Should I get a heating mantle???

If you have to ask reddit for this question you shouldn't be doing chem.

You shouldn't do chemistry alone unless you've been doing it under a mentor for a long time already 

Depends .What do you plan to use it for ? :)

Do you need a heating mantle enough to get one?

Short answer: no.

Long answer: as other's have said, if you have to ask this question than it's clear you have no formal chemical training (despite "doing chem for years now"), as any formal training would include mantles as a subject of discussion. Moreover, for any hobby chemist, distillation using an Erlenmeyer flask with a ground glass connection on a hotplate/stirrer is more than sufficient. Anything that doesn't fit that qualification and would require a mantle I don't feel as though you are qualified enough to perform safely.