Gun Review: Kriss Sphinx

I’ll be honest with you. I have had the opportunity to shoot the Kriss Sphinx on multiple occasions over the last six years. It’s an outstanding handgun. The newest 9mm compact version I recently had the chance to handle continued to exceed my level of expectations. You will not hear from me that the Sphinx’s $1,000 price point is not justified or that it is just a glorified CZ. Compared to other “production handguns,” the Sphinx has pound for pound some of the best craftsmanship available.

Kriss Sphinx

The construction of the Kriss Sphinx has a level of excellence that you may find in a custom shop, but most likely not out of any other factory. Both the slide and upper portion of the frame are precision machined from a solid piece of billet material. As if that was not good enough, Kriss decided to finish off the slide and frame by hand fitting them together. This ensures tight tolerances and strength between the frame and slide.

From a distance the Sphinx looks like a double/single action hammer fired CZ of some type. Let us take a closer look how it operates. The rails of the slide ride inside of the frame allowing for a smooth action and a low bore axis. The mechanics of this make recoil an after thought. Inside the handgun all the internals are polished. This improves reliability and makes the action on the trigger smooth like a calm lake.

You will not hear from me that the Sphinx’s $1,000 price point is not justified or that it is just a glorified CZ. Compared to other “production handguns,” the Sphinx has pound for pound some of the best craftsmanship available. (Photo: Ben Brown/Guns.com)

I think CZ’s have some of the best ergo’s when talking about handguns. So it would make sense that the Sphinx which is based off the design of the CZ 75 would have that same great feel in the hands. Only I think Sphinx feels better! The high beaver tail and the swap-able rubberized grip panels provide an excellent foundation for a variety of hand sizes. This 28 ounce handgun is on the heavy side, but shoots like a dream!

Kriss did not skimp on the accessories for the Sphinx either. It comes in a hard case with custom cut foam to hold the gun, two 15 round mags, three different size grip panels, cleaning kit, and mag loader. Kriss also provides the customer with options to add a threaded barrel (1/2×28 thread pitch) and 6 different cerakote colors to choose from. You can certainly tell that Kriss went the extra mile to deliver the finished product to the end user.

Final Thoughts

It will be hard for another hammer fired handgun to take the place of the Sphinx as my favorite. Other shooters have compared it to a well built Swiss watch, not only because of its origins but because its craftsmanship is very evident when shooting it. Although maybe a bit large for concealed carry, the Sphinx will delivers the goods when it comes to a high performance handgun.

SHOP KRISS SPHINX