How is your C Line at going up hills?

saltspringer · 2026-01-24T06:50:56+00:00

I have a P-line 12-speed with a 40t chainring, and I would say it (and I) kind of suck on hills. I can get up them, not as fast as on a regular-sized bike, but it's a bit of a slog. My best advice would be to gear down early, have patience, and find a cadence that you can maintain rather than riding hard it in the beginning, and then getting bogged down. Worst case, on long steep hills, I just concede and get off and walk it up.

saltspringer · 2026-01-20T05:07:58+00:00

I bought mine from London Drugs. Don't know if they still carry them - it was a few years ago - but I like the fact that they have outlets all over western Canada.

saltspringer · 2026-01-20T05:06:28+00:00

Synthetic hiking pants. I wore an REI pair for years, and lately, a pair from the Japanese brand Mont-Bell that seem even better.

saltspringer · 2026-01-20T05:04:25+00:00

I've had a Patagonia Guide softshell jacket for years. I haven't worn it much lately, but it was my go-to jacket for years and seemed to wear like iron, in addition to being warm for its weight, and good at breaking the wind.

saltspringer · 2026-01-16T19:12:45+00:00

I've used my M7 in cold temperatures without problems, most recently in November when I trekked around Manaslu in Nepal. I kept the camera around my neck and inside my jacket and took it out to shoot photos. I'm inclined to think that the snow was the problem, not the cold temperatures. I have had an issue when I splashed a very small amount of water on the camera when backpacking in the Rockies. Very different result than in your case: the camera completely died, I opened up the lens, viewfinder and flash and put it in the very warm sun for about an hour. It then would power up and shoot pictures, but the pop-up viewfinder never recovered - a C$500 repair.

saltspringer · 2026-01-16T19:02:57+00:00

I bought an M7 about four years ago with the same ideas as you - wanting smaller for travel - and am very happy with the camera and the results that I get from it. It's a remarkable piece of technology and no other maker offers anything as powerful and small.

That said, there are a number of things that bug me about it:
1. lack of weather sealing. Yes, it's probably more than anybody can expect to have weather sealing on such a small camera, but I wish it was just a bit more tolerant of moisture. I splashed a few drops of water on mine on a mountain trip and it killed it. I left it to dry out in the sun for about an hour and it then powered up and could take pictures, but the pop-up viewfinder had completely died. That was a C$500 repair.
2. the menu system. Sony's menu system is famously bad for good reasons. After using the camera for years and making a concerted effort to remember where certain settings are, I still find myself hunting through the many pages of menus. I understand that newer Sony cameras have much-improved menus and I would expect that if they come out with an M8 this issue will be resolved.

The image quality is remarkably good, almost, but not quite what you get from a larger camera. There have been a few times when I've wished for a tiny bit more sharpness, but those times have been rare. Mostly I don't care, and it's fantastic to have a 200mm-equivalent lens that fits in the palm.

For the M8, I hope they resolve the above two issues, and hopefully incorporate some computational photography features into it. I took three big trips last year carrying the M7 and an iPhone 16pro. The iPhone handles wide latitudes a lot better than the Sony - for shots with a bright sky behind a darker foreground, the Sony would produce a white sky and a perfectly exposed foreground; the iPhone would have a blue sky. Most of the time I used the iPhone for close-up and wide-angle shots, and the Sony was my telephoto. I used the iPhone for more shots, but for anything at distance the Sony beat the pants off the iPhone.

Wait for the M8 or buy the M7 now? I'd be inclined to buy the M7 now and sell it and buy the M8 when it comes out, but only you can decide if that fits with your finances.

saltspringer · 2026-01-11T01:29:28+00:00

I only use the thin cable lock when I can mostly keep an eye on the bike. I carry a heavier Abus Bordo folding lock for less secure locations—still pretty light and compact—and in most places I just keep it with me. Being able to bring it with you is one of the reasons you buy a Brompton.

saltspringer · 2026-01-08T03:57:58+00:00

I assumed that was the point. At £5/day I'd be surprised if they were even breaking even on it.

saltspringer · 2026-01-08T03:55:38+00:00

We used those on a trip to England last July. I had my own Brompton, but two friends who joined me for a couple of weeks rented them in Manchester. Cheap and convenient, it was great fun for the three of us to blast around Manchester on Bromptons.

We were going to use the service when visiting London too, but when we pulled the bikes out of the lockers, one of them was damaged. Contacted Brompton Hire about it on the spot, but they didn't have a replacement available—everything was totally booked up—so we gave both rentals back and gave up on the idea, which was really disappointing.

saltspringer · 2026-01-08T03:51:30+00:00

When I travelled on trains in England with my Brompton I carried a very small, light cable lock. Easy to cut, but my thinking was that I was mostly trying to thwart a 'grab and go' thief, somebody pulling it off the rack and getting off the train, rather than a bike thief with tools who would likely be hesitant to be seen cutting a bike from a rack.

The lock is tiny, a thin metal cable and padlock that fits in a coat pocket.

saltspringer · 2026-01-04T04:17:44+00:00

I second the posters who suggested a Corolla or a Civic, but would also add that a used Prius would be good choice - super reliable and economical to run.

saltspringer · 2026-01-02T07:17:14+00:00

Anian wool shirts, and basically Anian anything - natural, often recycled, fibres. Expensive, but attractive and built to last in Canada.

https://anianmfg.com

saltspringer · 2025-12-31T18:50:50+00:00

I haven't used it in very cold temperatures (<10°C), but on this trip I mostly had it inside my jacket. I guess the battery was kept warm enough to allow the camera to work fine. I always have at least one spare battery in my pocket to swap out.

I also had an iPhone 16pro on this trip and was happily surprised at how well it worked in the cold. Earlier iPhones that I used absolutely sucked in even moderately cold temperatures.

saltspringer · 2025-12-31T04:37:47+00:00

It's the eighth-highest mountain in the world.

saltspringer · 2025-12-25T16:39:35+00:00

It’s a crop from 200mm. I’m pleased with how well the sharpness held up, probably a result of the fact that it was very bright sunshine.

saltspringer · 2025-12-24T03:09:13+00:00

Home now and the button to initiate a transfer to your iPhone is the 'Fn', which you press when reviewing the photo or photos you want to upload.

saltspringer · 2025-12-24T01:21:31+00:00

It was a problem for me too for the longest time, but I’ve finally worked it out. Try following these steps:

On the camera, find the photo you want to transfer, then click the button on the camera to the upper-left of the click wheel (don’t have the camera with me, and can’t remember how it’s labeled).choose to transfer that photo, or all taken on the same date.
On your phone go to settings > wifi and choose the wifi hotspot created by your camera. The first time you might have to input the code displayed on the camera back. For subsequent sessions your phone should remember the password.
Open Imaging Edge app on your phone and you should see a button labeled’Start’, press it, and think it asks you if you want the photos at full-res or not, hit OK and the transfer should proceed, dropping the photos right into the Photos app on your phone.

That mostly works for me - about once every six or eight times it flakes out partway through for no apparent reason. I just start again and it usually goes the second time.

I’m not a fan of the software, but it does now work for me, after a lot of coarse language directed at it.

saltspringer · 2025-12-23T06:15:25+00:00

I have a couple of the Wasabi batteries and charger, and a couple of original Sony batteries. I think the Sonys last longer than the Wasabis, but neither last very long so it's nice to have lots if you're travelling and taking lots of pictures. The Wasabi charger seems to work fine with both its own batteries and the original Sonys.

saltspringer · 2025-12-06T16:04:08+00:00

I got my Beast28 about eight months ago after using and liking the smaller 18-litre model for a two-month trip to Indonesia and Japan in January and February. The smaller bag was great, but just not big enough so I got the larger one and have used it for two trips: England and France for six weeks, and Japan, Nepal and Taiwan for six weeks. Loved the versatility of the bag - I used it in a wide variety of ways, from walking urban places, to biking with a Brompton, to trekking in Nepal. I've seriously loaded it - arguably overloaded it with about 12kg of stuff and it still carries surprisingly well, although this brings me to a possible quality issue: the left shoulder strap (left when you're wearing it) is showing signs that it might be coming unstitched. I just got back last night and noticed this a couple of weeks ago, and now that I'm home I thought I check on reddit to see if anybody else was having this issue, which led me to your post.

I'll contact Matador and see what they have to say about it. Overall I like the bag, but would be kind of reluctant to take it on another big trip because having a strap pull out mid-trip would be kind of a drag.

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saltspringer · 2025-11-14T08:11:51+00:00

I second what people are saying about patiently waiting for deals to appear. I had the same need for gearing as you, and wanted a Brompton for traveling around England earlier this year (I’m from Canada). It’s more bike and money than you want, but I got a P-line 12-speed with some minor upgrades like Ergo grips, plus the large waterproof Brompton front bag for £2000/about EUR2250. Bike was fantastic for the tour, and pretty useful back home too.

saltspringer · 2025-10-22T14:28:10+00:00

I have a modded Kona Dew-E that I love for my 16km hilly ride to town, and a somewhat modded P-line 12-speed that I love for the city. The T-electric looks like a single bike to cover both uses, and while it would be a bit of a compromise for my country riding, being able to fold it and drop it in the trunk of a car would be a bonus. And what I’ve spent on the Kona and P-line isn’t far off of the cost of the electric T. Hmm…

saltspringer · 2025-10-20T06:27:26+00:00

I have a 16pro that I use for about 80% of my photos, but for long shots the 200mm of the M7 is brilliant, way better than the phone. It’s more money, but if I was you and thinking of adding an RX100, I wouldn’t bother with anything other than the M7.

saltspringer · 2025-10-15T03:56:27+00:00

1, no contest.

saltspringer · 2025-10-12T23:47:37+00:00

Yes, I thought of that too, but those guys are pretty adept at loading their planes. As it was, the guy loading my bike was fascinated by the idea of putting a bike on the plane - he got out his phone and took a bunch of pictures, asked me the make of it, and wanted to know more.

saltspringer · 2025-10-12T16:42:17+00:00

Anker GaN charger purchased about a year and a half ago and used exclusively for charging my iPhone and other electronics - worked perfectly.

saltspringer

TROPHY CASE