In my opinion the motion of the hookset is the most important thing. I know that's a pretty cliche answer, but hear me out. It doesn't matter how long or what power your rod is, the hook won't set if you're not setting the hook the proper way for that technique. For example, you could have a great rod for fishing crankbaits, but it won't make a difference if you're just swinging for the fences everytime you get a bait. The same goes for flipping. A great flipping stick won't make a difference if you're just doing the light side arm swoop and reel like a crankbait. Once you have that down I think it's a combination of length, line, power, and taper. The length and action both affect the speed of the hoookset. A longer rod takes up more line than a shorter one. A fast or extra fast action rod will also set the hook a little quicker than a moderate action rod would, because they get down to the power of the rod quicker. You're line makes a big difference. If you had to of the same rods (one with braid and the other with mono or fluoro) and you delivered the same hookset with each, I can just about gaurantee the braid would set the hook faster because of the lack of stretch. Power also makes a big difference because the more backbone a rod has, the more energy that you can transfer to the end of you're line. That's what I think makes up a hookset.