I am using these with Best Home Fashion Thermal Insulated Blackout Curtains - Back Tab/ Rod Pocket - Black - 52"W x 84"L - (Set of 2 Panels) the length of the rod is 74" and I do not use the center anchor point support. It works well with my existing curtain rod. It keeps the curtain flush on both sides, but not so much at the top. I wish it could get it a bit more flush with the wall, but that is being nit-picky.

Very happy with this curtain rod! The selling point for me was the "room-darkening" feature which means the curtain rod allows curtains to bend around and meet the wall. This design feature has an added bonus of helping keep your curtains out of the way when you want them open, since they end up resting flat against the wall rather than hovering to the sides where expansion can push them back in front of the window.

Minus 1 star for build quality. The curtain rod is composed of 2 rods--one slightly larger than the other to function as a sleeve--that can be collapsed or telescoped to meet the needs of the application. The interior of the larger rod is COATED in what appears to be rust, so every time I telescoped the assembly I had to wipe the smaller rod clean while making sure I didn't accidentally get the rust on my clothes. In addition, the rods fit loosely together--very wide tolerances for the inner rod's diameter compared to the outer rod's. It is easy for the rod to sag in the middle. To combat this, I mounted the rod's mounting plates with a slight outward lean to ensure all the play in the rods was directed upward and the weight of the curtains would pull the rod straight. This gives the added bonus of a very secure mount; the rod is not easily removed from the mounting places.

Lastly, I had a problem, though more a problem with my window than the curtain rod. My windows were designed such that their blinds had to be mounted on the window frame rather than inside the window box. This meant that my curtains had to extend 3-4 inches further from the wall than this curtain rod allowed in order to reach around the blinds. Since no-one makes curtain rod standoffs, I had to make my own using a 1"x3"x3' board and 2 cubes cut from a 3"x3" board. It turned into quite a project including staining the wood, but it's finally up and it looks great! Or at least as great as black curtains on a black wall can look LOL. I would have preferred a version of this rod with a longer reach, but my handmade standoffs got the job done.

It's a pretty good rod with a low profile. The only drawback for me is that you have to remove it entirely (one side or the other) to hang new curtains.

I got this to hang some blackout curtains in my bedroom. I choose this curtain rod because of other reviews saying it didn't bend/bow under the weight of heavy curtains. I can confirm this! It's thinner than I expected, but sturdy. Doesn't bend or move at all, so I'm pleased! The rod looks nice as well. It's subtle, and it's hardly visible once mounted with curtains on it. The way it wraps around to the wall is excellent for blocking light from the all sides..

I would recommend purchasing different anchors. The rod comes with plastic wall anchors. These DO NOT work well. I found EZ-anchors at Home Depot and those worked very well.

To mount, I measured spots a few inches up and to the sides of the window, marked spots for the anchors, and then screwed everything in. The rod comes with a middle support piece, but I didn't use it or need it.

The product is very good and looks very nice, but I had a lot of throuble getting the correct parts. The first one had incorrect hardware and the replacement had the incorrect size of curtain rod. I definitely recommend this product but their shipping could use some work.