On the gear note, yes buying cheap china clone gear is a rip off for most people however I ONLY suggest it if you know some who can sew very well and has years under their belt with sewing! My entire family sews enough that they could take china gear and make it into pantac level of gear if they wanted too.
One reason why I love being asian
So if you fall into this category then your very fortunate. Otherwise look at Pantac, Blackhawk, 5.11, Condor and anything else Airsoft Retailers sell on their sites.