I bought a telespocing rod and reel a couple of years ago, and the
reel ended up being cheap but the I love the rod. It is my favorite
rod to use. It is real handy when I'm in the kayak because you can
pull it in and brin gthe fish in closer instead of trying to deal with
a long 6 ft pole. I would imagine the telescoping rods are as
different as normal rods are, and I wish I could tell the type I
have. But when it is pulled out and fishing with it, it isn't that
much different compared to other rods that are similar in size and
type.

You can look around but I think you will really like it when you are
in the kayak.