Mantis X3 — Review

★★★★☆ Great training tool, especially for new shooters

Overall, this is a great system. The main thing working against it is the USB connector—it's just inconvenient to have something that isn't USB-C in this day and age.

For a new shooter specifically, I think this is a great tool for understanding what you're doing in terms of grip, trigger manipulation, and more. It gives you great data showing how you're jerking or moving the firearm during dry fire, and then provides videos to help you improve.

This is also where I think there's room for improvement. The diagnostic videos tied to specific issues leave a little to be desired, and they could use an update—some are pretty old, and a lot of the theory behind shooting has evolved over time.

Overall it's easy to use, highly reliable, has great battery life, and seems rugged. Mine is also good for live fire—the X3 gives you the same diagnostics there, which is a real plus.

I'd also like to see more training options within the app to help you improve. There's a pretty decent training program already, but it could use more specifics. Something I'd love to see: when an issue gets diagnosed during dry or live fire, the app builds you a customized plan to address it. That shouldn't be hard to do with today's technology.

The price point is over $200, but if you get the reps in, that more than offsets the cost of ammo.

Bottom line: Highly recommended. A great tool for new shooters, maybe less so for more advanced ones.