I bought this rod as a combo 6 or so years ago. I have caught a ton of trout in streams, rivers and even on the lake with it. It is not my primary rod when fishing a lake, but I do use it as a backup. Also caught smallmouth and bluegill out of ponds and local private areas. I sometimes keep it in my vehicle and it works great for that.

It fits perfectly in the backpack with a small tackle set, and that is what I got it for. Have caught lots of trout on this rod, up to 4lbs no problems. It finally broke off the tip when I lent it to my brother, but his 4 year old is pretty hard on things and he didn't break it fishing, just around camp somehow. Still works, but without the end segment it is even stiffer than before(see my Cons below). I feel I have gotten my money's worth 2 or 3 times over.

There are two cons I find to this rod:

1: It is not as flexible as standard rods. Don't expect it to bend like a 4' Ugly stick. It simply won't. That's not to say it is not flexible enough, it is, but it's not the same. Once you are used to it there is no problem.

2: If you pull the extensions out too tight, they are a real pain to get it collapsed again. Just don't pull it out more than needed to keep the rod from sliding back and you are good to go.

Because of these two things I give it 4 stars, but it's not that I feel it is a bad product, I just reserve 5 stars for truly flawless gear.

Pretty much you either use this as the cheap option, or bring a rod protector for your nicer setup when hiking.

It was kind of flimsy when I got it. Action is a little too light. ONe good smallmouth and its gonna give out i believe. But I do like that it collapses like it does. Been looking for one of these since summer. Had a similar Shakespeare collapsable for years and it finally gave out on me this past summer. There are some Big smallmouth in ShoalS Creek.

This is a very good rod for the money. Very light and can work with a spinning reel as well as a spin cast. Item arrived very quickly and was as expected. Will use this rod for backpacking trips, or in my case, motorcycle touring with a spincast reel.

I ordered this rod for my husband. He keeps it in his golf bag so that he can fish on the course ponds. This rod is perfectly sized so that it is easy to transport, but functional enough to fish small ponds.

The 4'6" model works real well for kids. Too small for adults. Well made product, stores real easy for travel. Only 1' long when fully broke down. Bought one of these a couple years ago and like it so I ordered a few more online.