Arex Rex Zero 1S Review: Walmart P226 or Upgraded CZ99?

My attraction to the Rex Zero 1S started years ago when it first came out. YouTube channels were fawning over the new gun and were anticipating a swift rise to popularity for this Slovenian pistol. I reluctantly followed the updates about this pistol, and finally got the opportunity to handle it at SHOT show back in 2018. I found it to be borderline too awkward for me to handle effectively. I figured my first exposure was going to be the last I was going to give to the pistol, but fate had other ideas. Recently, Arex had released the Rex Zero 2S with the hope to answer consumer desires. Unfortunately, there are few places that sell the new design, and the classic Rex Zero 1S has been collecting dust on shelves. Yeah, leave it to me to buy a gun that has next to no consumer interest just to review it. SPOILER ALERT, I have been so pleased with the pistol that I got the compact version for concealed carry and I am looking at getting another so I can have one to put into service and one to beat up on the range.

ORIGIN STORY
The Rex Zero 1S on the surface takes a lot of influence from the Sig P226. However, if you ever had the opportunity to fiddle with the CZ99, you would find even greater similarity. Aside from the manual safety in a similar spot as the Sig slide release, the Rex Zero 1S is basically just a cloned and reverse-engineered CZ99 designed to serve the Slovenian military. The CZ99 was itself a reverse-engineered blend of the Sig P226  and Walther P88. The Walther P88 had the slide release/decocker feature that makes the Rex Zero 1S so foreign to many who claim it is merely a Sig copy.​

CHARACTERISTICS

- Grip:
The grip is not a popular topic for most people who have handled this pistol. It took some familiarization for me to feel like the grip was manageable. Though I would love to feel the new pistol that supposedly has a smaller grip circumference(Rex Zero 2S, I am not so sure I need it anymore. I have adapted to the size fairly well over the course of a few months. However, when gloves are put on, the grip becomes a sticking point again. To add to the thick grip, it also has no functional way of helping your grip, aside from the side panels. Overall the shape of the grip seems to drive the hand high into the beavertail anyways, preventing you from slipping all that much when shooting. I can't complain about the simple texture on the grip panels, but I do believe I am going to have this grip textured by a machinist in the near future.

​- SAFETY:
The manual safety is often assumed to be a slide release because the pistol looks so similar to a Sig. The only thing I have to say about it is that it is a waste of space. It is very positive and simple to take off if you do use it, but it is unnecessary on a pistol that is already a DA/SA.

​- SLIDE RELEASE/DECOCKER
Unlike the CZ99, this pistol only has it's control on the left side, for right handed shooters. This is where the similarity to the CZ99/Walther P88 ends. Using this control to lock the slide open requires quite a bit of force. Even when you use all the can of man in your fingers to drive the lever up, you will still notice that the slide is only being held back by a small chunk of it. This mechanism is a two piece system that will work smoothly with empty mags, but will be a bugger to use manually. Perhaps it is by design, but overall, I haven't seen an instant of the slide going home on its own after manually locking it back. KNOCK ON WOOD...

​- SLIDE SERRATIONS
Unlike the Sigs on the market, the Rex Zero 1S does not possess very aggressive slide serrations. The front serrations on pistols are merely cosmetic in my eyes since I cannot fathom a functional reason not to just use the rear slide serrations for manipulation. You will want to grip the slide with the overhand grip in order to maximize your control and positive manipulations of the slide.

- Trigger
 The double action is not a very long pull, but it is a bit heavy. The maximum force is right up front. As soon as the trigger starts travelling to the rear, it feels like the pounds are sliding off during the first half of the trigger pull before the weight stabilizes all the way to the break. The break is relatively clean and has little overtravel. The single action is relatively light and has a soft wall with a smooth break and very little overtravel. I do not own a trigger gauge, so I cannot tell you how heavy anything is, but needless to say pounds does not equal feel. This trigger feels like a heavy Sig trigger, just to force a reference. However, the good thing I like about this gun is the fact that it is butter smooth and easy to use.

​HANDLING & SHOOTING

- SIGHTS
The sights are relatively small compared to other manufacturers, but they seem to made well enough to provide some charge support for one handed manipulations. I appreciate the taper of the rear sight that seems to drive your focus and attention to the horizontal alignment of the rear and front sight. This is very much like the sights of the HK USP, which I am a fan of. I personally took the liberty of painting the front sight fluorescent pink while blacking out the rear dots. This allows a better acquisition over looking for the tiny white dots to align.

- MAGAZINE RELEASE
The magazine release is ambidextrous, but it is relatively inconsistent. You will notice that one side may require a deeper depression than the other. I prefer to use the right side button to release the mags with my middle finger. The texturing on the mag release buttons are nicely serrated though, making them easy to find and depress

- RECOIL MANAGEMENT
WHAT RECOIL? This weapon handles 9mm NATO like it is boring. The recoil impulse of this pistol makes the 9mm feel short and weak. I am always a little concerned that the ammo is not powerful enough because the ejection usually is not very strong with SAAMI spec 115gr mouse-fart 9mm loads. They will usually land only a foot or so away. The 9mm NATO from Winchester seems to have the oomph to catapult the brass away from the pistol. over time, the ejection has gotten farther with the weaker 9mm ammo, but it is still going strong.

PINCH POINTS

- PARTS
Getting parts for the pistol is not going to be as easy as an eBay trip. You will have to source them from globalordnance.com or k-var.com. Ultimately, a pain in the ass to get parts like recoil springs. On the bright side, Global Ordnance is still servicing these pistols and doing repairs.

- HOLSTERS
You guessed it, Safariland is not making a holster for this pistol. The best I have been able to source is from Aliengear or the Blackhawk omnivore, which is based on the light instead of the gun itself. Universal holsters will be your best bet.

WRAPUP

The Rex Zero 1S has served me well after a few thousand rounds. The wear on the pistol is relatively light, except for the barrel, which tells the tail of my abuse. the coating has held up with great fidelity, despite my usage. The gun is a joy to shoot, but it could use a trimming around the beavertail and heel hump. The springs were very tight right out of the box, which gave me confidence for a long service life. I look forward to putting more rounds through this pistol in the next few years to see how well it holds up. I am wondering how long the recoil spring will hold out, along with the other springs being worn by my incessant dry fire practice. Perish the thought that the firing pin would break before I can source some spares. 
Do I feel like this pistol is worth the money? I suppose for me, it fit the bill at half the price of the Sig MK25. Can you do better for the price? That depends entirely on your shooting ability and training. You may not be well familiarized with double action pistols and find the long first pull to be a burden while someone with my training finds it to be an asset for an aggressive trigger finger. Whatever choice you make, the pistol seems to be here to stay for the time being. Perhaps it will see a resurgence with the growing trend towards metal-framed pistols.