Hard Agree. Plus, generalize this to all tasks and sports.
Bad equipment will give you bad habits right from the start. This does not mean that you should buy the top equipment to begin at anything, but it does mean that you should find out from some knowledgeable people what is the minimum you need so you won't be unnecessarily fighting the equipment and learning bad habits (basically hacky workarounds to the equipment's flaws) that you'll later struggle to unlearn.
For some sports or tasks, it's just solid mid-grade equipment, sometimes it's the lower end of the top-grade stuff.
Also, even if funds do not limit you, don't start out with the absolute top-level gear. Better to get a solid start, then grow until your skills let you see which aspects of your mid-grade gear start limiting you, then use that info to buy the top level gear that is actually best suited for you.
There's an exception, IMO, for safety critical items in sports.
I've seen so many people show up at climbing walls with cheap carabiners from amazon/etc that aren't rated for climbing, but when you view the listing all the images show climbing.
Absolutely, for safety gear, get only top notch equipment!!!
Safety gear turns many incidents from something like notifying your family or waking up wondering "why can't I remember or see anything" to something like "damn, that's a huge dent in that helmet" or "so much for those goggles".
I've heard participating in a number of sports:
"If you only have a $10 head, then sure, get a $10 helmet ..."
.
.
.
Indeed, I would NEVER buy any safety-related gear from Amazon or AliBaba. I know too much about Chinese manufacturing, focused entirely on profit, and quality is literally a foreign concept to them. , and that doesn't even start to mention the scams, where they not only illustrate climbing, but falsely claim ratings. I work in carbon fiber design & fabrication, and will never even buy a bicycle made in China, even from a top US company.
Just don't do it. Saving a few dozen or hundred dollars or euro is not worth the extra risk.
Bad equipment will give you bad habits right from the start. This does not mean that you should buy the top equipment to begin at anything, but it does mean that you should find out from some knowledgeable people what is the minimum you need so you won't be unnecessarily fighting the equipment and learning bad habits (basically hacky workarounds to the equipment's flaws) that you'll later struggle to unlearn.
For some sports or tasks, it's just solid mid-grade equipment, sometimes it's the lower end of the top-grade stuff.
Also, even if funds do not limit you, don't start out with the absolute top-level gear. Better to get a solid start, then grow until your skills let you see which aspects of your mid-grade gear start limiting you, then use that info to buy the top level gear that is actually best suited for you.