Out of the box comparison between my MPA DS9 Hybrid and brand new Atlas Titan.
Finish:
Hybrid - Nitride, a nice finish, durable and good-looking but not as durable as the DLC on the Titan. Slightly darker, slightly more glossy
Titan - DLC. Bombproof. Slightly less dark, hint of gray and more matte.
Winner - Titan
Slide to frame fit:
Hybrid - Very nice, no play when new, some (very) little up and down play now after a few thousand rounds. Very little in the way of disco hitches as the slide moves. Buttery smooth.
Titan - Very nice. No play at all - as in zero. Very little in the way of disco/slide hitches, very smooth, essentially the same feel as the DS9, maybe not quite as buttery smooth. It's not broken in yet and they're lubed with different oils, so maybe not a fair comparison.
Winner - Tie. The well broken in Hybrid's slide is slightly more buttery smooth, but the brand new Titan's slide is rock solid.
Slide design:
Different aesthetics, but the serrations are equally as aggressive/useful. The lightening cuts on the Titan are nice but not as bad ass/edgy to me as the Hybrid, which I prefer, but not by much.
Winner - Hybrid but it's all just personal taste.
Trigger:
Hybrid - Very nice, 1lb, 10oz. Very positive reset and positive, crisp, break, perfect take-up, well fit, very little play.
Titan - Very nice again, 1lb 6oz (!), reset not as positive as the DS9 and the take up is a tad too long for me (I'll be adjusting that). The break is nice, but not quite as crisp as the DS9. It's less well fit and has more play than the Hybrid's trigger.
Winner - DS9 again but will revisit after adjustments are made to the Titan trigger. That said, the trigger on my DS9 needed no work at all oob. I will say that there were 2 guys at my FFL when I was picking up the Titan. One of them is a 1911 lover and the other a general gun enthusiast and hunter. The 1911 lover had heard of but had never seen an Atlas, the other guy was clueless. I let them try the trigger. They were both blow away, first by the smoothness of the slide then by the trigger. They both said it was the best trigger they had ever felt. My FFL was impressed as well.
Barrel:
Both have solid lock-ups, and both are flawless. They're both winners.
Grip:
Hybrid - The Hybrid grip is slightly larger, side to side and front to back, than the Titan. I appreciate being able to get a lot of support hand meat on the grip. With the Hybrid, that's easy. Grip shape just fine. I have the aggressive grip texture on my Hybrid and the hyper aggressive texture on my Commander. Meh, for me, the side panels aren't grippy enough on either and while the front and backstrap texture is good on the aggressive grip, they're downright painful on the hyper aggressive grip. Hundreds of needle points. I'm a desk jockey but I'm also a gym rat so I've definitely got good calluses and kinda rough hands and damn that hyper pattern needed some sanding to get it great, and not just masochist, for me. That said, I find both textures to be slippery when my palms get sweaty, so I've covered them in grip tape, something I tend to do with all my grips.
Titan - Slightly smaller side to side and front to back than the Hybrid. Still ample enough for adequate support hand contact. I await the palm swell and step up grip panels to see how they feel. My CZs all get palm swells and I'm pretty curious how the panels will change the ergos of the Titan. My grips are the medium texture. I'm surprised how much I like them so far. They feel very, well, grippy. I suspect they might not need grip tape, which would be a change.
Winner - It's a tie for me. The Titan has its texture and the ability to add side panels and the Hybrid has its size. Once the Titan's side panels arrive and are installed, I suspect the Titan will be the ultimate winner.
Safety:
Hybrid - I had MPA install extended, shielded Double Tap safeties on my Hybrid. At that time, I don't think they offered their own extended safeties. They did a good, not great job. They're positive enough and don't have any slop, but I've installed the same safeties myself on my DS9 Commander that are far more positive (but I probably took far more time to fit them).
Titan - Extended, but not shielded, and angled at 45 degrees, which is more than the Double Taps on my Hybrid and Commander. So far, dry firing, I like them. The angle may work very well, but we'll see once I shoot it. They're very positive and snap on and off with authority. No slop in them at all. Super nice.
Winner - I'd say Titan, judging from the safeties MPA installed on my Hybrid and from the original safeties on my Commander.
Magwell:
Hybrid - This is no contest. The MPA full-sized gun magwell/grip interior design is a thing of beauty and should be copied by all makers of 2011s. You can't get a mag to jam in the magwell/grip while reloading. MPA bevels the interior front of the magwell/frame so that the bevel catches the narrow top of the mag and rotates/corrects it so that it slides in perfect every time. The corners of the magwell are more rounded than others too, and the magwell/interior of the grip itself may be slightly larger, which must help.
Titan - I find it easy to jam a mag in the Titan's magwell/grip. That said, my DS9 Commander also has a "standard" magwell/grip, and it's just as easy to jam mags in that. My Titan has a tactical magwell. Maybe a large competition magwell would work better, but I don't think so. It's more about the interior of the grip.
Winner - The DS9 Hybrid magwell/grip interior sets the standards for 2011s.
Optics plate system:
They both seem beefy enough and secure. The Titan optic sits a bit lower than on the DS9 (but only by .03 inches). I'm admittedly not a fan of how high the optics ride on DS9s and I'll take lower any day.
Winner - Titan by an almost literal hair.
Front sights:
Hybrid - The Hybrid's front sights insert from the front of the slide and are held in place by a small screw. I've found 2 issues with this. First, the front sight on my Hybrid sheered off a few weeks ago. The screw broke and is stuck in my slide. I've just shrugged it off for now since I'm not using the front sight and I'm having too much fun at our local competitions to send it to MPA to fix (the screw is ridiculously small, otherwise, I'd try to get it out but I don't want to screw up and ruin the threads or slide finish). The other problem I have is that on my Commander the screw is basically welded onto the slide. I tried to remove it to add a co-witness front sight and eventually called it quits. It wouldn't budge and I was afraid I'd snap the head off or strip the head or break my Allen key/bit. I'll eventually send it into MPA for them to deal with. Sigh.
Titan - Traditional dovetail mount. No complaints.
Winner - Titan all day.
Ergonomics:
This is a tough one given that I haven't shot the Titan yet. Initially, I like the larger grips of the Hybrid and the area around the Hybrid's beaver tail feels like it's gonna be a bit more comfortable than the Titan's when shooting. I've ordered right palm swell and left side stepped grip panels for the Titan, so until I try those, I shouldn't draw any conclusions (they really should come with the gun as a package at this price tho). As it stands, the Titan does feel pretty good and points very well. It's at somewhat of a disadvantage, tho, since I'm so used to the Hybrid. I just instinctively know how to grip the thing at this point. Stay tuned for more on this front.
Winner - TBD
Bag:
Hybrid - The DS9 bag is pretty basic. It's less padded than the Titan bag, has an open interior pocket and 5 interior elastic mag "sleeves."
Titan - The Titan comes with a nicer bag that's very well padded and has 7 nice secure mag pouches on the exterior.
Winner - Titan
Mags:
Hybrid - The DS9 came with a couple MBX mags, 20 and 17 rnds.
Titan - The Titan came with 2-20 and one 17 round Titan brand mags.
Winner - The Titan wins, but I'm not a mag afficionado. I say the more the merrier for this category if the mags are roughly equivalent.
Verdict so far:
The MPAs I own are awesome deals compared to the Titan, that's for sure. Honestly, just OOB, there's not a lot of difference in the guns, aside from price. We'll have to see how the Hybrid and Titan compare out on the range before any final verdicts are given. I should get to the indoor range tomorrow with both guns and my Bul Air (limited to 50ft tho - I'll get outside for longer distances when I want to endure the cold winter SE AK rain). I should be getting the additional grip panels this week. I'll post my initial shooting thoughts after the first range trip tomorrow, then again after I get the panels on and shoot the Titan for a while, so it's a more fair comparison. I plan on using the Titan for the same stuff as the Hybrid and Air: steel plate, bullseye and our defensive league (a just for fun indoor mashup of IDPA/USPSA rules).
Bonus verdict: My Bul Air (and I assume it's replacement/update, the Blaze) is also a terrific value compared to both the more expensive Hybrid and Titan. I honestly shoot my plastic gripped Air as well as the Hybrid.
Finish:
Hybrid - Nitride, a nice finish, durable and good-looking but not as durable as the DLC on the Titan. Slightly darker, slightly more glossy
Titan - DLC. Bombproof. Slightly less dark, hint of gray and more matte.
Winner - Titan
Slide to frame fit:
Hybrid - Very nice, no play when new, some (very) little up and down play now after a few thousand rounds. Very little in the way of disco hitches as the slide moves. Buttery smooth.
Titan - Very nice. No play at all - as in zero. Very little in the way of disco/slide hitches, very smooth, essentially the same feel as the DS9, maybe not quite as buttery smooth. It's not broken in yet and they're lubed with different oils, so maybe not a fair comparison.
Winner - Tie. The well broken in Hybrid's slide is slightly more buttery smooth, but the brand new Titan's slide is rock solid.
Slide design:
Different aesthetics, but the serrations are equally as aggressive/useful. The lightening cuts on the Titan are nice but not as bad ass/edgy to me as the Hybrid, which I prefer, but not by much.
Winner - Hybrid but it's all just personal taste.
Trigger:
Hybrid - Very nice, 1lb, 10oz. Very positive reset and positive, crisp, break, perfect take-up, well fit, very little play.
Titan - Very nice again, 1lb 6oz (!), reset not as positive as the DS9 and the take up is a tad too long for me (I'll be adjusting that). The break is nice, but not quite as crisp as the DS9. It's less well fit and has more play than the Hybrid's trigger.
Winner - DS9 again but will revisit after adjustments are made to the Titan trigger. That said, the trigger on my DS9 needed no work at all oob. I will say that there were 2 guys at my FFL when I was picking up the Titan. One of them is a 1911 lover and the other a general gun enthusiast and hunter. The 1911 lover had heard of but had never seen an Atlas, the other guy was clueless. I let them try the trigger. They were both blow away, first by the smoothness of the slide then by the trigger. They both said it was the best trigger they had ever felt. My FFL was impressed as well.
Barrel:
Both have solid lock-ups, and both are flawless. They're both winners.
Grip:
Hybrid - The Hybrid grip is slightly larger, side to side and front to back, than the Titan. I appreciate being able to get a lot of support hand meat on the grip. With the Hybrid, that's easy. Grip shape just fine. I have the aggressive grip texture on my Hybrid and the hyper aggressive texture on my Commander. Meh, for me, the side panels aren't grippy enough on either and while the front and backstrap texture is good on the aggressive grip, they're downright painful on the hyper aggressive grip. Hundreds of needle points. I'm a desk jockey but I'm also a gym rat so I've definitely got good calluses and kinda rough hands and damn that hyper pattern needed some sanding to get it great, and not just masochist, for me. That said, I find both textures to be slippery when my palms get sweaty, so I've covered them in grip tape, something I tend to do with all my grips.
Titan - Slightly smaller side to side and front to back than the Hybrid. Still ample enough for adequate support hand contact. I await the palm swell and step up grip panels to see how they feel. My CZs all get palm swells and I'm pretty curious how the panels will change the ergos of the Titan. My grips are the medium texture. I'm surprised how much I like them so far. They feel very, well, grippy. I suspect they might not need grip tape, which would be a change.
Winner - It's a tie for me. The Titan has its texture and the ability to add side panels and the Hybrid has its size. Once the Titan's side panels arrive and are installed, I suspect the Titan will be the ultimate winner.
Safety:
Hybrid - I had MPA install extended, shielded Double Tap safeties on my Hybrid. At that time, I don't think they offered their own extended safeties. They did a good, not great job. They're positive enough and don't have any slop, but I've installed the same safeties myself on my DS9 Commander that are far more positive (but I probably took far more time to fit them).
Titan - Extended, but not shielded, and angled at 45 degrees, which is more than the Double Taps on my Hybrid and Commander. So far, dry firing, I like them. The angle may work very well, but we'll see once I shoot it. They're very positive and snap on and off with authority. No slop in them at all. Super nice.
Winner - I'd say Titan, judging from the safeties MPA installed on my Hybrid and from the original safeties on my Commander.
Magwell:
Hybrid - This is no contest. The MPA full-sized gun magwell/grip interior design is a thing of beauty and should be copied by all makers of 2011s. You can't get a mag to jam in the magwell/grip while reloading. MPA bevels the interior front of the magwell/frame so that the bevel catches the narrow top of the mag and rotates/corrects it so that it slides in perfect every time. The corners of the magwell are more rounded than others too, and the magwell/interior of the grip itself may be slightly larger, which must help.
Titan - I find it easy to jam a mag in the Titan's magwell/grip. That said, my DS9 Commander also has a "standard" magwell/grip, and it's just as easy to jam mags in that. My Titan has a tactical magwell. Maybe a large competition magwell would work better, but I don't think so. It's more about the interior of the grip.
Winner - The DS9 Hybrid magwell/grip interior sets the standards for 2011s.
Optics plate system:
They both seem beefy enough and secure. The Titan optic sits a bit lower than on the DS9 (but only by .03 inches). I'm admittedly not a fan of how high the optics ride on DS9s and I'll take lower any day.
Winner - Titan by an almost literal hair.
Front sights:
Hybrid - The Hybrid's front sights insert from the front of the slide and are held in place by a small screw. I've found 2 issues with this. First, the front sight on my Hybrid sheered off a few weeks ago. The screw broke and is stuck in my slide. I've just shrugged it off for now since I'm not using the front sight and I'm having too much fun at our local competitions to send it to MPA to fix (the screw is ridiculously small, otherwise, I'd try to get it out but I don't want to screw up and ruin the threads or slide finish). The other problem I have is that on my Commander the screw is basically welded onto the slide. I tried to remove it to add a co-witness front sight and eventually called it quits. It wouldn't budge and I was afraid I'd snap the head off or strip the head or break my Allen key/bit. I'll eventually send it into MPA for them to deal with. Sigh.
Titan - Traditional dovetail mount. No complaints.
Winner - Titan all day.
Ergonomics:
This is a tough one given that I haven't shot the Titan yet. Initially, I like the larger grips of the Hybrid and the area around the Hybrid's beaver tail feels like it's gonna be a bit more comfortable than the Titan's when shooting. I've ordered right palm swell and left side stepped grip panels for the Titan, so until I try those, I shouldn't draw any conclusions (they really should come with the gun as a package at this price tho). As it stands, the Titan does feel pretty good and points very well. It's at somewhat of a disadvantage, tho, since I'm so used to the Hybrid. I just instinctively know how to grip the thing at this point. Stay tuned for more on this front.
Winner - TBD
Bag:
Hybrid - The DS9 bag is pretty basic. It's less padded than the Titan bag, has an open interior pocket and 5 interior elastic mag "sleeves."
Titan - The Titan comes with a nicer bag that's very well padded and has 7 nice secure mag pouches on the exterior.
Winner - Titan
Mags:
Hybrid - The DS9 came with a couple MBX mags, 20 and 17 rnds.
Titan - The Titan came with 2-20 and one 17 round Titan brand mags.
Winner - The Titan wins, but I'm not a mag afficionado. I say the more the merrier for this category if the mags are roughly equivalent.
Verdict so far:
The MPAs I own are awesome deals compared to the Titan, that's for sure. Honestly, just OOB, there's not a lot of difference in the guns, aside from price. We'll have to see how the Hybrid and Titan compare out on the range before any final verdicts are given. I should get to the indoor range tomorrow with both guns and my Bul Air (limited to 50ft tho - I'll get outside for longer distances when I want to endure the cold winter SE AK rain). I should be getting the additional grip panels this week. I'll post my initial shooting thoughts after the first range trip tomorrow, then again after I get the panels on and shoot the Titan for a while, so it's a more fair comparison. I plan on using the Titan for the same stuff as the Hybrid and Air: steel plate, bullseye and our defensive league (a just for fun indoor mashup of IDPA/USPSA rules).
Bonus verdict: My Bul Air (and I assume it's replacement/update, the Blaze) is also a terrific value compared to both the more expensive Hybrid and Titan. I honestly shoot my plastic gripped Air as well as the Hybrid.
