First of all, this is a compromise rod. When using a rod this size, you do give up a some casting distance and control over your lure. I was able to get about 80% of my casting distance after a little practice, if I was using a heavy enough lure. This thing does not do well with lures that are too light, which is to be expected. I did not catch anything on my one outing, but the sensitivity seemed quite good on the nibbles that I got.My one mark of criticism involves the included reel. It has a bit of a sticky spot on the retrieve, and is larger than I expected. However, given that this combo is not much more than the list price of the rod itself, and that shipping was free, the reel can be considered almost free, so I am not going to take off any start. I will likely get a "micro" reel for this rod, and put the included reel on one of my kid's poles.Simply stated, this rod is for people who want to have a pole with them everywhere they go. In that sense, this rod is awesome. I have tried the break-apart rods that use six short pieces, but those are a pain in the posterior to pack and unpack all the time. This thing comes together and break apart in seconds. If you are looking for something that will disappear in your backpack, then get one.One more note. If I were going to purchase again, I might seriously consider the Emmrod Pack-Rod Spin version. I am more a fan of spinning reels, but decided to get the spin-cast version because the reels are smaller, and don't have the fragile bail that can get bent in a backpack. If I could find a way to store a tiny spinning reel safely, I think that the Pack-Rod would be more comfortable.