Late this season I bought Bishop’s last pair of 176cm Powderhound tele skis with the BMF/3 for resort skiing, and I have fallen in love with telemark all over again! I am a 135lb 76-year-old guy who has been telemark skiing without poles for over 20 years. I ordered the softer spring kit too because I heard it might be best for a light-weight person, and I ordered a Switch Kit for my “all mountain” skis.

Powderhound: I bought this to replace my old Armada JJ 2.0, which is a ski I loved because it floated in powder, yet could easily hold an edge on hardpack. The Powderhound was easy to ski on the first run I took with it, which was on an icy and relatively steep slope. I wasn’t able to test it in deep pow this season, but it did very well in the skimpier powder I was able to find. I think it will prove to be a terrific powder ski for me!

BMF/3: What a great NTN tele binding! It can “manhandle” your skis. It is heavy and expensive, but looks to be bomb-proof. I will be returning the softer spring kit because I never needed it. I used the standard stiff springs on my first test run, and immediately knew I did not want softer springs. The stiff springs seem to act more like shock absorbers, and seem to give a more “snappy” feel to my skis, including my new M7 Mantra’s (what an incredible pair they make!). Of course, at my age I used 75mm duckbill boots for a long time with many different types of bindings from 3-pins on up. As bindings improved, eventually I found 22-Designs’ Vice binding to be the best bindings for me. But after switching to NTN several years ago, I now have to abandon their Outlaw X because it is too fragile. I seem to break 3 or 4 flex plates every season at $18 each, and installing their stiffer springs made no difference. This season I had a catastrophic failure in which the entire back half of the binding completely broke off and lay on the slope behind me while I crashed (uninjured). I don’t think the BMF/3 will break in my lifetime (but I have to keep the screws tight!).

I bought the Powderhound and BMFR bindings for a cat skiing trip to BC in March. They were AMAZING. Such an upgrade over my other skis; 115 under foot with tech toe bindings. The skis performed great in the trees and were more stable than I expected at speed when skiing above tree line. Whatever you're skiing now, this setup is an upgrade, especially the bindings. For cat skiing the Bishop bindings are the way to go. No more scraping ice, no snow accumulation under the heel and it's amazingly easy to step in and out of them in deep snow. Plus I felt more comfortable with how beefy these bindings are compared to the mostly plastic tech toe bindings. You won't be disappointed with these in deep backcountry snow.

I spent last two Winters in Montana, splitting my time and teaching at Big Sky, Bridger Bowl and Great Divide -- I got a lifetime of powder Telemark skiing in those two seasons -- "Cold Smoke" and in that time "POWDERHOUND" was 80% my daily planks. Responsive, agile and stable and predictable. I also did a fair amount of Climbing Skins Hikes ... the entire set up worked amazingly well. Rugged, Reliable, Proven. My other plank was "CHEDI" love them both

Sometimes as you're making your way down a snow covered slope, the distant hoots and hollers of a fellow snow slider can be heard ringing through cirques and forests near and far. At first notice, you may think they're having the most fun, but then, subtly at first, but steadily louder, you hear a ravenous barking envelop the peaceful mountain you had been inhabiting. As you try and figure out what's happening, a wild telemark skier bursts through a cloud of powder with a snow covered beard, a wild glint in their eye, and an uncontrolled bark from their mouth. It's then that you realize they are the ones truly having the most fun, and of course the bark is a result of none other than the BISHOP POWDERHOUD BABY! Seriously this ski is perhaps the single best item you could buy to increase your happiness. It just flipping works. Everywhere. All conditions. It rips.

Most versitle nimble pow ski ever.Does it all.

20yrs of Telemark and 50 days a season and this is my favorite ski yet. paired with the BMF. It really cruises, floats, busts through whatever, and is easy to control. Small drops, icy moguls, or a groomer exit all go smoothly. I used to just take this out on power days and then found myself grabbing it at 6 inches, then 4 inches and then whenever I thought I might just get a powder shot. Love it!

Have about 15 days on this ski out in Big Sky for the '24/'25 season. Some awesome powder days, some warmer days on corn, some choppy crud, some heavier slushy days. These skis do it all! With the short radius they roll from side to side effortlessly yet still float well in powder. They cut through crud well, turning easily around jumps and bumps and on groomers can carve pretty well too!

The short radius and a softer build makes them a total Agent of Chaos, in a fun way! But, if you aren't on top of the ski and working your transitions they can be a tad unpredictable and catch you off guard, especially if you are used to the more standard 20-26m radius skis. Super fun when you work them, and if you are nice and loose you can choose to ride them or drive them as much as you like! They are a bit soft as a true all mountain ski, but I found myself reaching for these even on groomer days and just skiing a bit slower to compensate.

I did have to try two different mounting positions. While I loved the responsiveness of the recommended boot center mount I found that I was getting too much tip dive in the powder. I moved the mounting position back a full two cm and found a sweet spot; great control, good edge to edge transitions and no more tip dive.

Finally, a single improvement I would like to ski for the next season: a bit more curve upwards at the tip could promote better float.

Specs: 186cm, Meidjo 3, Crispi Evo
Size: 194cm, 85kg (dry), 15 years on telemarks
Prior Skis: BD Boundary Pros in 100mm and 115mm

I live in Utah where deep days are not uncommon, and this ski absolutely rips. After trying a few other powder skis over the past decade, i can say these are my favorites or at least top 2. My favorite thing about them is how easy and willing they are to make tight short radius turns, while still being burly enough to float in deep or heavy pow. The epitome of nimble. They are pretty soft and playful, great for bumps, but certainly can charge hard when required. If you are purely a straight-liner, they may not be for you. But if you like turning, tree skiing and technical chutes/ steeps, these are hard to beat. They float beautifully in pow, and are even pretty fun on groomers due to the sidecut and rocker making them ski a lot shorter than they are. Can't say enough good things about these skis. Cool graphics, and I love to support a tele only company. Great job Bishop!
I am 6'1, 190 lbs and ski the 186s

Skier type and location: Aggressive skier, former patroller, central cascades, variable conditions. 6' - 155lbs skiing the 177 length - generally prefer a shorter ski for trees etc.

I don't think I would ever call if 115 underfoot ski a one ski quiver but if I had to this would be it. Remarkably responsive and stable on corduroy or firm variable snow. Plenty of float in soft snow. Nimble in the trees and quick edge changes. These skis are as badass as the bindings. They absolutely charge and pop whenever I want them to. They're even fun in the park. I can't recommend the Pow Hounds enough. 6/5 STARS!