanship course and the challenge it provides.
The Mantis app and device work well and sync with each other without any issues. This high tech option has seemingly low tech levels of reliability. It’s taken the abuse of a lot of 9mm, 5.56 and a little 12 gauge here and there.
With so many of us stuck at home these days, I can’t think of a better time to give the Mantis X10 Elite, or any of the Mantis devices a good hard look.
Specifications: Mantis X Elite Training System
Length: 1.3 inches
Width: 1 inch
Height: .75 of an inch
MSRP: $249.99
Ratings (out of five stars):
Reliability * * * * *
It’s never missed a shot for me and never failed to provide real-time feedback regardless of practice type…live or dry fire. It doesn’t shut off, and the app hasn’t crashed in all times I’ve used it.
Ergonomics * * * * *
The device has one big button and a clip that’s pulled down to allow it to slide up and down rails. It’s simple, and best of all it doesn’t change the ergonomics of your gun in any way. That’s what really counts with these devices.
Durability * * * * *
It’s been on and off tons of guns and rails and keeps on clicking. The Mantis X10 Elite has held up to use and recoil without issue.
Overall * * * * *
I can’t suggest the Mantis X10 Elite enough. Its ability to measure your strengths and progress is reason enough. The standard drills, precise measurements, multiple-use design, and easy-to-use design makes it a wonderful training device in my eyes.