Seba High Light 310 2022 - White Inline Skates

A bit of history first: back when Seba High skates first hit the market almost 20 years ago, they were nothing but revolution. It was literally the very first skate built for freestyle slalom from the ground up. These were early days, though, so High were built like tanks and durable enough to use them for urban skating, too.

Years have passed and technology made huge leaps – slalom has became a domain of sleek, light and responsive carbon based skates and it seemed that High are to be retired. This didn’t happen, though, as Seba decided to evolve the product further. It is how High Light came to be – lightweight, slim, coming with integrated padding instead of traditional liner, these skates have become basically the only example of well designed “missing link” between hardboot freeskates and hgh-spec carbon ones.

The competition has certainly tried, but their attempts at creating something similar have failed. This doesn’t mean that High Light were dominating the market – they were in a rather weird spot price-wise and it was obvious that the brand doesn’t really have a good idea what to make of those. The 80 mm models came with just one size of the (flat setup) frame in recent years, making them way less appealing to fans of slalom. Meanwhile, the freeskating has started to gravitate towards bigger wheels and new types of setups – Seba’s response was High Light 310, but they were a tad disappointing. Super short frames were a rather questionable choice for urban triskates and their quality was also leaving a lot to be desired.

Fast forward to 2022 and two new, refreshed models of Seba High Light hit the market – black and white. It can be said that we are looking at “soft reboot” of sorts, seeing that they bring many changes to proven boot design and raise the bar in terms of visual design.

The boot looks strikingly better than old models. No matter which one of the two versions you choose, it is simply a nice looking skate. The whole outer skin has been redesigned. In addition, toe protection rubber and side slider have been removed and replaced by a single strip of durable material, similar to one used in Seba CJ aggressive skates. The skate no longer have additional velcro strap in toe area – it seems that Seba have decided that there’s no point in keeping this slalom oriented feature considering that new High Light are geared more towards urban skating. New version of skates look nothing like their predecessors and only two areas give away their pedigree: the cuff and exposed shell in heel area.

There’s no revolution when it comes to padding, but you do not change the winning formula – it is still a comfortable and responsive skate with anatomically shaped foams. Two good quality buckles and strong laces keep your foot locked inside, ensuring a high degree of support and control. Just like in earlier models, there’s an option to change the cuff’s position, allowing you to get better ankle support or tilt it to one side, helping to mitigate problems with pronation or supination.

The frame is entirely new. It measures 244 mm and is of visibly better quality than in earlier versions of the skates. Furthermore, this is a reasonable length of wheelbase for triskating urban setup, offering decent amount of stability and high degree of maneuverability. It is also more in line with what competition offers in their own urban 3x110 setups. A good pick for freeskaters who like speed.

It is worth to add here that High Light are still one of the best boots out there when it comes to frame mounting versatility. They come with aluminum power plates equipped with 7 threaded holes each. They not only amplify energy transfer, but gives you compatibility with basically all 165 mm mounting frames out there. You do not need to wonder how the frame will fit underneath the boot if you’ll ever decide to get a different one.

Skates come with one of two wheel sizes depending on the boot sizes. Thus, EU 35-39 sizing range gets 100 mm ones and bigger boots get 110 mm wheels. This solution makes skates a bit easier to handle for users with smaller feet. As the skates still come with the same frame, so there’s an option for upgrade to 110 mm wheels later on.

Seba High Light may no longer be the absolute high end of freeskates, but new 310 have plenty to give and their existence is fully justified. Seba took what has started to look a bit like a living fossil and reworked it into a much better skate. If you are currently skating hardboots and want something slimmer, lighter and more responsive without dropping premium price on a pair of carbon based skates, these will do nicely.

Seba High Light 310 2022 look great and are durable, comfortable and fast freeskates. Perfect fit for exploring urban environment!