I haven't tried the Ultimate, but I used an 8 ft The Difference this spring and loved it. In fact, I'm going to get a couple of more of em. The sensitivity is great, I could see every bump and nibble. The quality and durability is there with the sensitivity (I pulled in several good sized cats on it, and more drum than I care to remember). I would imagine I would feel the same about the Ultimate, or any other BnM. I know my dad used them for years.