Canik SFx Rival-S Review: Ready For Competition Or EDC

We hit the range to test out the Canik SFx Rival-S, a 9mm pistol that comes both competition- and carry-ready out of the box.

How would you like to get a competition-ready pistol that was good to go right out of the box? And while you’re at it, one that’s suitable for everyday carry as well? That describes the Canik SFx Rival-S to a T. Before we dive into the full details, the “S” is not the stainless but the shiny version of the two options. Yes, chrome, not stainless, and you can get the SFx Rival-S in all-black as well.

The Canik SFx Rival-S uses the same trigger design as found on the Walther line of pistols, and it’s a good one. That’s why it has been tearing up the competition circuit for some time now. Well, all of them have, but the SFx Rival-S is the culmination of years of input from Nils Jonasson. If you aren’t tuned into the USPSA/IPSC competition scene you might not recognize his name, but he’s won USPSA Nationals, IPSC Championships, the Steel Challenge and a lot more. Basically, Jonasson knows how to win shooting competitions, and he worked with Canik to put that knowledge into their pistols.

Canik SFx Rival-S Specs:
Type: Striker-fired semi-automatic
Caliber: 9mm
Capacity: 18+1 rounds
Barrel: 5 inches
OAL: 8.1 inches
Weight: 43 ounces
Finish: Chromed steel or black
Grips: Synthetic
Sights: Fixed front and adjustable rear
Trigger: 3 pounds, 7 ounces
MSRP: $950 (chrome), $900 (Dark Side)
Website: CanikUSA.com

The triggers on Canik pistols are always good and always have been. The SFx Rival-S takes that up a notch, and it also installs one of the trigger-pull upgrades that shooters of late have been swapping into their pistols: a flat-faced trigger. The SFx Rival-S uses a machined aluminum central safety bar as the trigger face, and the trigger releases the striker when the trigger face is 90 degrees to the axis of the bore. For the left-handed shooters, the SFx Rival-S has an ambi slide release and a reversible magazine button.

On top, the slide is aggressively grooved for cocking serrations. Fore and aft, top and sides, there are lots of places to gain a purchase. There are iron sights, with the front being a fiber optic holding blade, and the rear is part of the cover plate for an optics mount. The plate holds the rear sight, so when the plate comes off, so does the sight, but competition shooters who are using a red dot are not anticipating the need for iron sights. (Maybe they should, but that’s another detail not for here.)

The slide is also slotted to reduce weight a bit, to keep the slide weight for the 5-inch barrel from making a sluggishly cycling pistol. Nope, not the SFx Rival-S—nothing sluggish here. To keep it cycling quickly, the barrel is fluted so it can’t even build up gunk there to slow it down.

The frame has an accessory rail under the dust cover, and the front is checkered. The sides and backstrap are given an aggressive pebbly texture, all with the aim of keeping the SFx Rival-S from slipping in your hand. The trigger guard is large enough that even with gloves on you can get your trigger finger in there without a problem, and it’s also a kinda-sorta 1980s retro detail as well. The trigger guard is squared off, with the front face of it checkered as well. If you shoot with the index finger of your support hand up on the trigger guard, the SFx Rival-S is going to give you every chance for that to work out as promised.

For a lot of pistols these days, the purchase of the pistol is just the beginning. Then, there are the extras you have to have for competition or daily carry. Not so with the SFx Rival-S. First, it comes in a lockable carry case that’s big enough to hold all the gear. There’s the SFx Rival-S in the case, obviously. Then, there are the pair of 18-round magazines. There are two extra aluminum base pads for the magazines, in case you want to swap for something bigger. And there’s a magazine loader, because loading 18 rounds gets to be work and making it easier makes shooting more fun. There’s a magwell funnel that you can bolt on, which in competition can shave a few tenths off of your time—always a good thing. If you plan on using the SFx Rival-S for daily carry, leave the funnel off and go with the low-profile magazine base pads for easier concealment.

If two magazines aren’t enough (for daily carry, that’s probably fine, but for competition …), you can hop on over to the Canik website and order more (State law permitting, of course). The SFx Rival-S uses the full-length Canik magazines, so don’t go looking longingly at the shorter ones for easier concealment. The frame length allows just the 18-round magazines. If you feel the need for more (or the competition rules permit it), you can get more than 18 rounds in a magazine. Just go to Taylor Freelance and figure out which magazine extension basepad you want to use and in which material or color. The array for the Canik line is extensive, and your credit card might just whimper a bit as you look.

For competition or carry, there is a holster included as well. This is right-handed; lefties will have to source a holster on their own. (Hey, there’s only so much even Canik can do, OK?)

If you’re going to be shooting just with iron sights, there’s a spare fiber optic in the case, for when yours breaks (the fiber optic, not the sight). And if you want to change colors, the fiber-optic size is easy to find and replace, and you can order and install (it’s an easy thing to do) the color of your choice. For those who are going to mount a red-dot optic, the SFx Rival-S comes with a set of plates to envy. And not just one, but the Dark Side (the all-black version) comes with five optic plates, and the chrome comes with four of them. Installation is the same as it is with any other red-dot optic: Unbolt the cover plate, select the adapter for your particular brand or model of sight, degrease the surfaces and bolt the plate and sight on. Let it cure. Then, at the next range session, zero and have fun.

The storage case is a two-level affair once you open it up. On top is the pistol, the two magazines and the backstraps. And underneath is all the rest of the goodies. Oh, and the small plastic pistol that you’ll see in the upper level? That holds the small parts, the magazine button extensions, screws and a couple of the correct-sized Torx drivers. The top level also has an extra slot for that third magazine you’re going to buy for your SFx Rival-S. The two slots for spare magazines are even already punched out for magazine extensions being on the magazines. Clever, that.

The backstraps on the SFx Rival-S are removable, and the pistol comes with three backstraps. Swap them back and forth until you find the one that you like the best. Or you can take the one that fits the worst for you and then modify it by bonding on epoxy, JB Weld or whatever, and shaping it until it fits your hand like a glove (competition rules permitting, of course).

And that swappable magazine release? Well, there’s even more to that.

There are three magazine release extensions you can use to make the mag release even taller. If you have small hands or short thumbs, reaching the button can be a bit of work. Put in the extension that works for you and have fun. One thing I’d like to point out if you are going to use the Canik SFx Rival-S for competition is table starts. This is where the pistol is lying on the table and you have to pick it up to commence shooting. If you install the tallest magazine button extension, you’ll want to check to see that it doesn’t bear on the table when lying there. Otherwise (as so many competitors found out in the early days when we were figuring this stuff out), when you grab it to pick it up, you inadvertently release the magazine. One shot and clank as the mag falls out.

Then, there’s a lock, the owner’s manual, a tool and disassembly punch kit, and a cleaning kit. Basically, all you need to get started is ammo. Well, there’s one thing missing that it took me some time to notice: no spare mag pouch. However, that’s a minor oversight, and since you’re in a gun shop buying the SFx Rival-S anyway, you can easily add a mag pouch to the purchase, along with the ammo you plan to shoot.

On The Range With The Canik SFx Rival-S

Shooting the Canik SFx Rival-S was a joy. The clean trigger made breaking each shot easy; the weight kept it from being sharp in recoil, even with zippy ammo, and the hand-filling grip never slipped in my hands while shooting. Granted, it wasn’t warm enough to make me sweat (the weather was in the mid-40s that day at the club), but as aggressive as the frontstrap checkering is, I would not anticipate slipping … even in the middle of summer.

You might ask why a competition pistol that will most likely be equipped with a red-dot optic has a 5-inch barrel. This is one of those esoteric details of competition that either fascinates or bores you. You see, you have to meet a certain power factor in competition, which is measured by the bullet weight by its velocity.

So, let’s take a 124-grain bullet at 1,050 fps. That gives us a 130.2 PF, enough to qualify as Minor in all the various competitions, with a bit of wiggle room to spare. However, the PF measured is not the PF you feel, because you experience the weight of the powder charger jetting out of the muzzle just like a rocket nozzle. Let’s take the lower figure of powder pressure and call it 4,000 fps. (Yes, the gases jet out that fast—more in some loads.)

Canik SFx Rival-S Chronograph and Accuracy Data

A quick check of load data shows that a common powder in the correct range requires 4.2 grains of powder. So that adds 16.8 PF to your felt recoil. But if you use a 4-inch barrel instead of 5, you need more powder to make the 130.2 PF we had before. So, we need to bump up to 4.6 grains, and that’s another 18.4 PF. If you think that the top shooters don’t fuss over the 1.6PF on every shot, you are mistaken. That’s why 5 inches.

The height, weight and length of the SFx Rival-S make it kosher for all the practical shooting types (last I checked—these things can change), and at the MSRP listed, it is a smoking bargain—even if you don’t compete.

Canik SFx Rival-S Deals

Palmetto State Armory	$900
Battlehawk Armory	$900

Editor’s Note: This article originally appeared in the June 2025 issue of Gun Digest the Magazine.

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