Kimber made its reputation long ago with upper-end 1911 pistols. The company evolved the venerable platform specifically for concealed carry with its Commander-sized 9mm double-stack magazine KDS9C and micro compact Micro 9 single-stack magazine pistols. That evolution took another big leap forward with the Kimber CDS9 (short for Covert Double Stack 9mm micro-compact pistol). It comes with magazine capacities of 10, 13, and 15 rounds.
The Kimber CDS9 Micro-Compact 9mm
These days, it’s hard for 6- to 7-shot single-stack magazine micro-compact 9mm pistols to compete in the concealed carry market against 10-to 12-round magazine guns like the SIG P365 and Springfield Armory Hellcat. The single-stack guns will always appeal to people with very small hands and for deep concealment. However, most concealed carry gun owners are looking for small 9mm pistols with astonishing magazine capacities.
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The CDS9 stands out from most of its peers because it features a traditional hammer-fired design and a metal frame. In this case, a T6 aluminum alloy. This is the micro-compact for fans of the 1911 platform and old-school single-action autoloaders.
As you would expect from Kimber, it’s a high-end gun with an actual retail price of just over $1,000. Here’s what it brings to the table.
A Feature-Rich Micro-Compact
The first thing you notice with the CDS9 is that it is compact without being overly fat in the hand. Kimber kept it slim and light by using an aluminum frame and inletting the grip panels to nest inside the lightening windows in the magazine well.
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It measures just 1.16 inches across the grips, which are the thickest point. Correspondingly, it is 6.2 inches long (6.7 inches with the threaded barrel), and only 5 inches tall with the 13-round extended magazine. Fully loaded with 14 rounds of 124-grain ammo (13+1 in the chamber), it weighs 27.8 ounces.
More than half of its empty weight is on top, mostly in the stainless steel slide and Kimber’s match-grade barrel. The latter is noticeably thicker than normal and deeply crowned to protect the rifling. To lighten the gun and facilitate easier reholstering, the slide is sculpted and narrowed on the front and upper sides. Likewise, the frame is narrowed on the front sides and tapered at the nose.
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The slide lock release and safety levers are ambidextrous, but the magazine release button must be reversed for left-handed use. The controls are very low profile in design, but quite easy to operate with the thumb. For more positive skin-to-steel contact, the safety and slide lock levers are grooved, and the magazine release button is an extra-large, aggressively checkered oblong shape. Notably absent is the traditional 1911 grip safety.
There’s a 2-slot Picatinny accessory rail milled directly into the frame dust cover. This provides a solid base for a targeting laser or tactical light.
The CDS9 In Hand
The grip design features a slight undercut at the rear of the trigger guard that goes more deeply into the front strap. This helps the middle finger anchor your hold regardless of hand size. The deep beavertail and commander-style bobbed hammer eliminate painful hammer bite.
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Large rectangular serrations are milled into the front strap and backstrap, matching the VZ Frag pattern G10 grip panels. The CDS9 features unique fish-scale slide serrations on the front and rear, which grip only in one direction (rearward pull), making it less abrasive to holsters.
The 10-round flush-fit and 13- and 15-round extended magazines share a common steel body. However, they use differing plastic endcaps to adjust from deep concealment to a full pinky-supported hold for people with medium and large hands.
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The model I tested came with a 13- and 15-round extended magazine. The 13-round was just right for my average-sized hands while maintaining front pants-pocket concealability.
Up Top the CDS9
The slide is fitted with rugged steel, Glock-pattern sights. The rear sight is adjustable for windage in its dovetail and locked in position with a set screw. Correspondingly, the TAG Precision FiberLok fiber optic enhanced front sight is the best I’ve ever seen.
The insert (four extra are included) is perfectly centered and round because it is seated inside the sight rather than melted over at the ends, which usually results in an off-center appearance. Both the rectangular front post and square rear notch are serrated on the rear face to minimize glare.
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The slide is optics-ready with a metal plate covering the RMSc footprint. The plate is also the base for the rear sight. So, installing a red dot optic means you lose iron sighting capability unless you pick an optic with an integral rear sight notch.
Unlike conventional auto-loaders with rectangular slide rails, the CDS9 rails are more trapezoidal. This increases surface contact and reduces stresses on the metal, which helps increase the service life of the pistol.
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Barrel-to-slide and slide-to-frame fit was tighter than average on my test gun. When in battery, there was no muzzle movement at all, and perhaps only .010 inch of lateral movement at the breech. I had high accuracy hopes for this pistol. So, I did my testing at 25 yards instead of the 7 yards customary for a 3.18 barrel gun. The CDS9 didn’t disappoint.
Running the Micro-Compact
I did my test shooting from the bench on a Caldwell Pistolero rest with iron sights.
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The Black Hills Ammunition 100-grain Honey Badger averaged 1,149 feet-per-second (FPS) and five-shot groups of 2.4 inches. Winchester USA Ready Defense Grade 9mm+P 124-grain HEXVENT JHP averaged 1,120 FPS and 2.83-inch groups. Federal Premium Personal Defense 9mm 135 Hydra-SHOK Deep JHP averaged 985 FPS and 3.35-inch groups. That’s impressive for a micro compact with a 4.16-inch sight radius.
In addition to the high quality of the build, accuracy was improved by the excellent control of the whole hand grip I achieved using the 13-round extended magazine and the nice, short 5.5- to 6-pound trigger pull. Recoil was softer than you would expect with a pistol of this size due to the dual nested recoil spring.
To Kimber’s credit, the only fault I could find with the CDS9 was that its grip panels. They are secured with single screws and loosened up after a day of heavy shooting. That was easily fixed with a Torx bit screwdriver.
Kimber CDS9 Micro-Compact Specs
| Caliber | 9 x 19mm |
| Action | hammer-fired, locked breech, semi-auto |
| Controls | ambidextrous magazine and slide release |
| Capacity | 13 and 15-round extended magazines come standard, 10-round flush-fit magazines are optional. |
| Barrel | 21.5 ounces unloaded with a 13-round magazine |
| Trigger | 5.5-6 pound pull, two-stage, flat-faced, aluminum |
| Length | 6.2 inches |
| Height | 4.56 inches with 10-round magazine, 5.0 inches with 13-round magazine, 5.52 inches with 15-round magazine |
| Width | 1.16 inches wide across grip panels |
| Weight | 21.5 ounces unloaded with 13-round magazine |
| Sights | optics ready for RMSc footprint, rugged steel drift windage adjustable rear sight, and TAG FiberLok fiber optic insert front sight with multi-color inserts |
| Material | aluminum frame/stainless steel slide |
| Finish | KimPro® II semi-gloss gunmetal grey frame, black slide |
| Stocks | VZ Frag pattern G10 grip panels |
| Accessories | lock, soft transport/storage case |
| MSRP | Black: $1,075 |
Performance
| Black Hills Honey Badger 9mm | |
| Bullet Weight & Type | 100 Honey Badger |
| Velocity | 1,149 |
| Best | 2.00 |
| Federal Premium Personal Defense 9mm | |
| Bullet Weight & Type | 135 Hydra-SHOK Deep JHP |
| Velocity | 985 |
| Best | 3.06 |
| Winchester USA Ready Defense Grade 9mm+P | |
| Bullet Weight & Type | 124 HEXVENT JHP |
| Velocity | 1,120 |
| Best | 2.38 |
Performance was tested with a series of five-shot groups fired at 25 yards from a bench rest with a Competition Electronics Pro-Chrono Digital Chronograph set 15 feet from the muzzle. Bullet weight is in grains, velocity in feet-per-second and the group size in inches.
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