Hey all this is my first post so be gentle k? I'm a 24yr old living in Brisbane, Australia. Lived in Malaysia for 12 years and in Singapore for 11 years. I've been playing for about 15 years. Played for school when I was around 16 and am currenty playing in a social club just for fun. I've had a few rackets since I've started playing but my one true love was my Hart Maestro 9700. Dad passed it onto me one day and it stuck with me through it all for about 7 years. I guess that racket made me the kinda player that i am today. It was light (89grams) but gave me all the power I needed when strung with Ashaway microlegend 0.65 at 23 pounds. I became a very controlled player, smashing only when 100% sure that was the best option. One day, my brother used it and broke the racket in half. The news hit me like as if I had lost my right arm. :crying: Ever since that day i have been looking to find a racket to replace that one but alas I found out that the company that made Hart rackets closed down and most shops carrying these rackets have cleared out their stock. I also found out that the only place that MIGHT still have these rackets still floating around in the market is in Indonesia. I'll be leaving for Indonesia next month. Bandung to be precise. Unrelated to badminton. Was wondering if there is anyone out there that could help me with info on where i might find the Hart Maestro 9700? Worst case scenario, does anyone have any tips on what kinda racket might replace the Hart Maestro 9700? Please also recommend the kinda string and the tension amount. As mentioned above I am more of a control player rather than a power player. Prefer lighter rackets. Thanks heaps!
in terms of control and feeling..i'd say the nano-speed series from yonex... but those are freakishly expensive, and not very durable... but light, head-light-balanced, and have a good feeling.
hey im not sure what u mean by leaving for indonesia but if u're returning to singapore then u might like to check out that yonex shop at queensway shopping centre. it stocks racquets of many brands including hart. i think it might be possible to find a racquet with similar specs as the one u broke. good luck in your search
Whats the add of the shop? As in the unit number...or at least what floor of Queesway? Thanks mate...
think its chau beng on the 2nd storey if i remember correctly. but it may not stock such old models though. still, good luck
Hello all! I am back from my little crazy adventure in Indonesia (Bandung) and Singapore trying to replace my Hart Maestro 9700. Bear in mind, my current location is Brisbane, Australia. So, basically I went to Singapore hunting for the Maestro series. I would have so bought any of the maestro series had found ANY. Thats right people, not a single Maestro in Singapore (i would like to see someone prove me wrong). Checked Chau Beng in Queensway, Peninsula, Bras Basah, Tampines (coz I found the Maestro 9800 and 9300 in the badminton shop at Telepark in Tampines ages ago and obviously I bought em up) etc etc... So Singapore was out. Went to Bandung, and found heaps of cheap rackets, even found Hart but no Maestro series. There was only one option left. I bought a Taiwan made Yonex Nanospeed 8000, strung it with a set of BG85 and new grip. All for SGD$30. Insanely cheap huh? BG65 was like SGD$8. Bought a set of those as well. Armed with the Taiwan made Nanospeed, i went back to Singapore and showed my dad. He loved the feel of it and then he didnt believe me when I told him that the original Nanospeed would cost him around SGD$250. So, one day when we went for badminton at the sports hall, he stopped at the sports shop and asked how much the guy was selling the Nanospeed 8000. The guy, to his sock and delight said SGD$299. Bottom line, dad gave me the Maestro 9800 and now he's using the Taiwan made Yonex Nanospeed 8000. Both of us couldnt be happier!
Yea, thats what I'm thinking, dont want to rain on your parade hear though. See I went to thailand a while back, where rackets are on comparable price levels with indonesia, I think. Bought my NS8k for £65 from a yonex shop, which is like 140SGD? So to get it for 30SGD its pretty damn cheap.
Yeah, i KNOW its fake. Thats why I said its made in Taiwan. Yonex is made in Japan. But its pretty damn good for SGD$30. The weight is pretty much the same. Maybe slightly heavier. Not sure abt the durability but seems pretty solid. Stiff shaft. I dont think it has any nanotechnology integrated in the racket (because of the cost involved) but dad seems to love it.
does your dad know it's a fake ?. i don't think i would be that happy if i swapped a nice racket for a fake
Yeah he knows its fake. Its obviously fake coz I paid SGD$30 for in from Indonesia when it costs like SGD$250 in Singapore. Apart from the price, everythin else looks genuine. The letter 'O' in the word YONEX at the base of the shaft is thinner than it should be and also the serial number is not engraved when it should be. Other than that, no other obvious differences.
