Mantis BlackbeardX – Next Level AR-15 Dryfire Training
The Mantis Blackbeard X is a really great product for rifle training. It takes the best qualities of both mantis flagship products, the Mantis blackbeard which is a dryfire training tool that allows you to get a lot of reps in with your AR-15, as well as the actual MantisX performance tracking sensor. We have reviews of these products individually on our channel.
Full disclosure, Mantis provided me with the BlackbeardX for free as an affiliate partner. I would never endorse a product that I don’t think brings value and that I don’t personally use. I am a long term user of Mantis products, having purchased a couple base blackbeard units with my own money, as well as the Mantis X3 shooting system, so this is the only product that was provided by Mantis for review. I genuinely am a big fan of the company and a fan of this product.
Mantis BlackbeardX
The Mantis Blackbeard X is a really great product for rifle training. It takes the best qualities of both mantis flagship products, the Mantis blackbeard which is a dryfire training tool that allows you to get a lot of reps in with your AR-15, as well as the MantisX application which allows you to followed a structured dryfire regimen.
Experience with Mantis Blackbeard and MantisX Separately
I’ve used both the individual Blackbeard and the MantisX systems before and both are excellent products, so to have them combined into a single product is absolutely phenomenal. While you could get a similar effect by combining the Blackbeard and MantisX products individually, mounting the mantisX on a rail somewhere on the rifle, the BlackbeardX provides you with a lot more convenience while providing the same utility of the other two products combined.
Sized perfectly for AR-15 Dryfire Training
The BlackbeardX magazine is a bit longer than the stock Mantis Blackbeard magazine, and the blackbeardX needs a little extra space for its internal sensor hardware. That said, it is about the same size as a 30 round PMAG.
BlackbeardX is Perfect for training under Night Vision
I personally got the BlackbeardX model with IR laser because my other mantis blackbeards all have the red laser, and I build dryfire software as a hobby and hopefully onetime as my full time career as you know if you follow the channel, so I wanted to start experimenting with IR lasers so that we can make our dryfire simulators more robust. Keep in mind the blackbeardX comes with visible red, green or no laser options as well depending on your needs.
Outside of that, you might want an IR laser as well for running under night vision. There are situations where you might be training with these and you want to see your hits, but you don’t want the signature of a visible laser, say training outside at night, or LARPing in the back yard on your own private property. I know its a niche scenario, but there is a place for it. I could also see the IR laser variants being used in laser tag style training systems down the road.
Mantis BlackbeardX
The Mantis Blackbeard X is a really great product for rifle training. It takes the best qualities of both mantis flagship products, the Mantis blackbeard which is a dryfire training tool that allows you to get a lot of reps in with your AR-15, as well as the MantisX application which allows you to followed a structured dryfire regimen.
BlackbeardX works perfect with third party dryfire systems, like our Project MARS
The bigger reason you might want an IR based system is that, some dryfire systems, like ours eventually, will support IR lasers with specialized IR cameras. That will allow you to train without your visible eyes being able to see the laser hits, which could possibly form some bad habbits and allow you to game the system while training. Yet the software based dryfire shot tracking platforms will still be able to see your laser hits. Of course, that requires specialized camera hardware, as normal cameras have an overlaid IR filter over the camera lense. Removing this can work but it requires some technical know-how. Again, this is why we’re working on getting dedicated hardware along with our simulators to the market here at Project MARS, Marksmanship Augmented Reality Simulators.
Mantis BlackbeardX Performance Tracking
The unit itself has performance tracking which is the really big draw of the BlackbeardX. For this reason, it is incredibly helpful for dryfire training, and it is a lot of fun using MantisX’s built in dryfire training regimens. The tracking in app can be extremely helpful for tracking general marksmanship performance and practicing the fundamentals of shooting rifles. Again, you could accomplish this by mounting the standard MantisX unit to your rifle without a blackbeard, but you’d miss the auto resetting trigger which is the real draw of the blackbeard system.
And that ability to train in ways that you never could typically on flat ranges is the big draw of the Mantis. You can run multi target transition drills like 2-2-2. Or you can literally practice running around and shooting in your own house in a safe manor with your actual home defense setup. Let alone practicing moving and shooting under night vision. These are all incredibly valuable skills that you just wouldn’t have the ability to train normally unless you’re an elite military operator with access to the best training and the largest training budgets.
Reloads are the only reason you might want to buy the Mantis X and Blackbeard units separately
The only case that I would make for running the MantisX on your rifle with a separate blackbeard unit is for reloads. If you have a blackbeard unit and a spare blackbeard magazine which is purchaseable separately, you can actually practice your rifle reloads using the separate magazines. Because the BlackbeardX sensor hardware is in the magazine, you can’t do that with the Blackbeard X while it is paired to your phone. You could do that with the MantisX without losing bluetooth connection as it is separated out from your blackbeard unit if you buy those products separately.
Mantis BlackbeardX
The Mantis Blackbeard X is a really great product for rifle training. It takes the best qualities of both mantis flagship products, the Mantis blackbeard which is a dryfire training tool that allows you to get a lot of reps in with your AR-15, as well as the MantisX application which allows you to followed a structured dryfire regimen.
The BlackbeardX has Rifle Specific Training Drills
The blackbeardX is also compatible with the Mantis X app’s rifle specific drills, which as mentioned earlier is the real draw of the MantisX app. The MantisX rifle drills come in 3 sets, Basic rifleman, advanced rifleman, and elite rifleman. I’ll cover the specifics of MantisX courses in a future video, but the MantisX training content is another way to make dryfire training more interactive.
The BlackbeardX now supports more than just the AR-15 platform
The other cool thing about the BlackbeardX is that Mantis has recently expanded their line to support more than just the AR-15. They also have models specifically for the Sig MCX, FN SCAR, and AR10 platforms.
Mantis BlackbeardX
The Mantis Blackbeard X is a really great product for rifle training. It takes the best qualities of both mantis flagship products, the Mantis blackbeard which is a dryfire training tool that allows you to get a lot of reps in with your AR-15, as well as the MantisX application which allows you to followed a structured dryfire regimen.
Final thoughts about the BlackbeardX
Overall, coming in at $319, the BlackbeardX is a more economic solution than purchasing a Blackbeard and MantisX system separately, not to mention that you’d need to purchase a spare blackbeard battery pack to practice reloading. The BlackbeardX is also a lot more convenient, especially if you have your MantisX on your pistol and your BlackbeardX on your rifle. So this product makes all the sense in the world for most people.
So the BlackbeardX is at the end of the day an all in one solution to rifle training that every marksman, professional or recreational, needs to add to their toolkit. We highly recommend this product for anyone who is serious about improving their skills with a rifle. I hope this review was helpful to you, have a great day.
