I picked up the 6'9" ultralight panfish elite today. Compared to my TSS rod, the reel seat is about 2 inches closer to the butt of the rod. This is frustrating because I like 6'6" rods, and this makes the portion of the rod forward of the reel seat 5" instead of the 3" I'd expected. I'm going to return it in favor of the 6' ul rod. It has a fast tip and a lot of backbone. The balance point of the rod with a 500 series reel is about 3" in front of the reel seat. I prefer a rod balance at the reel seat.
Love the part about it being a 1 piece rod though.