Should you text something random or keep it casual?

Look at the last three exchanges, not just the last message. If she is writing full sentences, adding detail, and sometimes asking you something back, the conversation has life and casual is the right call. Keep your messages short and let her steer. If her replies have shrunk to a word or a single emoji, the thread has lost momentum and staying casual will not revive it. A random text is not automatically the answer either, because a random text lands on the same flat ground. The fix is to give her one concrete thing to react to, tied to something she already said. Profile details, a place she mentioned, a complaint about her week, a plan she half-described. Those are the hooks. Without one, nothing you send will feel casual, it will just feel empty.

Also check what kind of casual she is being. Some people write short texts because they are busy or type on their phone all day. Others are signalling low interest. A quick test is whether her short replies still contain a small detail or a small question. If yes, she is engaged at a low volume. If the replies are flat and never ask anything, she may be waiting to see whether you move the conversation somewhere.

The strongest move in most cases is to answer the piece of her message that has the most to work with, and to add one thing that invites a reply. In the example, "way too expensive" is a complaint with a story inside it, and climbing is a topic that people usually have opinions about. Responding to the cost, or asking what made her start, gives her a reason to say more. Keep it to one idea. Two questions in one message splits her attention and usually gets only one of them answered. Also avoid simply agreeing and stopping, because agreement closes the loop and leaves you with nothing to say next.

Keep the tone matched to hers. If she is playful, a light line about her own joke works better than a serious follow-up question. If she is plain and factual, a plain and factual question is enough. Do not add a second topic in the same message to make it feel fuller. A single clear hook reads as interest. A pile of them reads as effort to keep her talking.

Reply within a few hours when the thread is warm, and do not treat a quick reply as a signal to fire off a second message right after. If she does not answer your reply, wait at least a day before sending anything new, and make the new message a different hook rather than a nudge. A message that says only "hey" or "?" after silence tends to make the other person feel pressured, and it rarely produces a real answer. If you send one follow-up and still get nothing, let it go for now. Coming back a week later with something specific and unrelated to the last exchange can work, but only if you were not pushy the first time.

Stop when the thread gives you one-word replies across two or three exchanges despite good hooks, or when the gaps between her messages keep stretching. At that point the conversation has told you what it can. Ending it cleanly, or simply leaving it, is better than extending it into a series of messages she has to politely manage.