I'm mostly a fly fisherman so I always bring my 4 piece Loomis 9ft, 5wt. I use a floating and intermediate line and that covers just about everything. I have never felt much, if any difference from this rod and my 2 piece fly rods. I usually fish from my ultralight raft so I have no problems with brush and backcasts or getting to most areas of a lake. I would like to get the Cabelas 7 piece Stowaway rod, which breaks down small enough to fit inside of my pack. I had a little Wright & McGill 7.5 ft Trailmaster spin/fly combo graphite rod, which I used for two seasons before my dog broke it. This was the model with the reversable handle. Contrary to all reviews I had heard, it was a great little rod, although a little short for my tastes. At $39.99 you wouldn't have a heart attack if it broke.

Telescoping rods: some of my aquaintences use those cheapo telescoping spinning rods for high lakes fishing. I always thought it was a silly idea because the rods are cheap, too short, and break easily. I couldn't imagine them having any decent action.
But then I did a kayaking trip on the Colorado River below Hoover Dam this summer, and when I found out these guys fished, I bought one of these cheap rod & reel combos (Shakespear, I think) at a Wal-Mart in Las Vegas. Since I'm not a purist fly fisherman I have no problems fishing with gear. The darn thing cast extremely well and I caught a ton of stripers on this rig, some fish up to 20" and 3 or 4 lbs. The rod did very well. I have since taken it on my high lakes fishing trips and it's really handy to have. I often find myself bushwhacking to small, brushy potholes while on my hike to my real destination lake, and it's very handy to have this little rig already setup with lure ready to go, stuck in the mesh pocket on my pack. If all I want to do it try a few casts and see if there are any fish in the lake I don't have to take my pack off, dig in my pack to retrieve my fly rod, set it up, and possibly set up my raft. It's cheaply made and I'm sure it will break before too long, but I like it.

Cliff
Seattle