Anta “Go Crazy 5 Sweep 3” Performance Review

I must admit, I was super surprised when these shoes arrived.

Not because I wasn’t expecting a pair of Antas — Anta had emailed me to let me know some product and release information, and I’m continually grateful to them for sending me product and involving me in what they’re doing.

No, it was because I was expecting the Anta “Shock Wave 3/Shock The Game 5” (I know, these names are doing tons). That is this sneaker:

But instead, I got this sneaker:

I was excited and appreciative nonetheless, and set out to find out exactly what this sneaker was, and to subsequently test out the performance of the “Go Crazy 5 Sweep 3” (hereafter referred to as the “Sweep 3”).

So, I guess, without any further ado, let’s get into it!

Traction:

The traction pattern on the Sweep 3 is a bladed pattern, which is almost a sort of wave-bone, partnered with a small radial pivot point at the medial forefoot and some flex-grooves at the lateral forefoot. The pattern does look like it offers beastly performance, and the outsole rubber is pretty tacky and decently firm — but not super firm or durable feeling, like a lot of Anta (and Li-Ning, Peak and other Chinese brands) outsoles are, what with shoes from those brands aimed primarily at use outdoors.

Admittedly, the traction was slightly inconsistent outdoors, between different outdoor surface (testing for this sneaker was done entirely outdoors). On those surfaces that are blacktop/asphalt, the Sweep 3s do tend to slide a bit, whereas on the smoother surfaces that are more like concrete or an outdoor tennis-court-like playing surface (think a purpose-built outdoor court), the Sweep 3s stick like glue. They do tend to grip my hardwood floors pretty well too, and make a nice little squeak.

This traction experience is a lot like the one I got from the Anta GH1, so I’m not surprised. If the Sweep 3s are anything like the GH1s, they will work excellently indoors. I’d say that overall, the traction is good or above-average.

Cushion:

This “A-Flashedge” foam cushion is absolutely no joke.

Not only is it already my favourite Anta midsole cushion, this stuff might be some of the best foam cushion on the market.

Better than Lightstrike from Adidas, better than Lightfoam from Li-Ning, and I prefer it to A-Flashfoam that was used in the KT4 and GH1.

This stuff is just excellent. It’s so plush and springy, really bouncy, gives you a terrific feeling of propulsion when you push off, gives great impact protection — I’m never sore no matter how long I wear these for or how hard I play.

This may just be my favourite foam cushion out of the Lightstrike in the Dame 6, the Lightfoam in the Sonic VIII Team, the A-Flashfoam in the KT4 or the Lunarlon on the Kobe Mentality. In all honesty, it’s probably better than all of those.

The Anta Sweep 3 cushion is terrific and, in my opinion, probably the standout feature of the sneaker overall.

Fit:

Another reason the Sweep 3 is perhaps on of my favourite Anta sneakers is due to the fit.

I’m a wide-footer, and Anta sneakers tend to run narrow. My true size is a 11 US men’s, so usually with sneakers that run narrow, I’ll go up to an 11.5. Unfortunately, much to the chagrin of many a commenter on Instagram, Anta don’t offer any sizes above 11 US at retail, so 11.5 is not an option.

I can get away with 11 in Anta, it’s just sometimes a bit of a painful break-in, and a very snug fit.

However, the Sweep 3 is the first Anta sneaker I’ve been sent that’s not a one-piece upper construction or a partial-bootie or 3/4s tongue. The Sweep 3 has a more traditional, fairly independent tongue with a traditional lacing system — allowing you to loosen off the laces quite a bit, and customise the fit just a little bit. Because of this, I feel like I’m able to get the best fit from the Sweep 3s that I’ve had from any Anta sneaker so far. They are still slightly narrow at the forefoot/toebox, but that’s far more workable than being strangled at the mid-foot.

Because of all this, I would say the Sweep 3s are TTS and have offered me the best fit of all Anta sneakers I’ve worn.

Support:

The Anta Sweep 3 has all the support features you’ve come to expect from a contemporary performance basketball sneaker.

It starts with a fairly wide forefoot base, with a lateral outrigger. This is paired with fuse overlays at the forefoot for added containment. You don’t sit too far within the midsole foam at the forefoot, but you do at the rear of the shoe, giving great heel containment.

There’s also a beefy mid-foot TPU torsional system, along with an external TPU heel counter paired with a decent internal heel counter as well. The lacing system is fairly traditional, but does it’s job at drawing the foot back into the heel of the shoe, so as to be locked in by those heel counters, along with the midsole foam cushion that cups the foot up at the back.

The mid-foot strap is purely an aesthetic piece, in my experience I found it made no significant impact on the lockdown on this sneaker, and I could take it or leave it to be honest.

Materials:

The materials on the Sweep 3 are mostly just textile mesh with a few TPU or synthetic overlays. Pretty standard sort of materials for a modern performance basketball sneaker.

They do the job just fine, are fairly decent to the touch, and feel good quality. I can’t complain about the materials at all, despite there being nothing premium here on this sneaker.

The patch on the tongue does feel very nice, and I’ll admit the materials used at the collar area and on the inside of the heel are very plush and, again, feel very nice to the touch. I feel like Anta did a great job here with the sort of materials they had to work with.

I would absolutely recommend this sneaker for someone that’s looking to get a lot of bang for their buck. For a team shoe/budget model, this sneaker does a lot of things tremendously well.

As I mentioned, I wasn’t expecting to receive this shoe, but I was pleasantly surprised by them, and once again, Anta made a terrific performance basketball sneaker.

If you like the look of them, are a fan of Anta shoes already, or want to give something different a try, go ahead and grab a pair of these. You won’t be disappointed!

Thanks for reading!

~ Dan aka Hoops Sneakers.

Price:

The Anta Sweep 3 originally retailed for ￥499 (AU$104), but are currently available for ￥399 (AU$83) on the Anta website

Weight:

The Anta Sweep 3 in a men’s size US 11 weighs 453 grams (16 ounces)

Score:

I give the Anta Sweep 3 a score of 4.8/5 (these are just as good as the KT6s, at least for me personally)