Who makes a 50x36. This sounds like a great combo.

You can put a 36T on any compact crank. I had a 50/36 stock on my TCR a few years ago.

Go ride up 21st in North Van. That's a 9-10% hill about 1 mile long. If you can go up that hill comfortably with whatever you're currently running you should be fine on Cypress and Seymour which aren't any more than about 7% (just longer).

My next cassette is going to be a 11-23 with my 50/34 when it wears out. I'm just a penny pinching college student that doesn't want to spend unless I have to. The only time I use the 25 is when I'm not feeling good. I rarely even use the 23, but I figure I should be mashing and forcing myself to push bigger gears up hill. The largest hill around here is just under 1500ft with a steady 8-10% climb.

As for what you should get, that's really a personal decision. Do you ever use the 25 on your cassette? Will you miss it? If you will stick with the 12-25 or maybe even go to an 11-25? The 11-23 will have smaller jumps between cogs though which is nice.

While we're on the subject of compacts. One thing I dislike about mine is the jump from the big ring to the small ring. I'm thinking about also buying a 36 or 39 inner ring.

Sounds like a good set up to me. You have very close gears, which is what you want, with a smallest gear of a little less than 40 inches, which as far as I'm concerned, is a very small gear.

You're a young guy. socal. good climbs. When i lived there i wanted to be a good climber and that was my set up. so i forced myself to do all my solo climbs and repeats in the 17 and 19 gears with the 34 ring (approx 39-21). at first it was slow and kinda painful. but eventually after a few weeks i was essentially spinning my 19 up the same hills that i spun my 23 gear. Then when i road with my friends and in groups i had all these extra gears to use on the climb and i was finishing at the front of the group instead of hanging on the back. sadly i've regressed since those times.....10 months ago

I keep an 11-23 and 12-25 cassette with my compact setup; I find the 11-23 good for the PNW rollers but the 12-25 is a godsend when you're out of shape (like I am right now).

havent ridden there yet, but maybe i will give it a shot this spring
i live at the base of bby mtn, i will do the SFU climb (up hastings side, down gaglardi....and come back opposite)
i can do this route decently, but will struggle one in a while depending on the day.

I think gearing is personal choice based on ability and terrain ridden. What I can say is the tighter the cassette ratio, the better the shifting but again again that would be based on factors such as how you maintain your equipment.

I ride my Shimanor R700 compact with a 11/23 cassette. I love the closeness of the gears. It makes it easier to bounce up or down one gear. You get more choices. When I am going climbing in the North GA mountains, I will throw a 12/25 or 12/27 on the rear to give me the blast for long, strong climbs.

I live in the foothill area of North GA and the 23 can be a challenge, even with the 34 up front. I ride the 11/23 now and tell myself it's like an Italian 6 speed in a sports car, tight and torquey. I like the option to ride in a gear above or below with little change. It makes it easier to stay on top of your power.