ANTA GUANJUN SAKER 3RC REVIEW, BY MAYAYO: COMPETITION TRAIL RUNNING SHOES. The Hong Kong 100 is to showcase this week the global lauch of this premium trail running shoe, with carbon plate for protection and stabilization.

The Anta Saker 3 weights just 266 grams, and provides a solid grip with its Vibram Megagrip sole plus enchanced stability brought together by its A frame and its carbon plate. Let us check all details with Mayayo, live from Hong Kong.

ANTA GUANJUN SAKER 3RC.

Carbon-plated trail shoes, from Hong Kong, by Mayayo.

Anta Sports acquired Amer Sports in 2019. As Salomon is one of the key brands within the Amer Sports portfolio, alongside Wilson, Arc’teryx, Atomic and others, Anta has since become the indirect owner of Salomon, while simultaneously developing its own trail running shoe line under the ANTA GUANJUN name.

In 2026, ANTA GUANJUN will be the official main sponsor of the Hong Kong 100 (HK100), one of Asia’s most prestigious trail races and the opening event of the World Trail Majors circuit. The Saker 3RC will be unveiled in Hong Kong in January 2026 as the race’s flagship shoe, which explains the “HK100” logo printed on the lateral side of the midsole near the heel.

The Hong Kong course includes 30k, 50k and 100k races and is notorious for its extensive concrete paving, hard surfaces and endless staircases. In this context, the balance between rebound and cushioning has a direct impact on performance. That is why this shoe is clearly aimed at medium and long distances, with a versatile use that ranges from fast, runnable tracks to delicate technical sections.

Our attendance next week at the HK100 has given us the opportunity, thanks to Koichi from Dogsorcaravan, to present this first analysis of the Saker 3RC, the latest trail running shoe from ANTA GUANJUN’s premium line. In fact, I hope to test them on Hong Kong soil itself and then bring them back south of the Pyrenees to share what is happening at the cutting edge of trail running in Asia, a region that has already sent us powerful newcomers such as Kailas or Mount to Coast. For now, here is a first look at their technical DNA.

ANTA GUANJUN: High-end trail running, from China.

“GUANJUN” means “champion” in Chinese. That alone explains the ambition behind this family of products, built around cutting-edge technology and competition-focused intent. It draws on ANTA’s long experience supplying technology to the Chinese Olympic team, as well as its role as owner of brands such as Salomon, among many others.

The ANTA GUANJUN SAKER line works as a technological showcase for ANTA in trail running: a competition-aspirational product, built with premium materials (Vibram, plates, supercritical foams) and a clear performance-driven narrative, closer to the idea of a “racer” than a “mass-market” shoe. That intention is already evident in the positioning of previous models. The Saker 2 is sold as a versatile training-and-racing option, with a NITROSPEED + EVA midsole, anti-torsion element and A-STICKY outsole, declaring 31.5/25.5 mm stack and a 6 mm drop. Price-wise, the ladder is explicit: Saker 2 at 169 USD, Saker 2 Elite at 199 USD with a shift to Vibram Megagrip Litebase and a Y-shaped carbon plate with 4 mm drop (30.5/26.5 mm), and the AG-SAKER at 229 USD, positioned as the top-tier model with Vibram Megagrip Litebase and a Y-shaped carbon plate.

Within this context, the Saker 3 RC arrives as the most aggressive version in terms of weight, with a declared 266 g in the reference test size, and an architecture that could be described as a “super shoe adapted to trail”: dual supercritical foams, a stabilizing frame and a carbon plate designed more for control and stability than for pure catapult effect, combined with Vibram Megagrip and Traction Lug.

ANTA GUANJUN SAKER 3RC: Technical overview.

GUANJUN was not looking to make “just another shoe” here, but to plant its flag firmly in the fast-trail and long, runnable race segment, where energy return and muscular fatigue matter just as much as lug depth.

• Price (EUR): To be announced.
• Weight: 266 g (measured in stated test size).
• Outsole rubber: Vibram Megagrip Litebase with Traction Lug. Top-tier Italian compound.
• Stack height: 31,5 – 37,5. A fair number, not radical in these days
• Drop 6mm: A low – medium number, the better for the more technical runners.
• Lug depth: Approximately 3–4 mm depending on location.
• Stability and support: Carbon anti-torsion plate (T700 aerospace-grade) plus a peripheral POE frame to contain the midsole and stabilize the platform.
• Upper: Very thin mesh with a good sense of lockdown and a visible “A-line” support structure as both functional and fitting element.
• Key technical detail: Dual-structure midsole with supercritical foam, combining a firmer POE stabilizing chassis as a containment frame with a softer TPF core for responsiveness and comfort, plus a carbon plate in the midfoot area focused on control.

ANTA GUANJUN SAKER 3RC: Key highlights.

REACTIVITY.

The biggest technical leap, in my view, lies in the forefoot feel: an unusually pronounced rebound sensation for a trail shoe, with a very clear energy return when loading the front of the foot. The technical explanation comes from that highly reactive supercritical foam core, the T700 carbon anti-torsion plate, and the surrounding POE frame that prevents the whole setup from becoming unruly once the terrain stops being a perfect dirt road.

MEDIUM AND LONG-DISTANCE PROTECTION.

Secondly, this shoe is not just about speed, but also about saving your legs. A logical consequence of the thick foam for absorption combined with a plate that provides mechanical support during toe-off, something especially valuable when alternating hard rock, tracks and repetitive impact sections where, in many trail shoes, the forefoot is heavily armored at the cost of killing responsiveness.

GUARANTEED GRIP.

The outsole delivers a very specific message: Vibram Megagrip with Litebase to shave weight, refined with Traction Lug and lugs in the 3–4 mm range. This is obviously not a deep-mud excavator, but a shoe designed to perform on hard and compact surfaces and runnable sections where stride continuity matters and a heavy outsole taxes you kilometre after kilometre.

FIT AND ERGONOMICS.

The goal has been to combine a very thin upper construction for breathability with solid midfoot lockdown and heel counter, plus toe and heel reinforcements for durability. For a veteran runner, this is pure gold, because the best rubber compound in the world will not save a technical downhill if your foot is dancing inside the shoe.

ANTA GUANJUN SAKER 3RC: Conclusion.

I see the ANTA GUANJUN Saker 3 RC as a performance tool for truly fast trail running: races that mix firm surfaces, tracks, hard rock, endless stairs and sections where you can hold pace without zigzagging between roots. Its concept, with pronounced rebound, stabilized chassis, plate and premium outsole, fits that scenario far better than deep mud and grassy slopes where long lugs rule.

For a veteran mountain runner, it makes particular sense when the goal is not just to “survive” the technical parts, but to reach the second half of the race with usable legs. That promise of reduced muscular damage and sustained running economy becomes strategic in runnable ultras or mountain marathons with lots of hard terrain, where wear doesn’t warn you, it executes you. And in that film, the declared 266 g, considering how much technology is packed in, is a serious argument.

Who is it not for?

For runners who prioritise ground feel and forefoot flexibility above all else, or for those who live in mud and wet grass: 3–4 mm lugs and a runnable-shoe philosophy are not the most logical recipe if your winter is a vertical sponge.

On the other hand, if your calendar, or your dreams, include races such as Hong Kong 100, Transgrancanaria, Penyagolosa, Transvulcania, 101 Ronda, Gran Trail Peñalara or similar events, with long runnable sections or mixed “asphalt + track + fast trail” courses where you want flying sensations without sacrificing ankle stability, the Saker 3 RC strikes me as the kind of product that starts out as an exotic curiosity and ends up normalising an idea: that a trail super shoe can make sense too… as long as it comes with a commanding chassis and an outsole that does not negotiate.