TitanX vs. SIRT

Are you looking for an alternative to doing dry fire practice with your actual firearm?  Laser training guns are a great tool to have because they make dry fire practice completely safe with replica pistols that mimic real firearms, but are not capable of firing live rounds.  SIRT pistols by Next Level Training have been a go to for many people as there weren’t many quality choices of laser pistols out there, but with Mantis introducing the TitanX laser pistol, there’s now additional choices on the market.  Let’s compare and contrast the Mantis TitanX Laser Training System with the SIRT laser pistols.  

In this comparison, we will be comparing apples to apples - a TitanX 700 and the SIRT 110 with a polymer slide - both which have features similar to the Glock 17 pistol.

    

The Basics

Next Level Training offers the SIRT 110 with the polymer slide for $239, and included with the pistol is one weighted training magazine, and two tools for adjusting the trigger attributes and laser windage/elevation.  The SIRT 110 pistol is not optic cut, but the rear sight is adjustable by moving the rear sight left and right in the dovetail, and both the front and rear can be replaced with aftermarket sights (but requires breaking the OEM front sight off).  The SIRT has two lasers, one laser for indicating trigger take-up (or prep) and a second laser for the trigger break.

The SIRT 110 trigger is narrower than a Glock 17 trigger and “feels” less realistic due to the lack of a trigger safety blade commonly found on many semi-automatic pistols.  The trigger weight, break and reset can be adjusted through tuning multiple cams located under the slide, but Next Level Training only recommends adjusting the trigger weight cam.

The Mantis TitanX Laser Training System retails for $199, and along with the pistol, includes a custom EVA carry case, two weighted magazines and a tool for adjusting laser windage/elevation.  The TitanX has blacked out front and rear non-movable sights, but is optic cut for the RMR, Shield RMS and RMSc footprints, which fit most optics on the market.  TitanX has one laser, which occurs at the trigger break.  The TitanX also includes the MantisX Shooting Performance System hardware integrated into the pistol, when used with the MantisX Pistol/Rifle app (free download) or the Mantis Laser Academy apps (both available on iOS, Android, and Kindle Fire) turns a standard laser pistol into a dynamic training tool providing real-time feedback and movement patterns.

The TitanX trigger was developed to have a virtually identical weight, break and reset to a stock Glock trigger and is not adjustable.  The feel of the TitanX trigger is more realistic to the Glock 17 both in shape and includes the trigger safety blade.  When future TitanX models are released, the trigger size, shape, weight, break and reset will be similar to the actual pistol that the respective TitanX is modeled after.

Weight and Magazines

Both the TitanX 700 and SIRT 110 laser pistols are modeled after the Glock 17 pistol.  The weight of a Glock 17 pistol is 25 ounces, and with a fully loaded magazine including 17 rounds of 115GR 9mm ammo the total weight is 32.15 ounces.  Neither the SIRT 110 or the TitanX have the exact weight of a Glock 17 pistol.

Both the TitanX 700 and SIRT 110 will fit most holsters made for a Glock 17 pistol.  The TitanX 700 laser pistol will accept OEM Glock magazines, empty or with weighted dummy rounds.  The OEM Glock magazines are hit or miss in a SIRT 110 laser pistol.  Some magazines seem to seat properly in the pistol, but they do not drop freely from the laser pistol when pressing the magazine release, requiring the user to pull the magazine out when practicing reloads.  

The TitanX 700 has a magazine release that can be reversed similar to a Glock, giving users who have the magazine release on the right side the ability to train in a similar manner as their regular pistols.  The reversal process takes just a few steps and does not require special tools.

Battery and Laser Stats

The SIRT 110 pistol lasers are powered via a CR123 battery that requires some basic disassembly of the pistol to access and change the battery.  The battery life can last up to 3 years and approximately 80,000 trigger presses.  The takeup laser can be disabled by turning off the switch on the slide.  The trigger break laser is persistent while the trigger is in the fully depressed position, which can present some challenges for people who tend to pin the trigger.  Many instructors find their students tend to pin the trigger, then find the laser and line it up on the target where they intended to hit.  Both lasers can be adjusted with the included hex wrench, but adjustments require the trigger to be fully pinned back (at wall/trigger break) to keep the laser on to adjust to the point of aim, making this task a bit of a challenge.

The TitanX 700 Laser Training System with the integrated Mantis X10 sensor are powered via a rechargeable battery through a USB-C connection.  

The battery life is dependent upon the bluetooth usage along with the laser, but with the TitanX connected via bluetooth to the app, the battery lasted 40 hours with 40,000 trigger presses.  With bluetooth off, the TitanX can get over 300,000 trigger presses on a single charge.  

The laser only flashes momentarily (approximately 60 ms) when the shot breaks, so even if the user pins the trigger to the rear, the laser only provides a quick flash.  This generally forces the user to use the actual sights, or a mounted optic to sight the shot in.  To adjust the TitanX laser, double press the power button to laser “always on” mode and adjust with the included hex wrench.  No trigger pinning required.

Analytics

Both the SIRT 110 and the TitanX 700 laser pistols provide basic muzzle movement feedback to the user through the behavior of the laser at the time of the shot.  This requires the user to watch the laser, and determine whether the laser hits the target with a flash of a dot, or if the laser is a streak on the target.  The key is looking for dots versus dashes.  Dots tell the user that the muzzle of the pistol had minimal to no movement during the trigger press, dashes show that there was some muzzle movement.  The direction the dashed line was “painted” tells the user in which direction the movement happened and where the shots on target would have landed.

Both the TitanX and SIRT 110 can be used with Mantis Laser Academy to track shots on targets and guided drills with the Laser Academy targets, giving the user visual hit feedback on targets so they can focus on working fundamentals without having to watch the laser for target hit feedback and can track training scores to see improvement.

The SIRT 110 also has a second laser called the “take up” laser.  This laser can be adjusted to activate either as soon as the trigger begins to move, all the way to where the user is at the “wall” of the trigger.  This involves taking the slide off of the pistol and adjusting a cam similar to adjusting the trigger attributes.  This take up laser is most commonly used to know when the user has reached the “wall” of the trigger, but not broke the shot.  It is also used as a reticle for the SHOT Sight ($19.99) - which replaces the rear sight and mimics a pistol mounted optic since the SIRT 110 is not optic cut.  Just a note that the take up laser must remain disabled for use with Mantis Laser Academy as it will register extra shots based on the take up laser.

The TitanX 700 laser pistol comes with the Mantis Shooting Performance System hardware built-in, which provides the user data and feedback like no other system on the market.  Users can download the free MantisX Pistol/Rifle app to their phone or tablet and connect their TitanX via bluetooth.  The app provides over 40 drills and 10 courses that help provide analytics and encourage a user to improve their skills.  The TitanX 700 will also provide the movement data and feedback within the Mantis Laser Academy drills when the TitanX is bluetooth connected. 

In the MantisX Pistol/Rifle app, there are two main types of drills - standard drills and dynamic drills.  Standard drills are drills that focus on muzzle movement during the last 150 milliseconds of the trigger press, telling the user how much and what direction the muzzle moved, and providing input on the cause of the movement and recommendations that might help the user correct why the muzzle moved in that direction.

The new Dynamic Training drills look at overall handling/movement of the pistol through drills that require transitions and multiple target engagements and gives feedback in the form of an efficiency score - which averages a transition score, an overtravel score, and target delay score.  The Trace View screens show the actual movement of the pistol in transition and on the target, giving a clear picture to the user on what inefficiencies were identified.

The Holster Draw Analysis drill helps to break down time to first shot in each phase of the draw and helps identify where time savings could be had.  With the TitanX’s resetting trigger, there is a new Holster Draw Analysis - Multiple Shots drill exclusively available only when a TitanX is connected to the app.  This allows the user to take additional shots beyond the draw to the first shot.  This drill provides the breakdown of the draw to the first shot, but also provides shot scores on subsequent shots after the draw.

Conclusion

Laser training pistols are a great addition to anyone’s toolbox for practice.  Both the Mantis TitanX 700 and SIRT 110 will provide indication as to where shots land on the target without going to the range or spending money on ammo.  The Mantis TitanX is not only a lower cost, but also provides analytics on exactly what movement happened, give possible reasons why, and guidance on what corrective action might be tried to resolve the issue, with no additional cost or hardware required.  It’s important to look at what your training goals with a laser pistol might be, as that may drive what features to consider when deciding which laser pistol is the best fit for you.

Visit the TitanX Laser Training System page on the MantisX website to watch videos and read up on more details of the Mantis TitanX laser pistol.