Forum Snowboards F/W 2026/27 Preview
Retail Buyers Guide: Snowboards F/W 2026/27 Retail Buyer’s Guide
Brand: Forum Snowboards Preview
Interviewee: Mikkel – HEAD OF FORUM SNOW EU
BRAND QUESTIONS:
Please can we have a history of Forum from its inception
A: Co-founded in 1996 by Peter Line as owner and team rider, Forum established itself as one of the most influential brands in the history of snowboarding with teams, movies and products that set new standards for the industry. Burton acquired Forum in 2004, and Forum’s legendary teams and products continued to be at the forefront of snowboarding style, progression and influence. In 2012, Burton restructured to focus company efforts on the Burton brand, and they stopped producing their owned brands including Forum. In 2022, Forum returned with Peter Line as a central figure, ready to continue the mission.
Why was it decided to relaunch the brand?
A: Once the Forum trademark became available, it created a unique opportunity for our founder to return to the brand he’d launched and continue the mission – contribute and build snowboarding culture.
Who is behind the brand now?
A: Forum is owned and operated from Seattle, Washington by snowboard industry legend Peter Line and Kenny Birge, a life-long snowboarder with a background in games and entertainment marketing, most recently with Xbox.
Which product categories will the brand operate in and why?
A: The initial focus is on creating high quality snowboards and outerwear.
What is the brands USP?
A: Contributing to snowboarding culture and creating a platform for new riders to make Forum their own.
Tell us about the response since relaunch?
A: The response has been humbling. Daily, we are blessed to get messages, from riders across generations, who share the impact Forum has had on their snowboarding experience and their appreciation for us being back. The challenge of living up to our own expectations of Forum and the support and engagement from riders and shop owners is daily inspiration that drives us and we take it with a great sense of responsibility.
How will the brand be distributed in Europe?
A: Since 2023/24, Blue Tomato has been the exclusive retailer of Forum in Europe. They’ve been great partners and critical to our reintroduction in Europe. With 2026/2027, we are adding BB Agentur as an additional distributor allowing Forum to scale broadly to more countries and shops across the region.
OVERALL MARKET
From changing consumer behavior to tariffs and supply chain stress, what’s been the biggest challenge for your brand recently?
A: Our biggest challenge is scaling to meet demand and achieving our own expectations as an independent, owner-operated brand.
What is your brand’s core mission or philosophy, and how does it influence snowboard design and development?
A: Forum has always represented the collective energy that drives progression – on and off snow. We seek to bring together a community of likeminded souls who support one another to push what is possible and contribute to the fun & future of snowboarding.
How has your brand’s role in the snowboard market evolved in recent years?
A: We push ourselves every day to have foresight on where snowboarding is going and to design products for future riders and what they will need to progress the sport.
Who is your target rider for the 26/27 season, and how has this profile changed compared to the past?
A: Forum has always been about freestyle progression whether in the backcountry, in the park or the streets. Our target riders are those, at any skill level, who see their board as the path to creativity, progression and inspiration.
Which product ranges or categories do you expect to drive the most growth in 26/27?
A: The Youngblood board series and our new Park Series jackets hit a sweet spot of technical function and price accessibility to welcome new generations of Forum riders.
What trends or developments in construction, shapes, and innovation are guiding your 26/27 snowboard range?
A: We worked with snowboard engineer and friend, Sean Tedore (former Ride and Capita) to scale our Power CRV sidecut and Phocus Camber to the all-new Destroyer.
How are you incorporating sustainability and ethical production into your boards (materials, processes, lifecycle, packaging)?
A: Our manufacturing processes are fully certified and comply with all guidelines to preserve & improve our globe’s health.
What design directions are you taking — graphics, patterns, collabs, or signature editions?
A: We are proud to work with and celebrate real human artists for our original graphics, including James Martin aka Cartoon Studio Deluxe, Kristian Killi Bakken aka Spread the Venom and Disey Eight. Our latest version of the Forum Legend Series will feature Devun Walsh, one of the original Forum 8 team and a godfather of big mountain freestyle with some of the gnarliest, cleanest and most stylish backcountry clips in the history of the game. The Walsh Legend series 153 & 157 are reissues of his first Forum pro models from 1998, restored and enhanced for future generations.
Are you focusing on particular rider groups (freeride, freestyle, all-mountain, women’s-specific, youth, beginner) for 26/27?
A: Forum has always been about all riders and the new participants to the sport. Our products are geared toward freestyle yet made to take on all conditions. We tend to stay away from overspecialized boards and instead focus on board designs that will take on any situation the mountain has to offer. Our boards come in varying sizes and widths for every size and riding style.
Key Products:
Destroyer:
The Destroyer is Forum’s benchmark for freestyle progression. The punchy, true-twin shape offers a stable platform for slaying street rails, stomping tricks in the park and ruling monster transitions. For 26/27, we’ve added a new camber profile, multi-radius sidecut and 156W to the series.
DESTROYER
Recon:
This Forum favorite freeride/freestyle board is engineered to be that perfect ATV board that can do it all in any condition. The Recon feels just as stable cutting through frozen chop as it does gliding through open powder glades and bombing rollers and side hits. For 26/27, we’ve added 151 and 154 to the series. .
Recon
Walsh:
Devun Walsh, snowboarding legend and one of the original forum 8 team is known as the godfather of big mountain freestyle with some of the gnarliest, cleanest and most stylish backcountry clips in the history of the game. The Walsh legend series 153 & 157 are a reissue of his first forum pro models from 1998, restored and enhanced for future generations.
DW
Brand Previews
