Kistler Helium II LTX 7'6" Telescopic -- ??

[curls]

I picked one of these up today for a great deal (compared to retail price). It's a 2009 model, never used, with the REC Recoil guides.
Is this a good rod in the 7'6" range? Caveat: Must be telescopic or shorten to 7'3" or less (like the Verdict does) as I can't fit anything longer than 7'3" in my rod rack or car.

At the price I paid for it, it seems really nice and I've heard good things about the Helium II LTX line of rods, specifically those with the recoil guides. However, my usually-trusted place for reviews -- Tackletour forums, obviously had a major hiccup and most of the recent stuff was lost.

So... thoughts on the rod? Kistler Helium II LTX, 7'6" Heavy Fast telescopic. I usually pitch 3/4oz jigs into anything from open water to nasty heavy weed or timber.

[njbasscat]

I don't have that rod but I have a 2008 Kistler LTX 7' medium heavy. It is very sensative and pretty light and I love it for texas rigged plastics. The 2009 LTXs' with the recoil guides retailed for around $360.00 to $390.00 give or take and was Kistlers flagship rod before the Zbone. The handle material is very different from any other rod. I think it adds to the sensativity but takes some getting used to. Tackle Tour did a review on the LTX so you should check that out.

[curls]

Thanks man. I checked out the TT review but it was the rod with the non-recoil guides... not sure if it makes a big difference in weight or sensitivity but the review was overall positive (the only drawback being price, and that was definitely not the case with mine - $150 CAD + tax, brand new!).

I noticed that the store had another identical rod but with the non-Recoil guides, and, it had black winding checks on the butt and Fuji reel lock, vs silver ones on my rod. Model and year were supposedly the same, but the guides were very different. I think the Recoil guides were a better purchase (and the store owner suggested this was the case as well)... but why the difference on an otherwise-identical rod? Makes no sense!

Lastly... the 7'6" rod is not 7'6" even when fully extended. It's 7' 4.75" from butt to tip. Weird! I guess the other 1.25" is part of the telescopic feature and not the overall length.