[Ricochet]

Here's the fix for your issue, buy real-steel, period. Clone/repro or airsoft level gear comes in two varieties, over-priced or poorly made. Even the knockoff companies that use real fabric are typically terrible. There are a few okay Airsoft gear companies, or mare aptly, there are a few decent products by these companies out there, but you have to wade around in a lot of shit to waste enough time to find them. Real-steel has a massively wide array of available products on the market now and there's something for almost any budget. Even the higher end knockoff crap is typically more expensive than the lower-end real-steel. Any company that uses these fabrics, from Crye to UR-Tac, gets all their material from one of few legit suppliers, so as long as you live within that very large range you're safe.

Pick a product you need, such as BDUs or a plate carrier, then the style you're looking for in that type of product. Find out who manufactures that product type and then compare. If you run into a situation where the one you want, or the product range of what you want is outside of your budget, save up a bit, it's worth it. For instance, there are awesome BDUs ranging from $200 - $1000. The higher end may be well outside of your price range, but $200 for solid BDUs is actually quite economical, so if you can't quite afford it then wait.

The same thing goes for PCs, belts, boots, etc. Some things are easier to save money on than others for sure, but don't waste your money on junk. You either won't be happy with it, or it'll be junk and break down on you fast. Buy cheap, buy twice is the Airsoft moto, but it can literally be buy three or four times. Buy quality and it'll last you 5 - 10 years easy, excluding maybe gloves, footwear and eyewear, but still you should get years out of your gear.

Another option is to find what you want and then wait for a sale or a used one to come up.