Early this fall/winter, Bering sent me a LRF scanner to try out. It was a prototype based off their Prodigy body style. It has since been branded the "Crisp".

Let's start with the good. The LRF provided readings out well past what was necessary for coyote hunting. The price list hasn't been released yet, but early indications are MAP pricing on the 384 will be in the lower 2K range and the 640 in the lower 3K range. The image allowed for lots of customization. For coyote hunting and my personal preference, the size was a little big although it is fairly light. The eyecup was also very stiff. The Menu button is not the middle button. It may sound silly but in all the other Bering products, the Menu button is in the middle, so I struggled a bit with the UI. It is personal preference, but I have always liked the size, weight, and UI of the Phenom. For someone who needs an LRF in a scanner and doesn't mind the size, this may be the scanner for them. It will be available in both 384 and 640 resolution. If Bering sends me a 640 Crisp to test, I will try to get recordings of the menu system and provide more detail.

I used the Crisp for part of a coyote hunt. On the first stand, I shot a quad. The last coyote of the quad stopped behind a hill and the only thing I could see was a portion of the head. I knew the range was 310 yards because of the Crisp. I put it a little above the ears and squeezed and heard the "thump" we all love to hear. In my coyote hunting career, I have shot many coyotes at ranges well past this one. However, to shoot a coyote at over 300 yards with just part of the head showing has to be one of my tougher (maybe luckier) shots.

Kirsch Chronicles: Episode 69

Looks great. Another option for people to choice from. Thanks for the review.

Thanks for the info and the vid. Good as always. Been thinking of a lrf rangefinder. Really convenient when multiple targets show up in intervals.

They read the script correctly. Part of it is probably luck, but I do believe part is calling patterns. In earlier years, I would more often call in the entire group at once or nothing. It might be me imagining it, but it seems like I get more of these types of stands every year.

The great thing about coyote hunting is how little we understand their behaviors. General patterns emerge but those can be thrown out the window by individuals. I'm pretty certain past experiences shape future reactions just like in humans.

Head shot at 325 yards, priceless!

Pretty good view. That was one heck of a head shot.

Watched it last night, good stuff and great shooting.

BTW Are you able to hunt now or the weather still hammering you.

Thanks for checking. I have only hunted a handful of times since Christmas. If you want to hear me whine, read on.

Wind every night of 20 to 30+ mph. When the wind lessens, we get fog due to all the snow and humidity. We had about 5' of snow early in late-Nov through mid-December. It actually hasn't snowed much the last month. I've hunted in much deeper snow in other years, but the snow needs to firm up. When snow is crusted over, coyotes and humans can start to move. Many say, just use snowshoes. What they don't realize is if a human needs snowshoes, the snow is most likely too deep and soft for coyotes to move well also. Yes, they are lighter, but they do everything possible not to expend energy. They will go to areas like deer and cattle herds where they don't have to work as hard. These areas can be hard to get to when a large % of the roads are blocked.

In most places, the snow hasn't settled. We did get a little warm up this week. Once the wind lessens, I will get out to see if the snow has firmed up. This was a very long answer to say, although a fairly mild winter, the early heavy snow, fog, and wind has made it miserable. I know it is the upper Midwest, so you have to expect tough conditions, but this winter has been horrible for calling coyotes.

I just handled one of these units (Crisp) at the Sportsman Show (Harrisburg, PA) Nice picture, was a little bigger than I expected with great (internal) battery life

Kirsch could the “crisp” be helmet mounted? Does it have an option for LRF run constantly ? Or only on push of button?

Hands free scanning is starting to interest me .
I mild frost bit my trigger finger in December and it’s very very painful now. I loose dexterity in it fast in cold .

No, this is way too big. I say the good and bad for everything and the size is my gripe with this unit even using it as handheld.

The model I was sent was a very early prototype, and it was a push to range option at that time.

Sorry to hear about your trigger finger. I keep an Electric Handwarmer in my right-hand pocket activated all the time to make sure I can keep my right hand warm which is the only hand I leave exposed (still wear a light liner glove while on stand) during a coyote stand. As for hands-free, the main options we carry are the Breach and the NOX18. The Breach will show you hot objects but doesn't have a lot of range. The NOX18 will provide a much better image. Virtually any thermal can be helmet mounted with some McGyvering. For instance, I believe DoubleUp uses a Phenom helmet mounted, and that is not designed for that. I will say again, the Crisp is way, way bigger than a Phenom. iRay has some options, but we don't carry iRay at this time.

I personally tried navigation with a Breach recently thinking it would be similar to a PVS14 and then as you said I could potentially scan with it to. Walking with a 1x thermal vs a PVS14 is a very different thing. I didn't like it for navigating. If you go with a selfie stick as I do with virtually any scanner, you can still wear heavy gloves and not have to expose your hand to the cold as another option.

It has not firmed up much, I was out last night, up past your knees in most places.

Thanks Kirsch,
I may have to retire the Hogster R35 as a scanner and replace it with a Phenom. Just hard since The Hogster R35 has been very good .to me.