My first ever tournament ace!! This disc is amazing! I threw it flat, let it turn, then slowly fade right into the basket! A disc everyone needs!

Great stable fairway. Go this because im a uli fan and swears by this disc. Great controllable fairway all around.

This is a great beginner disc for getting straight shots. I just barely got this and I can rip it on a nice S curve for about 300-350 if I can get a full flight. I really like this disc for open fairways. It is very controllable for beginners and advanced players alike. I would recommend anyone looking for a starting control dirver to pick this up and give it a try. It feels excellent in my hand and almost has a distance driver feel with how flat.

The Mantis is probably my favorite fairway driver that I've ever thrown.  I'm not really sure why this is not a more popular disc.  In my opinion, this is the best woods fairway driver that Discraft makes.  There's a reason Michael Johansen uses this as one of his main fairway drivers.  He makes it fly like a fairway driver version of the Comet.  (If you don't know who Michael Johansen is, you should open up another tab right now and find some videos of him -- he's possibly the best technical woods disc golf player out there)

The turn rating on this disc is -2, but it's a very controllable -2.  When it flips, it turns slowly, which lets you get great control on S curves and on late turn over shots.  The 2 fade means that it rarely turns all the way over unless released on anhyzer with a fair bit of power.  You can trust this disc to always fade back at least to flat.  Being an 8 speed disc, you can put plenty of power on this disc without seeing the flight characteristics change too much.  And if you have lower power, this disc will still fly well for you, maybe more like 8 / 4 / -1 / 2.

I go back and forth on whether I would rather that this had 5 glide instead of 4.  Extra glide would help it get just a little more distance on longer holes, but on the other hand, the lower glide means that there are a lot more wind conditions that this disc is able to handle, and let's be honest, how often is there no wind?

My Big Z Mantis is very comfortable to grip.  It's a medium depth disc with a rim size that fits comfortably in my hand and always lets me get a clean release.  The Big Z plastic is ridiculously durable (barely even any damage to the disc after almost a year of using it as my main woods driver), plus it has what I think is the coolest stamp out of all the Big Z discs.

This is one of the most underrated disc in Discrafts lineup. It's a great driver for beginners and a great understable fairway for higher level players. Beginners will be able to throw this straight with not a ton of power. And higher level players can use this disc for technical woods shots and long turning anhyzers. I throw the big Zs and out of the box they are straight with some decent finish and once they beat on the become pretty understable, but still with good control. One thing I wish Discraft would make them in Esp plastic.

I would compare this to Innova Valkyrie but with less glide and more precision. It is really reliable and straight shot when executed with a little hyzerflip-shot. When you cant reach there with a midrange or a putter but need a straight shot - this is a solid option for this scenario. 250 and straight, with a flip it goes straight and with a straight shot little right and not too much fade.

 When you need to go straight and not too far, you can rely on this, even in minor headwind it can manage to "stay in form". Maybe because its a quite slow disc it has a small margin of error, which makes it a no-brainer when you can see where you are going. In tight spots you know it wont take you too much out of the line you are attempting to make aswell, so very handy in many scenarious: minor annies and hyzers are managable aswell. 

Cheating Lefty review of the Mantis

This disc has quickly become my favorite driver. For me it is a hyzer flip machine and very consistent. I love using this disc off the tee or on the fairway to hit wooded lines and technical shots. If I was just starting this is the only disc I'd use. Not to mention the Big Z stamp looks pretty cool. I also carry a TI Mantis for a overstable compliment to my Big Z, I'd recommend these for everybody. 

The Mantis is one of the few discs that I still bag from my very early days of disc golf because it simply has so many uses. For the beginner it's an amazing straight forehand and backhand disc that's very responsive to many different angles and levels of power. For someone experienced it's a useful turnover, hyzerflip or even roller disc with enough power. 

It's a nice disc and at times it can be a great roller BUT if you try to roll it there is a 50/50 chance that it will work your way.

This is my only fairway driver.  I have flippy to beef in one mold.  Crystal Sparkle Mantis brings the beef.  2013 ace race Ti mantis is like that perfect teebird.  Production run Z or Big Z are nice and flippy.  They feel fantastic in the hand and have incredible glide.  I love this disc.  

I recently scored a 170 gram Titanium Ace Race in almost mint condition. This is what I'm basing the review on. This disc is sublime, the best fairway driver I've ever thrown. My first throw hit the basket on a 225' par 3, I couldn't believe it. She is a birdie machine for par 3s inside of 250 feet. It is telepathic, laser straight with nice glide. It lands flat and just sticks. Absolutely fantastic disc, I'd give it 10 stars if I could. Flies like a more stable JLS which is as high praise as any speed 8 disc is going to get from me as I love the JLS. It will hold all the power I can give it without burning out. It never fades hard, just a smooth beautifully straight flight. If you have a chance to get the Titanium Ace Race Mantis, please do yourself a favor and grab it! An incredible disc for straight shots and tight quarters. I'll probably pick up a current model for comparison, but I don't see anything pushing the Ti Ace Race Mantis out of my bag.

I got this with 4-pack of big Z.  Mine is realtively heavy one, around 170.  I am not blown a way by it. It is a driver. It floats pretty well if you put enough spin on it, but it doesn't agree with my style. It is understable, I guess, but doesnt' give me much S curve or fade.  This may sound good, but I have straighter flying discs that I prefer- the FLASH for example.

There's really no place in my bag for this. It's not so turny that I can use it for long turning shots. It's not good for mid or shorter shots, as one review already said- it crashes as slow speeds.  I have more dependable straight discs.  Forehand shots with this disc were better than I expected- good even. But I'm an infrequent forehander, so don't blame me if you disagree...

So I'll keep it around, play a round or two to see if it becomes better with play or if I can figure out where it shines.  Maybe when it beats in it will give me some turnover shots.

Just picked up the big z version of the mantis this morning. I tossed it through 3 rounds today and love it. My main fairway is the stalker. The mantis will most likely replace that. The flight of this disc is pretty sweet with similar glide to the stalker but a touch more fade which makes it more predictable for me.